A Visit From Scotland!

Unfortunately, I am having a very lame Saturday night, in bed by 11:30. But I partially couldn't help it. For one thing, Saturday nights aren't really big here, people do more partying during the week and secondly, almost every underground line I need to take to get into the city is freakin' closed! Once again, a fallback of living in Harrow. I just have to keep reminding myself I have my own bathroom, I have my own bathroom!!

So Thursday was a very rough day. Not much to say but I felt some extreme highs and extreme lows. It was an oddly intense day. I felt really homesick and loved my life at the same time. Sounds like remnants of culture shock or PMS, I'm not really sure because neither would make sense right now. However, I must talk about the highlight of Thursday, which was riding in a car for the first time since being here. Yes, I've taken the bus and a van the first day of being here but I got to sit shotgun in my friend Gerri's car. It was terrifying but in a good way of course. For one thing, shotgun is on the left.. weird and we were on the wrong side of the road.. weird. But technically if the steering wheel is backwards and the road are flip-flopped, then that makes it right-side up? (Yeah, a little Alice in Wonderlandish, I know.) But seriously, I think I could handle. However, I can't handle the fact that Brits drive worse than Rhode Islanders and I mean that in the nicest way possible. At least in Rhode Island, the rules and regulations are considered "guidelines", but nope, not here, rules don't exist. Seems like survival of the fittest! Nuts I tell ya!

Friday was much better because after my five hour class, I GOT TO SEE CHELSEY AND ALEXA! They took a 4 and a half hour train ride from Edinburgh to come see us! It was great because I had that 5 hour class (which I fell asleep in) and then Kristin and I went straight to Covent Garden to the Roadhouse again for happy hour drinks and dinner to meet up with Alexa, Chelsey, Natasha, Erin, Jade, Corrin, Rachel, Alex, Will, Marc and Henry. It was wonderful and because I had had such a rough Thursday, I cried when I saw Chelsey and Alexa! What a sap, I'm my mothers daughter. When it came time to pay for dinner, we ended up with 30 extra pounds!? And literally could not figure out why. Basically because there were so many of us and we all paid a pound or two over but still, 30 pounds? And they were 3 ten pound bills, so we couldn't split that. So our conclusion? Buy 30 pounds worth of beer and split it! Which I think worked out fabulously.

After buying the golden goods, we went back to Tash's room to get ready to head to a flat party to play some good old fashion American beer pong before heading to a bar/club called "Trafik." We were only there about and hour or so when Chelsey, Natasha and I decided to head back to Tash's. Half because we were tired and out of money and half because we so happy to be reunited that we wanted to catch up. While Natasha was skyping, I slowly made my way into her bed and Chelsey shortly followed. Needless to say, Tash was nice enough to let us sleep in her bed while she slept on the floor and I snuggled with her sweatpants because I didn't have Eukie—yes, that is my bear I've had since i was 8 okay? Okay. But I must say, it was nice to wake up to friends instead of my lonely single—don't get me wrong though, the privacy is amazing since I don't have my car as an escape route here.

We then woke up at what felt like the crack of dawn, (9:15) and made our way to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guards.. or so we thought. Turns out, the website lied to Erin saying that it would be today at 11:30 but after standing around—on the coldest day we've had since being here—Kristin found a sign specifically saying "There will be no changing of the guards today". Talk about a real bummer cause we were cold and tired. We then made our way to Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. We were going to go inside of the Abbey but the line was long and no one seemed to have patience today, again probably due to the cold and sleep deprivation. Running out of gas, we decided to go to Garfunkel's for lunch. It was good, but I hate how much we go out to eat, too expensive! OH! AND, I tried fish and chips finally. It really wasn't all that bad and this is coming from someone who LOATHES fish, the smell, taste, looks, YUCK. Needless to say, if I had to fish and chips, I would. Not sure how well I could take down the whole fish but a little wouldn't be so bad. We then headed to Portobello market for dessert at the famous "Hummingbird's Cupcakes." I wasn't going to get one, I swore I wouldn't and I didn't. Nope, instead, I got a big hunk of chocolate in the shape of a cupcake called 'rockyroad' with everything you can imagine crammed inside. It was fantastic but I couldn't finish it, I really should have taken a picture. Anyways, it was a very long day because we did a lot of tube traveling so by the time we got back to Erin and Natasha's, Kristin and I just grabbed our bags and headed back to Harrow; well we tried.

