(I suck at this)
The second day in Scotland was a bit rainy and cold but still enjoyable. We started the day off by going to the botanical gardens which was an adventure. We got there and there were these dodgy mats that you had to step on in order to disinfect your feet because there was some new form of tree cancer or something. We were all a little scared and vowed not to step on the grass as that was how the disease was spread. We couldn't go into any of the bigger greenhouses without paying so we just wandered around for the most part. It was gorgeous there but a little cold and rainy so we headed inside to a cafe where I had the best fruit tart I have ever had in my life. LIFE. I'm drooling thinking about it....mmm....
So then we headed down to the Edinburgh Castle and walked around in there for awhile. It was just amazing to be in something so historically important. I stood in the same room as Oliver Cromwell!!! OLIVER CROMWELL!!! Ok, calm again. I got a little terrified when we went in this tower and there were all of these wax people. Those freak me out hardcore. Jena was my savior in that tower and let me hold onto her so I wouldn't pass out. Someone was rubbing my back too but I'm not sure who it was because I had my eyes closed haha. Thanks to whoever was touching me, hopefully I know you.....yowza!
After that we kinda just walked around and shopped some more...Ben wanted to go back to the cheese shop....we all had bread and cheese for lunch. well, for me just bread. We went to a few parts of town off the beaten path and explored the new town a little. We found a little park sandwiched in between these two buildings and hung out there awhile. It was so cold that we all bought scarves to wear! :) I also bought the most rediculous plaid golf hat which made its way into many many pictures but sadly got lost somewhere along the way. I bought so much stuff that day because I was so in love with Edinburgh by that point....so much money spent :)
All of us met up that night and went out to dinner together which was so much fun. We were surprised that Garfunkels had enough room for us all :) We all ordered different things and went a little spending crazy since it was one of our last nights out. I bought some wine to go with my enchiladas and both were not so great tasting. I'm not much of a wine drinker I guess. Maybe red wine will taste better? We also ordered pretty much all of the desserts offered which were all fantastic!! I stayed around with some folks to chat and then we headed back to the hostel. I might have drank almost an entire bottle of raspberry schnapps while hanging out there and then we all just went to bed....it was a bit lame. Story of my life.
Day three was probably one of the greatest days of my life and I will remember it forever. We boarded a bus that would take us to the Highlands and despite listening to horrible new age disco music and playing endless hours of 20 questions, I had so much fun. Our first stop was to see Hamish the cow which was so much fun. We got to feed the giant beast....their cows look nothing like the cows we have here. There is a video that will be on Youtube sometime in the near future. I also had a fantastic rice krispie treat with fudge on top....fantastic.
We were on the bus for awhile taking in the beautiful scenery and passed through many cute little towns with old castles (including the one Monty Python was shot in!) We stopped off at this little cafe/sandwich store and bought a sack lunch. (I bought a loaf of the best banana bread ever.) Then we got off the bus and walked through this field which led us to the most gorgeous little castle in the middle of these huge mountains and a lake. We ate lunch in this old castle that was sort of crumbling with age and loved every second of it. There were a lot of little flies all around but I think that was due to the massive amount of sheep poop outside the castle. I can't really describe the beautiful landscape because it would be impossible to do. There are plenty of pictures on facebook that you can look at...I wish I could go back to that moment forever it was so pretty.
We drove around on the bus some more and then went to visit another castle that was actually inhabited. It was pretty cool to see where a real Duke lives. There were even these round rooms on the corner that could only be entered by opening the wall. I need a secret room. There were too many weapons in that place but other than that it was gorgeous and way fab. Andi and I loved it :)
After that we just went back to the hostel and split up for dinner. After spending so much money downtown Julie, Beth, Kimmy, and I decided to buy food and cook it at the hostel. What an experience :) We had the best dinner and followed it up with some time on the beach.
Moments I spent on that beach reflecting on life were some of the best of my life. I think that those moments made me a better person and I feel like a better person even now. Gah! I love Scotland. I think that any time that I need to center I will think back on those moments on the lake. Life doesn't get better than that.
