First of all, UMMMMMM HOW IS SOUTH CAROLINA NOT RANKED? Sorry, just had to get that out there. After an amazing win against NUMBER 4 team Ole Miss, we’re somehow not ranked. AP Poll, I no longer respect you.
K, back to Canterbury. Life’s good. I’m tired, so I just want to give a quick update of how the weekend went before I forget it all.
Thurs – Societies Fair with the girls. Don’t laugh… but I signed up for the Musical Theatre Society, American Society, and Rambling Society. Rambling is hiking!!!! Hahaha I love British Lingo.
Afterwards I went into town with the girls for some errands and then headed to Whitsable with Cathrin. OMG I absolutely love Whitsable… almost as much as I love Canterbury. It’s this quaint little seaside town that has a wonderful walkway all along the ocean. There seem to be some great restaurants and pubs right overlooking the water. Girls night out there soon? Cat and I walked for a bit and sat on this big pier relaxing and enjoying the scenery.
Later, Em, Cat, Lauren and I went back to Canterbury for Mexican and drinks. Food was good but it was ridiculously expensive. I’ll probably go broke by the end of Oct if I keep this up! After dinner, we walked around town, saw the movie theatre and bowling alley, got groceries, and headed back to campus.
Fri- Phone wasn’t working ALREADY so I had to make an annoying stop to T-Mobile. Yeah, they’re pretty stupid there. Oh well, its fixed finally. Then Amy, Cat, and I went to Margate, (which was about a 45 minute bus ride), and shopped at PriMart. Amazing deals. Unfortunately I wanted to buy the entire store, but I settled on a great blazer, a belt, some headbands, and some tights for only 17 pounds. Score!
Headed back to campus for the end of the Sports Societies Fair, but we missed it… Darn. I want to join the club where you go watch American Football together! Oh well. So Em and I headed to town to pick up some liquor and start the night.
We decided to have a Baked Potato night at Cat’s… YAY favorite food! Em, Cat, Lauren, Me, and their new roommate Chloe, (WHO I JUST LOVE), ate salads and potatoes, and drank wine and rum. Then Em and I went back and pre-gamed at her place and got ready to go out.
We ended up going BACK to town and went to a great place called the Cuban with Salsa music and dancing. Love the atmosphere, hate the drink prices. So because we all knew we couldn’t blow our money on 5 pound drinks, we headed back to campus to go to The Venue. Saw Sarah and the other British girls there, and we ended up dancing until verrry late. Great night!
Saturday- Woke up incredibly hungover. Walked around on campus with Cat, got lunch and ran errands. Then we went to this beautiful park in town, and I read some Harry Potter. What a dork, eh? Afterwards, Cat and I went to Subway and got dinner. Highlight of the day: Subway has this promotion right now, where if you role 2 sixes, you get a free six-inch sub. Guess who rolled 2 sixes?! BOTH CAT AND I DID!!!! After a long, serious discussion on how incredibly broke we were, God decided to send us some free food! Thanks God :)
So that night we were all undecided about what we wanted to do. After drinking 6 days in a row, did we really want to go out again? But it was the last Saturday before school started… so OF COURSE! We ended up going to a bar on campus called the KBar. We drank as cheaply as possible, sharing cocktail pitchers and dancing out to headbanger music. GOTH PARTY…. Sorry but you people with dread-locks really need some sort of deodorant for your hair. Worst BO around. Another great night.
Sunday- Woke up early, went to Leeds Castle with all the international students. Absolutely beautiful. I’ve decided I’ll probably move there when I’m older. The grounds are actually worth seeing more than the inside of the castle itself. Landscaper Heaven.
Got home, napped, went into town with the girls to a cheap pub for dinner. Afterwards we went to another adorable pub called The Unicorn for Quiz Night, (side note, Orlando Bloom was at this pub last Friday… WO WOOO!). Although we kind of lost our pride, Quiz Night ended up being so much fun. We lost miserably. But out group, “Chloe and the Americans”, got M&M’s for failing so badly. There was one question that made my night: What US State has Columbia as a capital? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! WOOO WOOO!!!! We plan on going back every Sunday and recruiting some really smart Britts that know their pop culture. We’ll be holding interviews to join our team this week. Contact me if you’d like to apply. HAHA… classes start tomorrow. Off to bed for me.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Day 8
Hello to my non-existent readers! I’m still loving it here… but I’m starting to feel a bit homesick. I miss my family and friends. Like today is my Dad’s birthday. At home, we’d probably be having cake and presents and stuff… and then I’d get to watch the Gamecocks play. It’d be a great day at home! But it’ll hopefully be a great day here too.
Yesterday, I went with Cathrin and Lauren to the Cathedral. It was the most amazing building I have ever been in. And so much history! I know my Dad’s going to absolutely love it. The coolest part was about Thomas Beckett, he was murdered in the Cathedral when he was Archbishop. (BTW all of this stuff dates back to the 900’s… wow.)
After we left, we went to a wonderful hole-in the wall pub and shared a pitcher of Strongbow. My new favorite, cheap, alcoholic drink. Its like a beer-cider, but better. They got fish and chips and I got a steak sandwich. The meat was SO raw (and I normally like my medium rare)… so it wasn’t too edible. But I enjoyed the FF and salad that came along with it. But the best part about our dining experience was our waitress/bartender. She was the friendliest server I’ve ever had!! She noticed that I didn’t like my sandwich and took the entire thing off the bill…. That’s what I call good service.
Afterwards, we went shopping for a bit, but all the stores were closing. So we went back up to campus. We had plans to meet up with my friend Amy from Maryland for a Potluck dinner, but we were all stuffed.