Our route consisted of 4 line changes; had it been running normally and if we didn't live in the boondocks, we would have only changed once! Not that this means anything to most but, we had to take Old Street to Moorgate on the Northern Line where we would have gotten on the to Metro Line, not problem. But because it wasn't working (along with our two back up lines), we had to get off at Moorgate, walk a few blocks in the opposite direction to Liverpool Street—which was closed when we approached but then realized we just had to go in a different entrance—and take the Central like to Bond Street. Here we had to get on the Jubilee line to Baker Street—which is like our main marker. Finally at Baker, we were able to get on the half of the Metropolitan Line that was working and got 'home' in an hour and a half to Northwick Park. At least we found a pretty building through this interesting street!..?

The plan was to nap, shower and make dinner, then meet back up with the girls in Oxford Circus (about half way) for drinks. Well, this never happened. After all of the trouble we went though to get home, it was about 5:30 by the time we go back here and we never napped or showered. So by the time we got the plan, it was almost 9. So with about and hour travel time and the tube closing at midnight, it was just absolutely not worth it. Luckily, we are going to visit Alexa and Chelsey in Scotland in a few weeks, so I will see them again soon. It really was great to see them. Now, they are just going out for a drink or two in their area and there was no way I could go back there anyways, so it was for the best. AND by staying in, we all booked out trip to Paris! Anyone have any suggestions for hostels?

Anyways, have lots to do but all I can think about is sleep. I just want to go to bed when I'm tired and wake up without an alarm—though I think I could sleep for a week if I wasn't disturbed—which leads me to my theory that I may have mentioned earlier. Bristish students, especially the girls, are half robots or aliens or something! They don't sleep! Ever! They go to bed around 3am and wake up around 8am and fully function. I don't get it! Girls also walk around in little clothing and huge heels! WHAT? How are you not freezing or limping in pain, it's the city. Now, I definitely take note on fashion but there's gotta be a compromise with fashion and comfort right? I think so. Call me crazy but I would rather sacrifice fashion so I'm not crawling and icing my feet that night or thawing out my body parts.

So my next few missions; get an internship, write some papers and book spring break. Hmmm....

St. Paul's Cathedral!

You've seen one church you've seen them all right? Normally, I'd probably say yes because the vastness is almost too much to take in but St. Paul's seemed to intrigue me; not so much the church itself, but the detail that went into it. This may sound weird but I couldn't look away from the floor. The floors are laid with intricate mosaics. I suppose that kind of sums me up, I wasn't so much interested in this famous holy place but the little details within. It could have been on the floor of a shopping mall and I would have had the same interest. I also love the pineapples on the top of the smaller domes. It has nothing to do with religion but is a symbol of welcoming (not to sound like a nerd but I was the only one in my class to know that.) Unfortunately, I could not take pictures inside—though I did manage to sneak a few of the ceiling. The story behind the Cathedral is actually pretty interesting as well, it went through hell and back, but you can google that.

Anyways, after our short tour, we get our own time to explore. I suppose you could just leave but we wanted to climb. The Cathedral has 3 domes. The first is the whispering gallery (look it up) and the next is the stone gallery followed by the golden gallery, all the way at the top. Did I mention it is 365 feet high and that I hate heights? With some coaxing by Brian and Kristin, they got me up to the first level, the whispering tower. I decided I wasn't going any higher, but was again persuaded to go up just one more level, up the tightest squeeze of a staircase. Once up there, we were able to see outside; amazing. Since I had made it that far, I convinced myself it was only right to go all the way to the top, it's not like I would be able to do it again and if I have a panic attack on the narrow, steep stairs, so what. Again, with the assistance of Kristin and Brian, I made it. It was pretty rewarding too because first, I conquered my fears and second, it really was beautiful, again something a picture can't convey. Out came the feeling of gratefulness.

I then took Kristin to the Millennium Bridge because she didn't get to see it and we headed to the bookstore to get Westminster paraphernalia and more postcards. After a long day, I came back to my room and FINALLY sat down to do my presentation on Hurricane Katrina (I've put it off for days.) I then had dinner up in Kristin's flat where we talked for a few hours with her flat mate, Dom; what a sweetheart he is—I have really been so lucky with all of the British friends I've made thus far.