The rest of the night was spent at the hostel pub which was pretty fun if I do say so myself. Some people had a little too much fun and played twister but for the most part everyone was just having a great time and loving life. I will remember it forever :) Especially Aaron doing the stairs behind the pool table. Love it.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
So where did I leave off? Oh yes...the bus.
Ok so we went into the 'old town' area and walked around for a bit....basically all day. We went to St. Giles cathedral which was so amazing. I just sat down and looked at the ceiling for a long time, imagining who else had sat in the same spot in the 1600s. GAH. Amazing. We went to some shops where we bought a lot of souveneirs and some delicious fudge. (Orange with dark chocolate. fantastic.) We went to this nasty smelling cheese store, Ben's personal utopia....it seriously smelled so bad that I couldn't go in it. Anywhere that serves food while the workers are in rainboots is not okay with me. BUT Ben, Sara, Joanie, and Scott were happy....to each his own.
We ate at this pub down on Victoria Street for a late lunch where we got cheeseburgers (with actual ketchup!!). It was a bit dodgy because it smelled a bit like urine and we realized later that there were skeletons and the like hanging on the wall but...oh well. We found out later that the pub stood right outside the spot where they had hung over 100 Presbyterians years earlier. Anna is a Presbyterian. If you never see her again, you know where to look.
A lot of people wanted to go on this ghost tour thing but I went back to the hostel with a group of people and went down to the beach with Ben for a bit. Then we spent the rest of the night in the pub trying to figure out what the hell was going on in the cricket match that was on TV. Not a one of us could figure out how to play. Then it was off to bed which was actually quite comfortable. Oh yes, and I had to pay £5 for a towel. I know. Crazy, but I had to be clean.
(I'm at school right now with nothing to do but lunch is coming up and I don't know how kosher blogging is around here...more later? gah. that was only day one. 6 days to go. shooooooot)
Ok so we went into the 'old town' area and walked around for a bit....basically all day. We went to St. Giles cathedral which was so amazing. I just sat down and looked at the ceiling for a long time, imagining who else had sat in the same spot in the 1600s. GAH. Amazing. We went to some shops where we bought a lot of souveneirs and some delicious fudge. (Orange with dark chocolate. fantastic.) We went to this nasty smelling cheese store, Ben's personal utopia....it seriously smelled so bad that I couldn't go in it. Anywhere that serves food while the workers are in rainboots is not okay with me. BUT Ben, Sara, Joanie, and Scott were happy....to each his own.
We ate at this pub down on Victoria Street for a late lunch where we got cheeseburgers (with actual ketchup!!). It was a bit dodgy because it smelled a bit like urine and we realized later that there were skeletons and the like hanging on the wall but...oh well. We found out later that the pub stood right outside the spot where they had hung over 100 Presbyterians years earlier. Anna is a Presbyterian. If you never see her again, you know where to look.
A lot of people wanted to go on this ghost tour thing but I went back to the hostel with a group of people and went down to the beach with Ben for a bit. Then we spent the rest of the night in the pub trying to figure out what the hell was going on in the cricket match that was on TV. Not a one of us could figure out how to play. Then it was off to bed which was actually quite comfortable. Oh yes, and I had to pay £5 for a towel. I know. Crazy, but I had to be clean.
(I'm at school right now with nothing to do but lunch is coming up and I don't know how kosher blogging is around here...more later? gah. that was only day one. 6 days to go. shooooooot)
Monday, May 19, 2008
Save your ammunition for somebody else, I'm all second chances.
I'm a new person.
I wasn't going to blog tonight but what the hell. I'm so full of life right now that I don't think I could keep it in if I tried. Scotland was the most beautiful place I have ever been in my life. It is hands down my favorite place and I would do anything to go back there. I think that I could be content just laying in the grass and staring at the amazingly blue sky. I have never seen anything quite so pretty and breathtaking as the sky. I want to go back there.
I have never been an outdoors person. If you know me well you know that I have not always had a pleasant relationship with bugs in the past. It's been rocky and while I still am not a huge fan of them sitting on me, I'm okay with them being alive. I think it is a major improvement. Applause welcome at this point. Recently I've been on a nature kick because well, what better way to feel alive than to appreciate the world? In Scotland some major appreciating was going on.