So Sarah had told us about a themed event at a bar on campus, called Massive Mungos. Everyone was supposed to dress up in their old school uniforms (like the slutty school girl costumes). We were all out of luck, considering we had somehow forgotten to pack our slutty knee-highs and neck ties in our already limited suitcases, but we pulled some stuff together and looked pretty cute. Went to Woody’s and looked nothing at all like everyone else. Haha, oh well. These people go ALL OUT on costumes… On a side note, I was a little creeped out to find many guys dressed up as school girls (tights, skirts, make, up, the works). At first we figured that these were drag queens? But apparently, its just a fun thing to do… even if you’re completely straight. Right……
We finally made it to Mungos, only to have a fire-alarm go off right away. SO we walked to Rutherford Bar, and guess what? Someone pulled a fire alarm there too. GEEZ. So went back to Mungos, danced, had fun for about 45 minutes. When SOMEONE ELSE PULLED ANOTHER DAMN FIRE ALARM. Is this funny or something? So considering it was now after midnight, we just walked home.
But it really was a great day. Today, I’m going to a societies fair and then heading back into town with the girls. I’ll update later!
Yesterday, I went with Cathrin and Lauren to the Cathedral. It was the most amazing building I have ever been in. And so much history! I know my Dad’s going to absolutely love it. The coolest part was about Thomas Beckett, he was murdered in the Cathedral when he was Archbishop. (BTW all of this stuff dates back to the 900’s… wow.)
After we left, we went to a wonderful hole-in the wall pub and shared a pitcher of Strongbow. My new favorite, cheap, alcoholic drink. Its like a beer-cider, but better. They got fish and chips and I got a steak sandwich. The meat was SO raw (and I normally like my medium rare)… so it wasn’t too edible. But I enjoyed the FF and salad that came along with it. But the best part about our dining experience was our waitress/bartender. She was the friendliest server I’ve ever had!! She noticed that I didn’t like my sandwich and took the entire thing off the bill…. That’s what I call good service.
Afterwards, we went shopping for a bit, but all the stores were closing. So we went back up to campus. We had plans to meet up with my friend Amy from Maryland for a Potluck dinner, but we were all stuffed.
So Sarah had told us about a themed event at a bar on campus, called Massive Mungos. Everyone was supposed to dress up in their old school uniforms (like the slutty school girl costumes). We were all out of luck, considering we had somehow forgotten to pack our slutty knee-highs and neck ties in our already limited suitcases, but we pulled some stuff together and looked pretty cute. Went to Woody’s and looked nothing at all like everyone else. Haha, oh well. These people go ALL OUT on costumes… On a side note, I was a little creeped out to find many guys dressed up as school girls (tights, skirts, make, up, the works). At first we figured that these were drag queens? But apparently, its just a fun thing to do… even if you’re completely straight. Right……
We finally made it to Mungos, only to have a fire-alarm go off right away. SO we walked to Rutherford Bar, and guess what? Someone pulled a fire alarm there too. GEEZ. So went back to Mungos, danced, had fun for about 45 minutes. When SOMEONE ELSE PULLED ANOTHER DAMN FIRE ALARM. Is this funny or something? So considering it was now after midnight, we just walked home.
But it really was a great day. Today, I’m going to a societies fair and then heading back into town with the girls. I’ll update later!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Days 5-7: Campus Life
Let me start by saying that I just had a surprise visit from three GIANT spiders. So I’m really shaky right now… that may affect my writing skills. Sorry in advance if this blog sucks.
I left you on Saturday evening right? Ahh its more difficult to remember all this stuff if I wait too long to write. Let’s see… Sunday morning I woke up with absolutely no clue of what to do. Hadn’t met hardly anybody and I had no commitments for the full day. So my roommate, Johanna, (who is the sweetest girl I’ve ever met), took me into town on the UNIbus for groceries. My internet in my room STILL wasn’t working so when we got back, we headed off to the library to check email and stuff.
Mid-afternoon I decided I desperately needed WI-FI for my computer and needed to buy a cell phone so I could actually have a life here.. So I went back into town hoping to get free wireless at starbucks with the purchase of a tasty, over-expensive drink. Get there, go to each cell phone store only to find that ALL of them close at 4PM on Sundays. Its 4:04. DAMN! So I go to starbucks, buy my pricey drink and inquire about the internet. Oh guess what? There isn’t WI-FI there!!!! WHAT?!
So at this point, I’m a tad bit frustrated. I can’t really get in touch with anyone back home and I can’t make new friends because I have no way of getting in contact with them! Starting to feel a bit homesick without communication..
So on my bus-ride home, (as I’m feeling pretty down), I overhear some girls talking with American accents. So, I introduced myself. One’s from Charlotte. One’s from Indiana. One’s from Ottawa. And they’re really nice! So we made plans to go out on campus and bar-hop at 8ish.
Go home, grab dinner, get changed AND meet 2 new roomies. Both are from Cali and they seem so nice! (So that’s one girl from Austria, one guy from France, one guy from the Czech Republic, and the rest of us are from The States.)
Going out with the girls was pretty fun but a bit too expensive. Went to a pub on campus close to our student village but it was jammed packed. So we decided to go out to The Venue, the college nightclub. 6PP to get in and all drinks were at least 2PP. Geez! It’s a really cool place though. Once again, everyone’s so friendly.
Monday, I woke up and went into town with Cathrin, the girl from Indiana, and my roomie, Johanna. We both bought cell phones, hair driers, and all the basic essentials. YAY- now I can have a life!!! We got back, grabbed dinner, and met up with Emily, (the girl from Ottawa). My friend Sarah, (exchange student that was at USC last year), invited us to a house party off campus. We hopped in a taxi and were on our way. Sarah and her friends, (really the first Britts I’ve hung out with so far), were SO much fun! I hope I hang out with them a lot this semester.