After practicing my presentation, Becky and I took a stroll to the grocery store and had a nice chat and more bonding, she's great. OH and best news of the night, I FOUND FRANKS RED HOT SAUCE! I must say English food is SOOO boring and flavorless so now when there is anything I don't like, I can smother it in hot sauce, and I think it's small enough to fit in my purse!

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So not that thrilling of a post I'm sure but today was a good day and I think I got some decent photos out of it. Wish me luck on my presentation tomorrow!

Erin's Birthday & Such

Today had it's ups and downs. First up, I got to sleep til noon which was fantastic considering the busy days I've been having. I had lecture from 2 to 3 (with lady Borat) and then an hour break followed by seminar 4 to 5. However, it didn't exactly go that way. I needed to go into town to get a few things done but I know that stores in Harrow close around 5 or 6. So I thought, I have an hour to kill between lecture and seminar, I could go really quick in between right? Wrong. She ended up talking until 3:30 making second seminar start at 4:15. Well I decided to go into town anyway. I did all of my errands in record timing and made it back to the tube with a few minutes to spare. Unfortunately however, I got on the wrong train! I knew it was bound to happen one of these days but why today!? I approached the train late, so I could not read it. It was technically the right one but this one happened to be an express route to Finchley Road—3 stops after mine! So as we sped right past Northwick park (my stop) I knew lecture wasn't going to happen. Because it was exactly 4:17. By the time I finally go back on track, it was probably 4:45 at which point I figured it would be more insulting to show up to class that late rather than actually going. So that was my obstacle of the day, did I mention I did all of my running around in heels? OUCH. Anyways, I finally did my three weeks of laundry—which turned out to be three loads, coasting me a whopping 9 pounds, almost 17 dollars! JEEZ. But I did have Suddenly Salad for dinner thanks the package I received from home so that was a perk. Kristin then came downstairs and we hung out for a little bit; homesickness finally hit her today. I hope it doesn't last long I know all to well what an awful feeling it is. I then went into the kitchen and hung out with my flat mates for a little while. I really like them all. There is 6 of us including me and I got really lucky. They are all so sweet, even the ones that aren't, if that makes sense. There is Becky of course, who has been amazing throughout my adjustment and Sophia as well. There are also three guys, Matthew (a beautiful french guy), Nick (a very shy and talented guitar player) and Ben (he's very fun, very easy going and very gay.) So after tonight, I feel a little closer most of them and each day a little more settled in.

Yesterday was Erin's 21st birthday! Though not such a big deal here, very exciting for us Americans she celebrated with. We started the day with a visit to the science museum! Kristin and met Erin, Natasha, Jade and Corrin in the city around 12:45 and we walked the museum for a few hours—it's gigantic! Though it was fun, it was pretty exhausting considering we had just spent the weekend in York.

After the museum, Erin, Kristin and I grabbed a late lunch, tomato and mozzarella panini for me and a greek salad! Then the three of us met Rachel at Covent Garden for happy hour at a place called the Roadhouse. Very cute and a drink special, 2 cocktails for 5 pounds. I had a raspberrylicious (amazing) and a margarita (not so amazing). After drinks, we headed back to Alexander Flemming—where the girls live—so that Erin could put on her party dress for dinner at Yo! Sushi. A sushi place that, to my surprise, was fabulous! I got two spicy dishes and edamame. I would actually go back again!

We then went back to Alexander Flemming (it was all very close together) for cake and presents followed by a few hours in a nicer pub. Kristin and I left around 11:50 to go back home because we were just so tired and caught the last tube to Northwick park by the skin of our teeth, I suppose that's part of the fun. So overall, I had a very good weekend. And though I have so much trouble living in the moment, I have this general feeling of gratefulness and gratitude for the life that I have regardless of the kinks in it. I wonder if I could have had this epiphany if I missed out on this experience...

York Weekend!

Well, I suppose we should start with my Friday class to get a taste of what listening to a lecture for 5 hours is like. Actually, it wasn't as bad as it sounds. We got a 45 minutes break for lunch and were let out 45 minutes early, so class was only about 3 and a half hours long. Not as bad as five. Then again, it was only the first week and normally, we'll have a speaker for the first half and I'm pretty sure he'll find something for us to do for five hours. Luckily, he is a "dashing older man" so it's not bad to stare at him all that while, plus his voice is like James Bond, a complete 180 from Tuesdays with Borat.