We rode a train 4 hours up to Edinburgh ( http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&resnum=0&q=Edinburgh,+Midlothian,+UK&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&resnum=1&ct=image ) and it was the first time I caught a glimpse of the sky. It was at that moment I knew that I would love the country. It was sort of like being put down in the middle of a less crappy version of the Sound of Music (without the Nazis but plus a think Gaelic accent). As we exited the train we caught our first glimpse of the city which was a unique mix of modern buildings, 400 year old churches, and 600 year old castles. Talk about a history nerd's dream.
We made our way out of the city via taxi to our hostel which was very interesting. I shared a room with Lydia, Kimmy, and Katie which consisted of four pods of sorts. It was not for the claustrophobic. The pods were actually pretty sweet since they had little curtains and lights; it was sort of like having a secret fort at overnight camp. The showers were also fantastic since they actually had water pressure and gave a nice little back massage at the end of a long day.
Anyway, we went back downtown on a double decker bus which was hilarious. It never gets old to watch in horror as the bus nearly mows down parked cars and pedestrians alike. Such an experience. Some people even had to go down to the first level because they almost puked. haha oh bus rides in England. Always an adventure.
More later. I suck at blogging. Comment away about my lack of literary skills.
I wasn't going to blog tonight but what the hell. I'm so full of life right now that I don't think I could keep it in if I tried. Scotland was the most beautiful place I have ever been in my life. It is hands down my favorite place and I would do anything to go back there. I think that I could be content just laying in the grass and staring at the amazingly blue sky. I have never seen anything quite so pretty and breathtaking as the sky. I want to go back there.
I have never been an outdoors person. If you know me well you know that I have not always had a pleasant relationship with bugs in the past. It's been rocky and while I still am not a huge fan of them sitting on me, I'm okay with them being alive. I think it is a major improvement. Applause welcome at this point. Recently I've been on a nature kick because well, what better way to feel alive than to appreciate the world? In Scotland some major appreciating was going on.
We rode a train 4 hours up to Edinburgh ( http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&resnum=0&q=Edinburgh,+Midlothian,+UK&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&resnum=1&ct=image ) and it was the first time I caught a glimpse of the sky. It was at that moment I knew that I would love the country. It was sort of like being put down in the middle of a less crappy version of the Sound of Music (without the Nazis but plus a think Gaelic accent). As we exited the train we caught our first glimpse of the city which was a unique mix of modern buildings, 400 year old churches, and 600 year old castles. Talk about a history nerd's dream.
We made our way out of the city via taxi to our hostel which was very interesting. I shared a room with Lydia, Kimmy, and Katie which consisted of four pods of sorts. It was not for the claustrophobic. The pods were actually pretty sweet since they had little curtains and lights; it was sort of like having a secret fort at overnight camp. The showers were also fantastic since they actually had water pressure and gave a nice little back massage at the end of a long day.
Anyway, we went back downtown on a double decker bus which was hilarious. It never gets old to watch in horror as the bus nearly mows down parked cars and pedestrians alike. Such an experience. Some people even had to go down to the first level because they almost puked. haha oh bus rides in England. Always an adventure.
More later. I suck at blogging. Comment away about my lack of literary skills.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Arch Bishop Blanch
The first day at my field placement was terrifying. The girls were awful. They were not behaved at all and no one was very interested in talking to me. Also, when telling me where to pick up the bus Baars lied to me and I got lost in the dodgy part of Liverpool for about a half hour. It was an awkward day and I dreaded day 2. But then day 2 came and I started to enjoy myself a little. While I probably won't be able to teach while I'm here due to scheduling conflicts with British tests, sitting in on the lectures is very interesting. On day 2 I sat in on Latin, religion, and history classes so that was interesting. I had to inform the geography teacher that Chicago was, in fact, not a state. It was an interesting conversation.
I sat in on some random lessons where I was constantly stared at by little girls who pressured me into saying the words "awesome" and "garbage" more times than I have ever used them in my life. I also got asked about 300 times whether or not I knew anyone famous or if high school was really like High School Musical. Zac Efron and I are tight. Didn't you know? The little girls are nuts but hilarious and I enjoy them.