After drinking for a while at the party, we all then went to a nightclub in town called, The Works. It was very different than Columbia, or shall I say, way classier? 4 stories, cheap drinks, fun crowd- def the place to go on a Monday night. However, I drank WAY too much and came home to a planned skype session with the parents… Sorry Mom and Dad : ) Oh yeah, PS. I fell on my butt going down the stairs. IN FRONT OF EVERYONE. How nice, eh?
Today I was completely hung-over, so that put a damper on the day’s activities. But the weather was perfect out. Sunny, not a cloud in the sky, and high 70’s. I actually wore shorts!
So, I went to a pointless welcome meeting for international students, went into town with the girls for clothes shopping, (which was torturous, as I’m completely broke), and came back to an international student’s dinner. That was actually pretty fun. I sat next to Michael, my roommate from The Czech Republic, who’s one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met, and I met a new girl, Sarah, who’s from Maryland. Dinner was pretty good too, and the best part- it was FREE. We had salads, rolls, chicken, green beans, potatoes, ice cream, wine… yum yum yum.
Afterwards, Cathrin, Sarah (Maryland), some of Sarah’s friends, and I went out to some campus bars. Giddy again, but I love them! We went to Mungos, which was hosting a quiz night and Rutherford which had karaoke. Both were packed and had a great atmosphere.
But because of my incredible hang-over and my longing for a sober conversation with my mom and dad and marty, I had an early night and headed home around 11PM.
While I was on the computer, the GIANT spider came crawling on the wall right by my head. He ran down the wall, and I went down to kill it and THERE WAS ANOTHER ONE. SO I’m freaking out, especially since I CANNOT kill bugs, and there’s no one here to do it for me. But I did it. AND TEN MINUTES LATER, A BIGGER ONE CAME OUT OF NO WHERE AND STARTED BUZZING AROUND MY HEAD. This time, I started yelling rather loudly. My loudness woke Michael up, who knocked on the door to see if everything was okay. He then helped me look for him for about 5 minutes, but he was nowhere to be seen. I SWEAR I SAW HIM OKAY?!
So I’m on the verge of a panic attack, that’s how much I hate spiders, (NOT TO MENTION GIANT ONES). There’s a huge one on the loose in my room, and I’m about to go to bed?! I don’t think so…. So Johanna popped into my room and I told her about my immense fear, and as we’re talking, the evil creature decided to make an appearance again. She calmly squashed it with a broom and told me that if I ever needed anyone to kill a spider to knock on her door, (Michael also made this offer). How sweet are my roommates?!
So I feel a tad bit better now, as its been about 30 minutes and I haven’t seen another one yet. Wish me luck that they don’t attack me in my sleep.
Canterbury Cathedral tomorrow! Can’t wait : )
I left you on Saturday evening right? Ahh its more difficult to remember all this stuff if I wait too long to write. Let’s see… Sunday morning I woke up with absolutely no clue of what to do. Hadn’t met hardly anybody and I had no commitments for the full day. So my roommate, Johanna, (who is the sweetest girl I’ve ever met), took me into town on the UNIbus for groceries. My internet in my room STILL wasn’t working so when we got back, we headed off to the library to check email and stuff.
Mid-afternoon I decided I desperately needed WI-FI for my computer and needed to buy a cell phone so I could actually have a life here.. So I went back into town hoping to get free wireless at starbucks with the purchase of a tasty, over-expensive drink. Get there, go to each cell phone store only to find that ALL of them close at 4PM on Sundays. Its 4:04. DAMN! So I go to starbucks, buy my pricey drink and inquire about the internet. Oh guess what? There isn’t WI-FI there!!!! WHAT?!
So at this point, I’m a tad bit frustrated. I can’t really get in touch with anyone back home and I can’t make new friends because I have no way of getting in contact with them! Starting to feel a bit homesick without communication..
So on my bus-ride home, (as I’m feeling pretty down), I overhear some girls talking with American accents. So, I introduced myself. One’s from Charlotte. One’s from Indiana. One’s from Ottawa. And they’re really nice! So we made plans to go out on campus and bar-hop at 8ish.
Go home, grab dinner, get changed AND meet 2 new roomies. Both are from Cali and they seem so nice! (So that’s one girl from Austria, one guy from France, one guy from the Czech Republic, and the rest of us are from The States.)
Going out with the girls was pretty fun but a bit too expensive. Went to a pub on campus close to our student village but it was jammed packed. So we decided to go out to The Venue, the college nightclub. 6PP to get in and all drinks were at least 2PP. Geez! It’s a really cool place though. Once again, everyone’s so friendly.
Monday, I woke up and went into town with Cathrin, the girl from Indiana, and my roomie, Johanna. We both bought cell phones, hair driers, and all the basic essentials. YAY- now I can have a life!!! We got back, grabbed dinner, and met up with Emily, (the girl from Ottawa). My friend Sarah, (exchange student that was at USC last year), invited us to a house party off campus. We hopped in a taxi and were on our way. Sarah and her friends, (really the first Britts I’ve hung out with so far), were SO much fun! I hope I hang out with them a lot this semester.
After drinking for a while at the party, we all then went to a nightclub in town called, The Works. It was very different than Columbia, or shall I say, way classier? 4 stories, cheap drinks, fun crowd- def the place to go on a Monday night. However, I drank WAY too much and came home to a planned skype session with the parents… Sorry Mom and Dad : ) Oh yeah, PS. I fell on my butt going down the stairs. IN FRONT OF EVERYONE. How nice, eh?
Today I was completely hung-over, so that put a damper on the day’s activities. But the weather was perfect out. Sunny, not a cloud in the sky, and high 70’s. I actually wore shorts!