After class, I skyped with Chelsey and Alexa! It was very exciting and fantastic to see their faces but the connection was horrible as ever. We then went into the city for what we thought would be a nice dinner but turned into a bust.. boo. We had a 6:00 reservation at Loop Bar which is a restaurant, bar and club all in one, based on it's different levels. Well, they messed up our reservation and claimed it was at 8:30. Starving, we went to the Spaghetti House—a place we had gone to the first week, after orientation. After dinner, we decided to give Loop Bar another shot for drinks. Luckily, I was craving a mojito and we had little coupons for half off drinks! It was wonderful and the place was very cool. Attracted a bit of a older, more sophisticated crowd but it was cool. Also that night happened to be 70s night down in the club area, roller skates and flower power everywhere. We then came back to campus where Kristin, Lindsey and I went to sleep because we had a early start on Saturday for our trip to York!

Saturday morning started off pretty bad! I woke up at 5:45 to shower—because I did not want to have to shower at the hostel which is a whole other story—and my bathroom and room flooded! Out of it, I ran the shower for a few seconds and hoped in. My feet felt wetter than normal and when I peaked out of the shower curtain, I saw a river running out of the bottom of my bathroom door and saw it had spilled onto 80% of my carpet! And of course, I was on a time crunch. Confused and annoyed, I called reception—which is luckily, open 24 hours—and asked for help. They came down and said "what did you do?" REALLY?! I explained how I had to go and when I came home this evening, it seems as though they didn't do a thing but let it dry. I'm thinking my drain is clogged so I'll be showering in Kristin's room until that's sorted out.

Another glitch we had was that the metropolitan line on the tube was closed. This wasn't a big deal because we were aware of it, but we had to walk 15 minutes into town to catch a different line. We finally got to our coach bus in front of Madame Tussauds and it was still dark out. Kristin and I sat next to each other and eventually fell asleep.. to 'Bad Boys.' Two hours later, we were at a rest stop—apparently in the UK a driver needs a break every two hours for 45 minutes? Not really sure how that one works—and grabbed some food and coffee. Another two hours later, and we arrived in York. It really is a beautiful place. It reminded me that there is a part of England outside of London and a lot of the houses were very picturesque and the types of homes you'd see in British films. The first day, we mostly saw a large church and a lot of history pertaining to the Romans and Vikings and such, which was actually very interesting. I cannot describe it as well as I'd like but it really was beautiful and made me feel like America is so young! After our tour, we had some free time. Most of us were so cold that we waited out the last 20 minutes in a Starbucks.

Once we made our way back to the bus, it took us to our hostel, it was my first time and well, not really my cup of tea if you will. The second I got there, I wanted to high-tail it back to America. Luckily, we got to chose our roommates and with rooms of four, Kristin, Erin, Natasha and I shared a room, I of course was on top bunk. It was like summer camp all over again only I felt dirtier and way less safe. And let me tell you, this really was considered a nice hostel, there were classier looking men and women and families staying in it but none the less, I was a little disturbed by the entire concept. After making our beds and checking for bed bugs/any other disgusting or contagious microbs, we made our way back into town for some dinner and some stiff drinks. We settled for the closest place possible because we were so hungry and cold, where we had burgers, drinks and played pool. A few hours later, we were back to our makeshift home. If it wasn't for the drinks and a solid hour of pissing and moaning, I don't think any of us would have been able to actually get into those beds. We also put a chair in front of the door, you know, for safety measures. Within 20 minutes, we had all passed out.

Day two of the trip (today) was a little different. We did get to sleep in somewhat (we woke up at 8) and got a free breakfast, which wasn't bad. Then it was back on the road for another hour to another area—not entirely sure where—to see the Fountains Abbey. Again, a beautiful place, but probably even more beautiful when it is not so cold out. Our tour guide was so knowledgeable about everything that it was almost too much to take in; plus by the middle of the tour, we were started to get a little "toured out" so attention spans and moods started to drop. We then had some free time, where we walked around, taking in the sights and once more, loaded the bus to go the a town called Haworth, a victorian town where the Brontes lived (one of the Bronte woman wrote Jane Eyre.) However, we had learned that the museum was temporarily closed, so we just went into town—the most adorable town yet—for lunch where I had a Jamaican jerk chicken sandwich. Thrilled for spicy food, it was more on the sweet side, but I was happy to just get something that woke up my taste buds in this country; everything is pretty bland.