Today was day 3 and it was pretty fantastic. I sat through 2 pretty boring lessons in history where I got grilled by 6th graders about life in America which was amusing. Their school system is so much harder than ours. They also, I hate to say it, are way smarter than American kids on average. I was impressed. I had a lot of down time so I finished reading my book and talked to my new British student teacher friend, Daniel. He's about...10 years older than I am. All of the student teachers are in fact. It's a little strange. I went to a class that was studying America circa 1920 and that was certainly interesting. It turned into a conversation about whether or not American proms had spiked punch or if cheerleaders really do date the jocks. It made me laugh a lot actually. I hope I removed at least a few of those stereotypes....I doubt it though. They love Mean Girls and High School Musical too much.
Well, off to bed now seeing as my IPOD is charged. We are leaving at the crack of dawn tomorrow for Scotland!!! Update on Monday? maybe? No promises. Cheers!
I sat in on some random lessons where I was constantly stared at by little girls who pressured me into saying the words "awesome" and "garbage" more times than I have ever used them in my life. I also got asked about 300 times whether or not I knew anyone famous or if high school was really like High School Musical. Zac Efron and I are tight. Didn't you know? The little girls are nuts but hilarious and I enjoy them.
Today was day 3 and it was pretty fantastic. I sat through 2 pretty boring lessons in history where I got grilled by 6th graders about life in America which was amusing. Their school system is so much harder than ours. They also, I hate to say it, are way smarter than American kids on average. I was impressed. I had a lot of down time so I finished reading my book and talked to my new British student teacher friend, Daniel. He's about...10 years older than I am. All of the student teachers are in fact. It's a little strange. I went to a class that was studying America circa 1920 and that was certainly interesting. It turned into a conversation about whether or not American proms had spiked punch or if cheerleaders really do date the jocks. It made me laugh a lot actually. I hope I removed at least a few of those stereotypes....I doubt it though. They love Mean Girls and High School Musical too much.
Well, off to bed now seeing as my IPOD is charged. We are leaving at the crack of dawn tomorrow for Scotland!!! Update on Monday? maybe? No promises. Cheers!
London
Day 1:
Let's just say that London is a rediculous city. I loved it. We took the train down at, basically, the crack of dawn and got to our flats. It was like being on the Real World. We had the entire building for our group with 5 in each apartment. There were three bathrooms and a full kitchen and living room! How fantastic. We went down to Lester Square and bought theatre tickets.....Spamalot all the way!! I hung out with the Spamalot kids and went to the British Museum for a bit and then we all napped before the show for an hour.
The show was EXCELLENT and I loved it. It was so hot in the theatre though since there has been such unexpected warm weather but it was worth it. We wandered around for a bit after that and then got some pizza in the boys' apartment. Pizza Hut is the same in England. Thank God.
Day 2:
We slept in a little bit which was really nice and then I went off with Ben, Mitch, Jena, Anna, and Jessie to explore all of the touristy spots. We saw Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, and the London Eye. We didn't actually go on the London Eye though because we were all tired and we had gone up in the Tower Bridge so we felt we had seen enough. We saw some crazy street performers too. You know those human statues? Creepy as hell. We saw pretty much a million of them I feel. Everytime I turned around there were more creepy people just standing around. It was an experience.
Mitch had so many hilarious things to say and if you care to hear them they are currently on my facebook profile. If you want to hear a particular story please ask. I would love to share with you.
We went back to my flat around 7 or 8 and Jena and myself entertained Ben, Lydia, Jessie, and Mitch with our sweet awesome improvisational dance skills. They even thought we had learned a dance in a class! (We are just that good.) Then we had a bit of a dance party as more and more people found their way to us. There may have been a little bit of alcohol involved and lots of Spice Girl dancing. Chris from the London May term group found our apartments somehow and as he put it "you education people really know how to party!" Hell. Yes. hahaha It was by far one of the best nights of, quite possibly, my life.