So, I went to a pointless welcome meeting for international students, went into town with the girls for clothes shopping, (which was torturous, as I’m completely broke), and came back to an international student’s dinner. That was actually pretty fun. I sat next to Michael, my roommate from The Czech Republic, who’s one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met, and I met a new girl, Sarah, who’s from Maryland. Dinner was pretty good too, and the best part- it was FREE. We had salads, rolls, chicken, green beans, potatoes, ice cream, wine… yum yum yum.
Afterwards, Cathrin, Sarah (Maryland), some of Sarah’s friends, and I went out to some campus bars. Giddy again, but I love them! We went to Mungos, which was hosting a quiz night and Rutherford which had karaoke. Both were packed and had a great atmosphere.
But because of my incredible hang-over and my longing for a sober conversation with my mom and dad and marty, I had an early night and headed home around 11PM.
While I was on the computer, the GIANT spider came crawling on the wall right by my head. He ran down the wall, and I went down to kill it and THERE WAS ANOTHER ONE. SO I’m freaking out, especially since I CANNOT kill bugs, and there’s no one here to do it for me. But I did it. AND TEN MINUTES LATER, A BIGGER ONE CAME OUT OF NO WHERE AND STARTED BUZZING AROUND MY HEAD. This time, I started yelling rather loudly. My loudness woke Michael up, who knocked on the door to see if everything was okay. He then helped me look for him for about 5 minutes, but he was nowhere to be seen. I SWEAR I SAW HIM OKAY?!
So I’m on the verge of a panic attack, that’s how much I hate spiders, (NOT TO MENTION GIANT ONES). There’s a huge one on the loose in my room, and I’m about to go to bed?! I don’t think so…. So Johanna popped into my room and I told her about my immense fear, and as we’re talking, the evil creature decided to make an appearance again. She calmly squashed it with a broom and told me that if I ever needed anyone to kill a spider to knock on her door, (Michael also made this offer). How sweet are my roommates?!
So I feel a tad bit better now, as its been about 30 minutes and I haven’t seen another one yet. Wish me luck that they don’t attack me in my sleep.
Canterbury Cathedral tomorrow! Can’t wait : )
Days 3 and 4: The Amazing City of Canterbury
Can I just say, “Wow, is this really happening?” As my mom put it, “You picked the perfect place to live- a place out of a fairy tale with an H&M in it.” Words cannot describe the mix of emotions I’m feeling right now. I’m absolutely thrilled; I’m already sad to leave. But at the same time, I’m completely terrified. I don’t really know anyone here. Sure, there are the incredibly friendly strangers that I’ve met… but is there anyone here that I can truly count on?
Okay, rewind. My mom and I left London on Friday morning. I’d fallen in love with the city and I was very sad to say goodbye. We loaded our four massive suitcases on the underground- in a JAMMED PACKED TUBE. Definitely the low-light of the trip. We then lugged the luggage up A HOLE BUNCH OF STAIRS and transferred to a rail to Canterbury. This was pretty funny- but it’s one of those ya-had –to-be-there situations. My mother was under the impression that you checked luggage on trains. So, we went to a place that stores luggage, (while you’re in the train station), and had a ten-minute conversation with a man that assumed we’d be picking up the suitcases in a few hours. My mom said, “So we pay you when we get there?” And he said, “Yes, you pay when you get back”. And my mom said, “So we’ll pay you when we get there?” Geez. You have no idea.
After that incredibly embarrassing situation, we had to plan our route to Canterbury. We missed a few trains and made some incredibly stupid mistakes, but we still managed to get here.
When we arrived, we checked in to our B&B, “The House of Agnes”. Let me just say that this was the PERFECT place we could have possibly stayed in. The history of it was immense: the house itself has been around since the 900’s, and Charles Dickens mentioned it in one of his
novels. Also, our room was lovely and the location was ideal.
After we got settled, we went for a walk through the city, and I have found it to be the most beautiful city that I have ever been in. The architecture and cobble-stone streets show the city’s history; while at the same time, there are modern shops and restaurants that will provide great entertainment. The spectacular Canterbury Cathedral hangs in the background while shopping- wow. At the end of the main road, there is an outdoor shopping mall that fits the landscape of the rest of town… and there’s an H&M!!!!! But really, my words are not doing this place justice- Canterbury is perfect.
After our city walk, we ate lunch at Subway, and went on a private boat ride down the Canterbury River (or shall I say canal). The river winded through the country-side and gardens of Kent. Once again, words cannot describe the magnificence of this place. There were tons of weeping willows hanging over the water. So pretty.
After our boat ride, we went for a walk up to campus. This was a bit of hike (and all up-hill), but we finally got there. And once again, my expectations were surpassed. Sorry to sound so darn giddy, but this campus is stunning. This campus is what I was looking for when I graduated high school. Its what I think of when I think of Ivy League schools. It overlooks Canterbury and the Cathedral; truly gorgeous.
After we wandered around on campus, we headed back to town and ate at a fun Mexican restaurant. The drinks were excellent: I had Sangria and a Pina Colada and my mom had a Margarita. The food was a bit spicy though.
After dinner, we went back to our fabulous B&B, watched Friends, and dozed off in our unfortunately over-heated room.
Today, I woke up and ate a delicious English Breakfast at our B&B, shopped a bit for my dorm, packed up my junk, and took a taxi to campus. We were greeted by a bunch of friendly students in some bright lime green shirts, AKA the Welcome Crew. And what a welcome it was. Three guys helped us carry our three suitcases all the way to my house, answering all of our questions on the way. My mom called them the “Move-In Fairies”. (Except they weren’t gay. Don’t get that impression.)
My house is so cute. It’s the perfect size. I love it.