With full bellies, we loaded the bus one last time to head back to London. I never thought I'd be so happy to come back here! We also watched Kick Ass and Shaun of the Dead on the way home. For some reason, this bus ride felt like HOURS. Once back in London, we parted ways and attempted to come back home. It was here we experienced how back the Tube is on Sundays. The tube couldn't get us all the way home and there was a reassignment bus to take us to that stop in the middle of town again, where we had boarded Saturday morning. Sitting on a bus for another hour wasn't exactly high on our list of things to do but it wasn't too much trouble; minus the intoxicated passenger who wanted to be everyones friend.

Needless to say, I've only been back for a few hours but I am exhausted and dying to talk to Bob and Izzy but they are both busy and I am about to fall asleep. I made a little dinner and caught up with my flat mates, Becky and Sophia, but I still can't shower. Apparently maintenance will be here tomorrow but I won't hold my breath. Luckily, it is Erin's 21st birthday and Kristin and I are going into the city. The plan is to go to a science museum (cause it's free, duh) and then do cake, presents, dinner and drinks! Kristin and I may spend the night because we don't have class until 2 on Tuesdays, but we shall see! I'm sure I'll have more to say about it tomorrow and hopefully this week goes by quickly because next weekend Chelsey and Alexa come to visit! The days go by so fast but the weeks go by so slow. I don't know if you understand what I mean but it's a strange feeling.

First Week of Classes (Continued)

Well today was kind of weird. I woke up extremely tired. Like when you wake up in the middle of a deep sleep and your alarm clock really should have just waited a few more minutes. I had class at 10 but it felt so much earlier. Anyway, I had Issues and Challenges in the creative practice. Seems pretty easy, I volunteered to give a presentation first so I could get it out of the way because everyone has to do one. So besides the fact that I don't know what kind of format they use for presentations here, I'm not too concerned. We had our seminar before the lecture, which was kind of weird. There were about 80 kids in the lecture—much larger than I'm used to—and I unfortunately fell asleep for the first 45 minutes. Oops! But I certainly woke up for the second hour. I don't know if it was because of the coffee or the topic but we watched an hour live broadcast from 9/11. When 9/11 happened, I was only 11. I remember a lot of details about that day but I guess I had never really felt a true impact from it until I was able to watch it at 20 years old. It really was absolutely horrific and I was tearing up in class. I then also learned how much it impacted other nations besides the U.S. and I guess I just never realized the weight of it all. It was amazing to see the support from some countries and disgusting to see the middle eastern countries that celebrated! So I've kind of felt a little off today since seeing it. It really intensified the feelings of gratitude I have for my life. We take a lot for granted on a regular basis, I've thought this since I left home but today I couldn't stop thinking about it.

After class, I went into Harrow to FINALLY get a longer ethernet cord so I'm not chained to 3 feet of my room, or should I say 1 meter? No, I don't have wifi in my room, bizarre, I know and I mailed a few postcards. I also finally decorated my walls a little bit so it no longer looks like a fancy prison cell. Oh and I also made Mac & Cheese—might I add, it was Kraft and from home, so that was nice. Now I'm just messing around painting my nails and anticipating what in the lords name we will do for 5 hours in class tomorrow!? Luckily it's the first day so we shouldn't be there the whole time—hopefully—and I have class with a few friends. This means that it is official; I have at least one friend in every class AND I have no finals! This is extremely exciting because the latest deadline I have is May 9th and I will more than likely be done before that! But Bob and Izzy had to go and switch up the game plan, so I don't know how much good it will do me to be done early. We were SUPPOSED to go to Spain when I finished class, but now we may do something else. I hate being an only child.