Day 3:
I woke up early for my day excursion with Ben and we headed out to a bakery for breakfast before a stop at the National Gallery and watching marching practice for the National Guard. After our small detours we headed to the Winston Churchill war rooms museum which was AMAZING. Not to be missed. I could have spent days in there. It was just opened a few years ago and they have left it almost completely the same as they found it. Being in an actual bomb shelter and being able to stand in Winston Churchill's bedroom? Dream come true for a nerd like me.
After a few hours there Ben and I hopped on the tube which was way way nicer than the ones in the States. The seats were cushioned and it didn't reek of urine; that's enough for me. We headed out to Abbey Road to try and see some Beatles landmarks and while we did see the crosswalk there was not really anything to see. Sadly we couldn't get into the recording studio and there wasn't really any sort of sign or anything. Oh well, still cool. Then we went back on the tube and, in a Sarah Williams inspired moment, headed down to King's Cross Station where we took nerdy Harry Potter pictures :) It was lovely. We headed back to the flats and picked up some Subway (we were way excited for American food but the mayo tasted unsuprisingly like butter.....dodgy) We got back on the train where some slight drama occured and then went out as a group to the Carvery. I passed out in my room for the night because I was dead tired soon after. It also could have been the turkey. Your call. :)
And that was London. Being lazy and behind schedule on these sucks.
Let's just say that London is a rediculous city. I loved it. We took the train down at, basically, the crack of dawn and got to our flats. It was like being on the Real World. We had the entire building for our group with 5 in each apartment. There were three bathrooms and a full kitchen and living room! How fantastic. We went down to Lester Square and bought theatre tickets.....Spamalot all the way!! I hung out with the Spamalot kids and went to the British Museum for a bit and then we all napped before the show for an hour.
The show was EXCELLENT and I loved it. It was so hot in the theatre though since there has been such unexpected warm weather but it was worth it. We wandered around for a bit after that and then got some pizza in the boys' apartment. Pizza Hut is the same in England. Thank God.
Day 2:
We slept in a little bit which was really nice and then I went off with Ben, Mitch, Jena, Anna, and Jessie to explore all of the touristy spots. We saw Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, and the London Eye. We didn't actually go on the London Eye though because we were all tired and we had gone up in the Tower Bridge so we felt we had seen enough. We saw some crazy street performers too. You know those human statues? Creepy as hell. We saw pretty much a million of them I feel. Everytime I turned around there were more creepy people just standing around. It was an experience.
Mitch had so many hilarious things to say and if you care to hear them they are currently on my facebook profile. If you want to hear a particular story please ask. I would love to share with you.
We went back to my flat around 7 or 8 and Jena and myself entertained Ben, Lydia, Jessie, and Mitch with our sweet awesome improvisational dance skills. They even thought we had learned a dance in a class! (We are just that good.) Then we had a bit of a dance party as more and more people found their way to us. There may have been a little bit of alcohol involved and lots of Spice Girl dancing. Chris from the London May term group found our apartments somehow and as he put it "you education people really know how to party!" Hell. Yes. hahaha It was by far one of the best nights of, quite possibly, my life.
Day 3:
I woke up early for my day excursion with Ben and we headed out to a bakery for breakfast before a stop at the National Gallery and watching marching practice for the National Guard. After our small detours we headed to the Winston Churchill war rooms museum which was AMAZING. Not to be missed. I could have spent days in there. It was just opened a few years ago and they have left it almost completely the same as they found it. Being in an actual bomb shelter and being able to stand in Winston Churchill's bedroom? Dream come true for a nerd like me.
After a few hours there Ben and I hopped on the tube which was way way nicer than the ones in the States. The seats were cushioned and it didn't reek of urine; that's enough for me. We headed out to Abbey Road to try and see some Beatles landmarks and while we did see the crosswalk there was not really anything to see. Sadly we couldn't get into the recording studio and there wasn't really any sort of sign or anything. Oh well, still cool. Then we went back on the tube and, in a Sarah Williams inspired moment, headed down to King's Cross Station where we took nerdy Harry Potter pictures :) It was lovely. We headed back to the flats and picked up some Subway (we were way excited for American food but the mayo tasted unsuprisingly like butter.....dodgy) We got back on the train where some slight drama occured and then went out as a group to the Carvery. I passed out in my room for the night because I was dead tired soon after. It also could have been the turkey. Your call. :)
And that was London. Being lazy and behind schedule on these sucks.