I unpacked a bit, struggled with the oh-so-annoying internet, and walked around on campus with Mom getting registered. We ate lunch at the Theatre Café, shopped some more, then dropped off more junk at my dorm.
Then we took a double-decker bus to the city, (WHICH IS LIKE RIDING ON A ROLLER COASTER IF YOU SIT IN THE TOP. SO MUCH FUN!!!!!), bought MORE stuff for my dorm- (sheets, hangers, an alarm clock, ect.), and then I walked my mom to the train station.
Time to say goodbye. :’( After she left, I was really sad. It hit me- I’d be pretty much on my own for three whole months. Man, do I hate goodbyes.
So I took the bus back to campus and began unpacking. Around 7:30 PM, I went for a walk and two British guys came up to me asking if I’d like to go out to the Campus Bars and Night Clubs with their group. Seriously, these people can’t get any nicer. They said they weren’t leaving until 9:30ish and to meet them back there later.
Went to Parkwood Essentials, got some cereal, milk, and wine and headed back to the house. When I got back, I finally met some of my roommates. Get this: I have a girl roommate from Austria, a guy roommate from the Czech Republic, and another guy roommate from France. Holy cow, how cool is this?!!!!? And they are all so incredibly friendly, and no psychos, (just yet anyways… I still have 2 more to come). So I ate my cereal and drank my wine, and talked to my roommates for forever, and I’m now completely exhausted. So I’m going to skip out on the Campus Bar Crawl tonight, but I can’t wait for tomorrow.
Okay, rewind. My mom and I left London on Friday morning. I’d fallen in love with the city and I was very sad to say goodbye. We loaded our four massive suitcases on the underground- in a JAMMED PACKED TUBE. Definitely the low-light of the trip. We then lugged the luggage up A HOLE BUNCH OF STAIRS and transferred to a rail to Canterbury. This was pretty funny- but it’s one of those ya-had –to-be-there situations. My mother was under the impression that you checked luggage on trains. So, we went to a place that stores luggage, (while you’re in the train station), and had a ten-minute conversation with a man that assumed we’d be picking up the suitcases in a few hours. My mom said, “So we pay you when we get there?” And he said, “Yes, you pay when you get back”. And my mom said, “So we’ll pay you when we get there?” Geez. You have no idea.
After that incredibly embarrassing situation, we had to plan our route to Canterbury. We missed a few trains and made some incredibly stupid mistakes, but we still managed to get here.
When we arrived, we checked in to our B&B, “The House of Agnes”. Let me just say that this was the PERFECT place we could have possibly stayed in. The history of it was immense: the house itself has been around since the 900’s, and Charles Dickens mentioned it in one of his
novels. Also, our room was lovely and the location was ideal.
After we got settled, we went for a walk through the city, and I have found it to be the most beautiful city that I have ever been in. The architecture and cobble-stone streets show the city’s history; while at the same time, there are modern shops and restaurants that will provide great entertainment. The spectacular Canterbury Cathedral hangs in the background while shopping- wow. At the end of the main road, there is an outdoor shopping mall that fits the landscape of the rest of town… and there’s an H&M!!!!! But really, my words are not doing this place justice- Canterbury is perfect.
After our city walk, we ate lunch at Subway, and went on a private boat ride down the Canterbury River (or shall I say canal). The river winded through the country-side and gardens of Kent. Once again, words cannot describe the magnificence of this place. There were tons of weeping willows hanging over the water. So pretty.
After our boat ride, we went for a walk up to campus. This was a bit of hike (and all up-hill), but we finally got there. And once again, my expectations were surpassed. Sorry to sound so darn giddy, but this campus is stunning. This campus is what I was looking for when I graduated high school. Its what I think of when I think of Ivy League schools. It overlooks Canterbury and the Cathedral; truly gorgeous.
After we wandered around on campus, we headed back to town and ate at a fun Mexican restaurant. The drinks were excellent: I had Sangria and a Pina Colada and my mom had a Margarita. The food was a bit spicy though.
After dinner, we went back to our fabulous B&B, watched Friends, and dozed off in our unfortunately over-heated room.
Today, I woke up and ate a delicious English Breakfast at our B&B, shopped a bit for my dorm, packed up my junk, and took a taxi to campus. We were greeted by a bunch of friendly students in some bright lime green shirts, AKA the Welcome Crew. And what a welcome it was. Three guys helped us carry our three suitcases all the way to my house, answering all of our questions on the way. My mom called them the “Move-In Fairies”. (Except they weren’t gay. Don’t get that impression.)
My house is so cute. It’s the perfect size. I love it.
I unpacked a bit, struggled with the oh-so-annoying internet, and walked around on campus with Mom getting registered. We ate lunch at the Theatre Café, shopped some more, then dropped off more junk at my dorm.
Then we took a double-decker bus to the city, (WHICH IS LIKE RIDING ON A ROLLER COASTER IF YOU SIT IN THE TOP. SO MUCH FUN!!!!!), bought MORE stuff for my dorm- (sheets, hangers, an alarm clock, ect.), and then I walked my mom to the train station.
Time to say goodbye. :’( After she left, I was really sad. It hit me- I’d be pretty much on my own for three whole months. Man, do I hate goodbyes.
So I took the bus back to campus and began unpacking. Around 7:30 PM, I went for a walk and two British guys came up to me asking if I’d like to go out to the Campus Bars and Night Clubs with their group. Seriously, these people can’t get any nicer. They said they weren’t leaving until 9:30ish and to meet them back there later.