ANYWAY, after class tomorrow, we are going to meet our friend Alicia in the city for dinner and a drink because some of us can't go out because we have to be at the crack of dawn Saturday morning. I'm not complaining because I am excited, but I'm not a morning person. A while back, a few of us from Roger Williams signed up for this social program—or as the Brits spell it 'programme' seems like an excess of letters if you ask me—and this weekend, we are going to York! Though to be completely honest, I couldn't tell you what all the hype is about York; hopefully after this weekend I'll be able to! So we have to be in front of Madame Tussaud's at 7:30am but because we live in the middle of nowhere, we would have to leave a little before 7. But of course, this weekend, our tube stop is closed so we have to walk about 15 minutes into town to catch a different one so we'll probably have to leave somewhere between 6 and 6:30. Which means I can't even process what time I have to wake up. We are then spending the night in this cute little victorian house looking hostel and we won't be back until late Sunday night. Good thing I have Monday off. So I have a busy next few days coming up but I should have lots to talk about and hopefully some good pics. Wish me luck in my 5 hour class! (Song of the day: Yael Niam, New Soul)

I'm Here to Learn?

Today marked the second day of class and I must say, so far, so good! I have a pretty decent schedule and only one class a day. But because we're only required to take four classes, I have Mondays off and thus far do no have any finals! I like it this way because it allows me to have a long weekend and the British version of "Thirsty Thursday" is "Messy Monday" so I am able to be well rested for a night on the campus bar! Then, luckily, I don't have class until 2:00 on Tuesday ensuring a very messy Monday indeed.

So Tuesday had a slow start. I woke up at noon put on my "first day of school" outfit and struggled to stay awake in class; my hardest class, multiculturalism and the media. Luckily I have it with three of my friends. Even though it is a higher level class, we only have to write two paper and neither one seems brutal. In fact, the hardest part of this class will be understanding my professor. I believe I'm pretty good with accents but I have NO IDEA where this woman is from nor does her last name give any clues. In short, she sounds like a female Borat. So while it is mildly entertaining, it is very distracting. She also does not seem to be a fan of American government.. maybe she's French? Anyway, it's only an hour lecture followed by an hour seminar, with a break in between so it shouldn't be so bad considering I have a 5 hour class on Friday! YIKES.

Today however, was a little different. Unfortunately, I have a class at 9:ooAM in central London. Meaning, with a half hour to 45 minute commute, I had to wake up at 7:30 further meaning, I was not able to go out with my friends last night, when really I should have because I couldn't sleep anyways. But it was okay because I hung out with my two flat mates and we watched the epitome of British comedy, Jimmy Carr. Pretty funny guy, nice and obscene but a little dry. I also received a package from Mom and Dad and a letter from my dear friend, Alexis, the two completely made my week.

Anyways, 7:30AM rolled around pretty quickly and I was out the door by 10 after 8 for my Art in Society class. I just switched into this because it is a lower level class and a good way to get in some sights and into the city once a week. The class that it replaced was something awful like Promotional Practices of Advertising, level 6; no thanks! (Level 6 being the highest) So in this Art in Society class, I just have to attend and hour long lecture and then for the next two and a half hours, we go to some sort of art museum or exhibition. No bad huh? And it turns out, Brian, from RWU is in the class with me. I was able to take this class because Roger Williams unfortunately won't count any of these classes for my major—I may be able to fight for one of them, but we'll see—so basically I can be taking classes about neuroscience and it wouldn't matter, which has it's costs and benefits.

So today, at 10:00 we all left class to meet up at the Tate Museum of Modern Art. It was pretty cool and their big exhibition was 10,000 porcelain sunflower seeds on the floor, each one hand painted. The picture does not do it justice but if you ask me, there has got to be more than 10,000. In order to get there, we had to pass St. Paul's Cathedral (beautiful) and cross the Millennium Bridge which is just amazing—and as someone pointed out, in the 6th Harry Potter movie.

Because I was in the city, I then met Erin and Natasha and their friend Rachel for lunch. We went to a place called Pizza Express, which is much more fancy than it sounds. Anyways, I got an amazing margarita pizza, fantastic, and then I got Starbucks—I'm lost without Dunkin'—and picked up a few more postcards (so check your mail!) I then took them to Platform 9 3/4 and attempted the commute home by myself. I thought I was okay until the underground through my a curve ball and stopped running my train, so I had to catch a connector one. With the help of an older lady and a little boy, I finally made it home a little before 5; essentially, I'm exhausted or as the British say "neked." So tonight, I am going to watch a movie with some of the girls and hopefully get to sleep early for my class at 10:00AM tomorrow, Issues and Challenges in Creative Practices, oh boy. At least I get to sleep in. So like I said, so far, so good!