Friday, May 9, 2008
***Hello blog readers. Just a little note to family members out there. If you are reading this then you are getting the real version of my trip. I have another blog which I sent out to the parentals and adults. I trust you won't spill the beans about everything I've been up to. There is not too much left out of the other blog but there are some details that should remain between us ;). Love you :)
Yesterday was a ton of fun. We went to the city center as a secondary group and toured two of the biggest and prettiest cathedrals I have ever seen in my life. We went to this beautiful beautiful store called Primark and bought more clothes than you could imagine. SO CHEAP. Even the boys bought matching man-pris. (capris for men) Too cute. We went to the Liverpool footy store and I bought an authentic football scarf. Very English. I love it. I also took my first English taxi....crazy drivers and crazy expensive as well....but worth it.
We had dinner around campus and then all 19 of us went down to Matthews Street where the Cavern Club is. We found out the Beatles cover band wasn't on for another hour or so and split up to go to different bars. I ended up at Modo which was a club that was rocking American dance music. We made friends with some locals who couldn't get enough of our American accents. It was pretty amusing. We made it back to the Cavern in time for the second set which was AMAZING.
The Cavern Club is not the orignal club that the Beatles played in. It was torn down in 1973 but they rebuilt it soon after and it is really cool. It's 2 flights of stairs underground and is literally a cavern. It was hot as HELL down there and packed but we managed to rejoin the group next to the stage. The cover band had on wigs and costumes so it was pretty spectacular. A lot of people decided to head home but I stayed with Joanie, Scott, and Ben until a little after midnight. It was so much fun. Ben is my new dance partner for life. (We pinky swore. It's legit.)
Today the girls went back downtown to shop some more since it has been so hot here and is only going to get warmer apparantly. They told us to bring sweaters! Oh well....we're all just hanging out tonight since we are leaving for London at 645 AM tomorrow. Which means it is my bedtime. Look forward to updates on London soon :) Cheers!
Yesterday was a ton of fun. We went to the city center as a secondary group and toured two of the biggest and prettiest cathedrals I have ever seen in my life. We went to this beautiful beautiful store called Primark and bought more clothes than you could imagine. SO CHEAP. Even the boys bought matching man-pris. (capris for men) Too cute. We went to the Liverpool footy store and I bought an authentic football scarf. Very English. I love it. I also took my first English taxi....crazy drivers and crazy expensive as well....but worth it.
We had dinner around campus and then all 19 of us went down to Matthews Street where the Cavern Club is. We found out the Beatles cover band wasn't on for another hour or so and split up to go to different bars. I ended up at Modo which was a club that was rocking American dance music. We made friends with some locals who couldn't get enough of our American accents. It was pretty amusing. We made it back to the Cavern in time for the second set which was AMAZING.
The Cavern Club is not the orignal club that the Beatles played in. It was torn down in 1973 but they rebuilt it soon after and it is really cool. It's 2 flights of stairs underground and is literally a cavern. It was hot as HELL down there and packed but we managed to rejoin the group next to the stage. The cover band had on wigs and costumes so it was pretty spectacular. A lot of people decided to head home but I stayed with Joanie, Scott, and Ben until a little after midnight. It was so much fun. Ben is my new dance partner for life. (We pinky swore. It's legit.)
Today the girls went back downtown to shop some more since it has been so hot here and is only going to get warmer apparantly. They told us to bring sweaters! Oh well....we're all just hanging out tonight since we are leaving for London at 645 AM tomorrow. Which means it is my bedtime. Look forward to updates on London soon :) Cheers!
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Beth Gleason is finally going to join us!!! See you on Sunday in London!
The weather here is so gorgeous and sunny. Tons of crazy people laying in the grass and playing 'footy.' It's great. We walked to Calderstone school which is the high school other people are going to be teaching at and it is so large and in charge. It's beautiful and surrounded by brick walls and stained glass windows, cute little British cars parked on the sidewalk, houses that look like castles, and a large, colorful park across the street. Ben and I are planning on picnic-ing there every day. Maybe. :)
We're going out tonight to Fiveways pub with Pardo so that will be an experience I'm sure.