Went to Parkwood Essentials, got some cereal, milk, and wine and headed back to the house. When I got back, I finally met some of my roommates. Get this: I have a girl roommate from Austria, a guy roommate from the Czech Republic, and another guy roommate from France. Holy cow, how cool is this?!!!!? And they are all so incredibly friendly, and no psychos, (just yet anyways… I still have 2 more to come). So I ate my cereal and drank my wine, and talked to my roommates for forever, and I’m now completely exhausted. So I’m going to skip out on the Campus Bar Crawl tonight, but I can’t wait for tomorrow.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Day 2: Attack of the Pigeons
Although my day was plenty eventful, this blog won’t be nearly as long- PROMISE.
So we woke up around 9:30 AM and went up to our important-people lounge, and ate a small breakfast. And unfortunately it’s true, all London beverages have so-far been served warm. Sorry, but I like my OJ cold, thank you.
So we got on the tube and went…. SHOPPING!!! I love love LOVE how the Britts dress. So as you can imagine, I was pretty stoked about attempting to copy their style. H&M provided EXACTLY what I was looking for. My only problem: I can’t spend any money what-so-ever. Basically, it ended up being somewhat torturous, but I gave in and purchased some pretty cute items.
Mom and I then went to purchase theatre tickets. On the way there, we saw a café called, “Coffee Nero”. However my mom, being the incredible geek she is, became ecstatic, thinking she had seen a restaurant called, “Coffee Nerd”. Sorry Lou.
We ended up buying discount tickets to Dirty Dancing (YAY YAY YAY!!!!) and went to a small restaurant for lunch. Food was great. Service was great. Prices were great. Being attacked by pigeon INSIDE the restaurant? Not so great. My mom had just got done saying, “Ya know, I really hate all the pigeons here,” when two minutes later, a crazed pigeon flew into the café, headed directly for our booth, and attempted to make a nest in my mother’s hair. Now, I wish that I could say Lou handles events like this coolly, but that would be an incredible lie. She started shrieking and jumped out of her chair until the guy next to us, gracefully picked up the bird and took it back outside. While the entire restaurant stared at us, we quickly got our checks and bolted.
We then went to St. Paul’s Cathedral, which is stunning, crossed the Millennium Bridge, and saw a show at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. The show and atmosphere was really cool. I wish I could have lived back then.
Next, we walked to the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. We were exhausted and were running short on time, so we decided not to do any tours. We did, however, buy some honey-roasted peanuts, WHICH WERE DELICIOUS!!!!
We then made our way back to the hotel to shower and get ready for the play. We got all dressed up, and headed to see Dirty Dancing. The play was great; the girl who played Baby sucked at acting, but besides that… it was really good. I miss Patrick Swayze. :(
Went back to our lodging, chatted with Dad and Linda, uploaded some more pictures , and here I am.
Tomorrow, we head to Canterbury. We’re staying at a B&B that Charles Dickens mentioned in one of his novels. How cool is that?!
So we woke up around 9:30 AM and went up to our important-people lounge, and ate a small breakfast. And unfortunately it’s true, all London beverages have so-far been served warm. Sorry, but I like my OJ cold, thank you.
So we got on the tube and went…. SHOPPING!!! I love love LOVE how the Britts dress. So as you can imagine, I was pretty stoked about attempting to copy their style. H&M provided EXACTLY what I was looking for. My only problem: I can’t spend any money what-so-ever. Basically, it ended up being somewhat torturous, but I gave in and purchased some pretty cute items.
Mom and I then went to purchase theatre tickets. On the way there, we saw a café called, “Coffee Nero”. However my mom, being the incredible geek she is, became ecstatic, thinking she had seen a restaurant called, “Coffee Nerd”. Sorry Lou.
We ended up buying discount tickets to Dirty Dancing (YAY YAY YAY!!!!) and went to a small restaurant for lunch. Food was great. Service was great. Prices were great. Being attacked by pigeon INSIDE the restaurant? Not so great. My mom had just got done saying, “Ya know, I really hate all the pigeons here,” when two minutes later, a crazed pigeon flew into the café, headed directly for our booth, and attempted to make a nest in my mother’s hair. Now, I wish that I could say Lou handles events like this coolly, but that would be an incredible lie. She started shrieking and jumped out of her chair until the guy next to us, gracefully picked up the bird and took it back outside. While the entire restaurant stared at us, we quickly got our checks and bolted.
We then went to St. Paul’s Cathedral, which is stunning, crossed the Millennium Bridge, and saw a show at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. The show and atmosphere was really cool. I wish I could have lived back then.
Next, we walked to the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. We were exhausted and were running short on time, so we decided not to do any tours. We did, however, buy some honey-roasted peanuts, WHICH WERE DELICIOUS!!!!
We then made our way back to the hotel to shower and get ready for the play. We got all dressed up, and headed to see Dirty Dancing. The play was great; the girl who played Baby sucked at acting, but besides that… it was really good. I miss Patrick Swayze. :(
Went back to our lodging, chatted with Dad and Linda, uploaded some more pictures , and here I am.
Tomorrow, we head to Canterbury. We’re staying at a B&B that Charles Dickens mentioned in one of his novels. How cool is that?!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
I MADE IT!!! London and the UK so far...
After over 24 hours of travelling, we’re finally here. And its wonderful. I absolutely love London. And now a bit of our very non-eventful journey here.
We left Columbia for CLT airport at 9 AM Tuesday after a wonderful goodbye breakfast with Marty Mar. Because of my extremely anal mother, we had to get to the airport at least 2 hours before our flight… ughhhh. I think it’s all just a ploy she came up with to get more steps. But our first flight was short and smooth. Then we landed in detroit- for our FOUR AND A HALF HOUR LAYOVER. Gun please?
So we walked the very straight airport to the very end, had margaritas and mexican, then took the train back to the middle of the airport. Now the highlight: The underground tunnel that connects the large terminal to the smaller terminal is AWESOME. Star trek anyone?