The food here is actually not as bad as everyone made it out to be. Everything is carbs and plain but I'm fine with that. It's slightly odd because there are no sauces for anything. Salad dressing is mayonaisse which is, uh, kinda gross. Or vinegar. Everything has vinegar. We are eating tons upon tons of chips (french fries), jacket potatoes (baked potatoes), and chicken wraps. I'm full up just thinking about it.
Well, I hear everyone is going to leave the library and wake up Bobby who had a bit of a late night and has been sleeping for hours haha. More to come I'm sure.
Cheers!
The weather here is so gorgeous and sunny. Tons of crazy people laying in the grass and playing 'footy.' It's great. We walked to Calderstone school which is the high school other people are going to be teaching at and it is so large and in charge. It's beautiful and surrounded by brick walls and stained glass windows, cute little British cars parked on the sidewalk, houses that look like castles, and a large, colorful park across the street. Ben and I are planning on picnic-ing there every day. Maybe. :)
We're going out tonight to Fiveways pub with Pardo so that will be an experience I'm sure.
The food here is actually not as bad as everyone made it out to be. Everything is carbs and plain but I'm fine with that. It's slightly odd because there are no sauces for anything. Salad dressing is mayonaisse which is, uh, kinda gross. Or vinegar. Everything has vinegar. We are eating tons upon tons of chips (french fries), jacket potatoes (baked potatoes), and chicken wraps. I'm full up just thinking about it.
Well, I hear everyone is going to leave the library and wake up Bobby who had a bit of a late night and has been sleeping for hours haha. More to come I'm sure.
Cheers!
Liverpool is such a gorgeous city. I love it.
We flew into Machester yesterday and took a sketchy looking bus (box shaped) to Hope's campus. Our bus driver let us know off the bat that he was hungover and therefore not in the mood to chat. It was interesting. :) We listened to such classic hits as 'Sexual Healing' and 'Hot in Herrrrrre' on the radio so it was good times all around. The flight was long and most of us didn't sleep although the ones who did might have had a little too much of the complimentary wine ;) I watched the Golden Compass movie which was....lacking in Daniel Craig-ness and Martian Child which was cute mainly for the reason that it had John Cusack in it. While people were sleeping they decided to play the Office which was a horrible idea because I couldn't stop laughing. Apparantly Mitch and Katie could hear me laughing the whole time...whoops. It is impossible to watch that show without laughter. I dare you to try. They even played Monk and Psych on the plane which was AWESOME!!! But yeah, I just digressed.
Anyway. We got to the University at last after a few close calls traffic accident wise. I was super excited because I saw an IKEA on the way!! (Best store ever) Julie had gotten really sick on the airplane and they had to call the paramedics but she is ok now and we are living in the same dorm that is on the opposite side of campus from everyone else. We live in Austin Hall which is old as old can be. There are spiral staircases and the ground floor is 0. We are on 3. That is a long way to haul luggage. The room is pretty nice but the windows don't have screens and since the heat is perpetually on the window remains opened. There is a sink in my room so that is nice but also sketchy since there is a glow in the dark sign on it that says 'NOT SAFE TO DRINK.' Therefore I am terrified to even touch it. The sinks also have two spouts, one for hot water and one for cold so that is taking some getting used to.
Apparantly our bathrooms are not as sketchy as other dorms but there are two toilets each in, essentially, a box. The light flickers when you turn it on and to flush you have to pull on a chain hanging from the ceiling. I'm not joking, I will prove it with pictures at a later date. (Side note: Unfortunately I won't be able to upload pictures until I get back....sorry) There are seperate rooms for the showers, well, bathtubs. That's right, there are only bathtubs. There is however a metal circle thing you can attach that has holes in it so that the water can slowly and creepily drip out. It is an experience that is not necessarily recommended.
Before I forget, as Drake so kindly pointed out, Liverpool will not be in the soccer match this weekend so I will be unable to go to the match but I will be in London and will hopefully be able to catch a snippet of the game in a pub down there. There is however a pub on campus which is pretty sweet if I must say so myself.
I crashed last night hardcore so I did not go out with some of the other folks but apparantly some people had a bit too much fun...haha We are going out to the city center today so we will be hitting up some clubs out there. :)
This is getting random but my mind is scattered so forgive me. Blogs are hard.
I woke up this morning to a hornet in my room at 6 am...no more open window no matter how warm it gets.
Julie and I went on a walk this morning after breakfast and it was GORGEOUS!!! We are going out again as soon as I finish this....which will be now. Maybe another post later if I feel so inclined. Until then....
We flew into Machester yesterday and took a sketchy looking bus (box shaped) to Hope's campus. Our bus driver let us know off the bat that he was hungover and therefore not in the mood to chat. It was interesting. :) We listened to such classic hits as 'Sexual Healing' and 'Hot in Herrrrrre' on the radio so it was good times all around. The flight was long and most of us didn't sleep although the ones who did might have had a little too much of the complimentary wine ;) I watched the Golden Compass movie which was....lacking in Daniel Craig-ness and Martian Child which was cute mainly for the reason that it had John Cusack in it. While people were sleeping they decided to play the Office which was a horrible idea because I couldn't stop laughing. Apparantly Mitch and Katie could hear me laughing the whole time...whoops. It is impossible to watch that show without laughter. I dare you to try. They even played Monk and Psych on the plane which was AWESOME!!! But yeah, I just digressed.
Anyway. We got to the University at last after a few close calls traffic accident wise. I was super excited because I saw an IKEA on the way!! (Best store ever) Julie had gotten really sick on the airplane and they had to call the paramedics but she is ok now and we are living in the same dorm that is on the opposite side of campus from everyone else. We live in Austin Hall which is old as old can be. There are spiral staircases and the ground floor is 0. We are on 3. That is a long way to haul luggage. The room is pretty nice but the windows don't have screens and since the heat is perpetually on the window remains opened. There is a sink in my room so that is nice but also sketchy since there is a glow in the dark sign on it that says 'NOT SAFE TO DRINK.' Therefore I am terrified to even touch it. The sinks also have two spouts, one for hot water and one for cold so that is taking some getting used to.
Apparantly our bathrooms are not as sketchy as other dorms but there are two toilets each in, essentially, a box. The light flickers when you turn it on and to flush you have to pull on a chain hanging from the ceiling. I'm not joking, I will prove it with pictures at a later date. (Side note: Unfortunately I won't be able to upload pictures until I get back....sorry) There are seperate rooms for the showers, well, bathtubs. That's right, there are only bathtubs. There is however a metal circle thing you can attach that has holes in it so that the water can slowly and creepily drip out. It is an experience that is not necessarily recommended.
Before I forget, as Drake so kindly pointed out, Liverpool will not be in the soccer match this weekend so I will be unable to go to the match but I will be in London and will hopefully be able to catch a snippet of the game in a pub down there. There is however a pub on campus which is pretty sweet if I must say so myself.
I crashed last night hardcore so I did not go out with some of the other folks but apparantly some people had a bit too much fun...haha We are going out to the city center today so we will be hitting up some clubs out there. :)
This is getting random but my mind is scattered so forgive me. Blogs are hard.
I woke up this morning to a hornet in my room at 6 am...no more open window no matter how warm it gets.
Julie and I went on a walk this morning after breakfast and it was GORGEOUS!!! We are going out again as soon as I finish this....which will be now. Maybe another post later if I feel so inclined. Until then....
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Avoiding responsibilities seems to be my strong point this week. Just thought I would let you all see a tentative schedule while I am in procrastination mode. My field placement is at Arch Bishop Blanch school which, from what I hear, is in the Red Light District...haha It's an all girls school that is Anglican associated so it will be an experience for sure. The majority of the time I will be in Liverpool but I will be in London the 10th-12th and Edinburgh the 16th-18th. I can't wait!!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Hello Everyone!!
Hey friends! Welcome to my brand new blog page where I will be updating to let all of you know how things in England are going. I arrive in Liverpool on May 5th! Until then... :)
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