Finally, we boarded our flight for our 8 hour journey to LON HEATHROW. The flight itself wasn’t bad… the food was surprisingly tasty and we each had our own individual tvs. I watched “Adventureland”, “Scrubs”, “The Office”, and “What Not to Wear”. And I attempted to sleep…. The worst part had to be the guy with terrets sitting behind me, who apparently felt the need to knee the back of my seat every 30 seconds.
We landed in London at 7:40 AM, or 2:40 AM Columbia time. After virtually no sleep, that’s kind of early to start a long day of sight-seeing. Sooooo, we waited in immigration for over an hour. And somehow we passed… my mom looks a tad bit like a terrorist, so I think we just got lucky.
Then we began the TWO HOUR TREK to the hotel…. UGH. Carrying 4 extremely large suitcases on the underground is almost impossible. IF YOU FIND YOURSELF TRAVELING IN LONDON WITH THAT MUCH JUNK, SPEND THE EXTRA MONEY AND TAKE A DAMN TAXI. (My mom disagrees.) Ok, ok… It wasn’t that bad. But some tube entrances don’t have elevators, meaning we had to carry the four GIANTS up flights of stairs. NOT FUN MAN. But there are some wonderful gentlemen in England,who were kind enough to help lug them up. Saved the day.
We finally got to the hotel around 10:30 AM and dropped off our junk. We took a small breather and set off to a full day of sight-seeing.
Now the good stuff:
First, we went to Picadilly Circus. Its pretty much the Times Square of London, except its actually classy. Then we walked to Traflagar Square, which was so pretty. The architecture here truly is breath-taking. We then stopped at the Texas Embassy for a bit of TEX-MEX food. Its definitely over-rated but I guess the whole idea of it is pretty neat. (It was the only embassy Texas had when it had declared itself as a country. Now it’s a restaurant.)
We then walked through St. James? Park. It reminded me so much of Central Park but I liked it even better. We saw a bunch of little kids wearing bright neon vests that looked like security guards… school field trip I think. I love English children.
Then, we made our way to Buckingham Palace and saw the funny guards. One of them broke the rules and asked for my phone number. That’s just how amazing I am.
Next, we week to Westminister Abbey, where we wasted 15 Pounds a person on the most boring audio tour I’ve EVER experienced. It was absolutely gorgeous inside, but keep in mind my mom and I are running on verrryyy little sleep and we’ve been up since 2 AM (Columbia time). Hearing extensive details on every aspect of the church might be good if we were lucid, but it drained us EVEN more. It actually pushed my mom over the edge. She pretty much freaked out and raced around the church looking for an exit. She even tried to ditch our audio devices ON A CHURCH PEW and suggested we make a run for it. Please don’t get Lou Clyde sleep-deprived. She’ll go nuts.
After we escaped, we found Big Ben and the Parliament. Verrrry nice. We then walked across the Westmisinter Bridge to the London Eye. I think this was the highlight of my day. We saw the most amazing views of the London landscape. It also gave us a much-needed, thirty-minute rest for our legs.
We then made our way back to the hotel and passed out for two hours. Waking up at 7:30 PM London time, we decided to set out for a bit of shopping. Unfortunately, we missed out on all the stores, (with everything closing at 8), but we were able to map out a good shopping route for tomorrow. There’s definitely some potential!!!!
We quickly at a gourmet meal at Mickey D’s and made our way back to the hotel again. But my alcoholic mother insisted that we stopped for a bottle of wine for a quick detour.
Now back at the hotel, we’ve been lounging around the executive lounge, (Yes. We’re very important people.) and chatting with Dad, Linda, Marty, Christen, and Chase via Skype. This technology makes me feel so much better about being away from everyone. Its just so easy and it makes it seem like we’re not an ocean away.
Going to bed now. Can’t wait for tomorrow!
We left Columbia for CLT airport at 9 AM Tuesday after a wonderful goodbye breakfast with Marty Mar. Because of my extremely anal mother, we had to get to the airport at least 2 hours before our flight… ughhhh. I think it’s all just a ploy she came up with to get more steps. But our first flight was short and smooth. Then we landed in detroit- for our FOUR AND A HALF HOUR LAYOVER. Gun please?
So we walked the very straight airport to the very end, had margaritas and mexican, then took the train back to the middle of the airport. Now the highlight: The underground tunnel that connects the large terminal to the smaller terminal is AWESOME. Star trek anyone?
Finally, we boarded our flight for our 8 hour journey to LON HEATHROW. The flight itself wasn’t bad… the food was surprisingly tasty and we each had our own individual tvs. I watched “Adventureland”, “Scrubs”, “The Office”, and “What Not to Wear”. And I attempted to sleep…. The worst part had to be the guy with terrets sitting behind me, who apparently felt the need to knee the back of my seat every 30 seconds.
We landed in London at 7:40 AM, or 2:40 AM Columbia time. After virtually no sleep, that’s kind of early to start a long day of sight-seeing. Sooooo, we waited in immigration for over an hour. And somehow we passed… my mom looks a tad bit like a terrorist, so I think we just got lucky.
Then we began the TWO HOUR TREK to the hotel…. UGH. Carrying 4 extremely large suitcases on the underground is almost impossible. IF YOU FIND YOURSELF TRAVELING IN LONDON WITH THAT MUCH JUNK, SPEND THE EXTRA MONEY AND TAKE A DAMN TAXI. (My mom disagrees.) Ok, ok… It wasn’t that bad. But some tube entrances don’t have elevators, meaning we had to carry the four GIANTS up flights of stairs. NOT FUN MAN. But there are some wonderful gentlemen in England,who were kind enough to help lug them up. Saved the day.
We finally got to the hotel around 10:30 AM and dropped off our junk. We took a small breather and set off to a full day of sight-seeing.
Now the good stuff:
First, we went to Picadilly Circus. Its pretty much the Times Square of London, except its actually classy. Then we walked to Traflagar Square, which was so pretty. The architecture here truly is breath-taking. We then stopped at the Texas Embassy for a bit of TEX-MEX food. Its definitely over-rated but I guess the whole idea of it is pretty neat. (It was the only embassy Texas had when it had declared itself as a country. Now it’s a restaurant.)
We then walked through St. James? Park. It reminded me so much of Central Park but I liked it even better. We saw a bunch of little kids wearing bright neon vests that looked like security guards… school field trip I think. I love English children.
Then, we made our way to Buckingham Palace and saw the funny guards. One of them broke the rules and asked for my phone number. That’s just how amazing I am.
Next, we week to Westminister Abbey, where we wasted 15 Pounds a person on the most boring audio tour I’ve EVER experienced. It was absolutely gorgeous inside, but keep in mind my mom and I are running on verrryyy little sleep and we’ve been up since 2 AM (Columbia time). Hearing extensive details on every aspect of the church might be good if we were lucid, but it drained us EVEN more. It actually pushed my mom over the edge. She pretty much freaked out and raced around the church looking for an exit. She even tried to ditch our audio devices ON A CHURCH PEW and suggested we make a run for it. Please don’t get Lou Clyde sleep-deprived. She’ll go nuts.
After we escaped, we found Big Ben and the Parliament. Verrrry nice. We then walked across the Westmisinter Bridge to the London Eye. I think this was the highlight of my day. We saw the most amazing views of the London landscape. It also gave us a much-needed, thirty-minute rest for our legs.
We then made our way back to the hotel and passed out for two hours. Waking up at 7:30 PM London time, we decided to set out for a bit of shopping. Unfortunately, we missed out on all the stores, (with everything closing at 8), but we were able to map out a good shopping route for tomorrow. There’s definitely some potential!!!!
We quickly at a gourmet meal at Mickey D’s and made our way back to the hotel again. But my alcoholic mother insisted that we stopped for a bottle of wine for a quick detour.
Now back at the hotel, we’ve been lounging around the executive lounge, (Yes. We’re very important people.) and chatting with Dad, Linda, Marty, Christen, and Chase via Skype. This technology makes me feel so much better about being away from everyone. Its just so easy and it makes it seem like we’re not an ocean away.
Going to bed now. Can’t wait for tomorrow!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
One Week to Departure
Okay.. Where to start?
First off, I'm not sure if anyone will ever read this. I've not decided yet if I even want anyone to read this. So I apologize in advance,(that is if you do find yourself reading here), if I begin to ramble. I just want a way to keep a record of my memories while abroad. And possibly a way to communicate to you guys back home... but I don't know about that yet.
I've found that over the last 3 years of my college experience, the memories that I've held closest are those where I've kept record of that experience. In short, I remember the times best where I've had a picture of my memory. Thankfully, I've had friends that have recognized this WAY before I did, and have brought a camera along on the most random of occasions. And now I find that I rarely remember the times where I simply forgot to bring a camera. SOOOO, one of my main goals in England is to take AS MANY PICTURES as possible- that way I will remember every aspect of my trip.
Now I'm human. And lazy. And sometimes forgetful. So I know that there's NO WAY POSSIBLE that I will bring a camera to EVERY SINGLE OCCASION. (Not to mention, that it would probably be pretty annoying for everyone around me.) So I've decided to blog all my other experiences, to help me remember this, hopefully awesome, adventure, (I know, I know, corny. Get over it.)
So I leave in officially one week. Last night, it kind of hit me: I will have absolutely nothing familiar for 3 whole months of my life. I get to start over completely. Now that's pretty exciting, but its also scary. If I want to come home, I can't. I'll be stuck. This is the first time in my ENTIRE life, where I'll experience this. SOOO, I have absolutely no idea how I'll handle it. I don't know if I'll get homesick. I don't know if I'll freak out. I certainly hope not, but we'll see. This is the beginning of a new chapter (cliche', hush. i know!). And the countdown begins....
First off, I'm not sure if anyone will ever read this. I've not decided yet if I even want anyone to read this. So I apologize in advance,(that is if you do find yourself reading here), if I begin to ramble. I just want a way to keep a record of my memories while abroad. And possibly a way to communicate to you guys back home... but I don't know about that yet.
I've found that over the last 3 years of my college experience, the memories that I've held closest are those where I've kept record of that experience. In short, I remember the times best where I've had a picture of my memory. Thankfully, I've had friends that have recognized this WAY before I did, and have brought a camera along on the most random of occasions. And now I find that I rarely remember the times where I simply forgot to bring a camera. SOOOO, one of my main goals in England is to take AS MANY PICTURES as possible- that way I will remember every aspect of my trip.
Now I'm human. And lazy. And sometimes forgetful. So I know that there's NO WAY POSSIBLE that I will bring a camera to EVERY SINGLE OCCASION. (Not to mention, that it would probably be pretty annoying for everyone around me.) So I've decided to blog all my other experiences, to help me remember this, hopefully awesome, adventure, (I know, I know, corny. Get over it.)
So I leave in officially one week. Last night, it kind of hit me: I will have absolutely nothing familiar for 3 whole months of my life. I get to start over completely. Now that's pretty exciting, but its also scary. If I want to come home, I can't. I'll be stuck. This is the first time in my ENTIRE life, where I'll experience this. SOOO, I have absolutely no idea how I'll handle it. I don't know if I'll get homesick. I don't know if I'll freak out. I certainly hope not, but we'll see. This is the beginning of a new chapter (cliche', hush. i know!). And the countdown begins....
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