Side Notes

Fun Fact #1 When I first got here, I had no shower curtain, which was interesting. I am fortunate enough to have my own bathroom which is cool because I am in a single. However, in America, singles are not the norm and they are more expensive. Everyone here seems to have a single though, so that makes the homesickness harder because you go to bed and wake up alone. Per usual, the mornings are way more tough for me and it doesn't help that home is 5 hours behind, so I can't call home when I wake up unless I wake up at two.

Fun Fact #2 British people are much more closed off and reserved than Americans and they don't seem to ever need sleep

Fun Fact #3 EVERYONE here smokes, BUT they will not go fake tanning because "it causes cancer".. hmmmm....?

Fun Fact #4 Grocery shopping makes me homesick and every store here has random things. There are like sneakers next carrots next to stationary next to tampons. It's bizarre and hard to explain unless you're actually here

Fun Fact #5 THERE IS NO WIRELESS INTERNET IN THE DORMS! Who lives like that anymore? So I am chained to my desk and a small spot on my bed thanks to my 3 foot ethernet cord until I get my package from mom & dad.

Fun Fact #6 I never actually thought I'd miss Roger Williams..

Fun Fact #7 It's amazing how much slower you go through TP when you live by yourself..

Fun Fact #8 The night bus is similar to the one in Harry Potter

Fun Fact #9 Being here makes you appreciate everyone who has ever been good you and forget about the people who haven't

Fun Fact #10 Fun Fact #2 is NOT an exaggeration, these people don't sleep

Fun Fact #11 This education system isn't too far off from a joke

Fun Fact #12 Not so fun fact, I still cry from time to time

Fun Fact #13 I'm learning a lot about myself and how sentimental I am, like the girl in Mean Girls, I have a lot of feelings

To Be Continued (I'm sure).....

Week 1

Well, well, well, who could have predicted that my first week here has pretty much been hell? Um I could have. I'm not exactly sure what is wrong with me but there's something. This first week has felt like my freshman year at RWU all over again; something I NEVER wanted to experience again. Let's Quentin Tarantino it and go back to the beginning.

Thursday, January 6th 2011: Finished packing up late and watched 'Despicable Me' with my parents in their room. No Tears

Friday, January 7th 2011: Packing up the car and last minute things for London, drive to the airport, settle in, eat dinner with mom and dad. No Tears. Time to say goodbye and go through security and get on the plane (terrified) but still, not really any tears.

Saturday, January 8th, 2011: Arrive in London, extremely jet lagged and confused. Caught a ride with a random study abroad car for only 20 pounds. Not bad. No tears. Get to Harrow Hall (where I am living) and we can't check in for another three hours. Exhausted we find a common room and nap. No Tears. Go into town to get bedding and dinner with a nice group of kids I met, no tears—but I did fall asleep at the table in Pizza Hut (not like Pizza Hut's here) and everyone's pizza came but mine, which turns out to be fine because I am not hungry anyways. Go back to our rooms for the night and I burst into tears. Set up my internet as soon as I can and skype with Bob and Izzy, crying.

The next few days were pretty much a blur of exhaustion and borderline emotional trauma. By now I'm thinking, I don't belong here, how much longer until finals, and I'll never survive in a city. I am horrible with public transportation, creating anxiety every time I went into the city—which has been everyday. Luckily, I have a nice group of girls I've settled in with, which has been very helpful. EXCEPT, NONE OF THEM ARE HOMESICK? How are you completely fine with being in a foreign country with foreign money and foreign outlets and different food and transport and words and everything! I chose London because I thought I wouldn't experience any culture shock. WRONG AGAIN! What's worse, two of my best friends from school are here on the same program but they live far from me and have settled into their own groups of friends as well. So it's like we have separate lives; as if I studied abroad alone, which is what I thought I wanted.. what an idiot.

So I was hanging on by a thread, getting through day by day, waiting to come back to my computer to talk to someone on skype, facebook, aim, twitter, email, anything! I'm not sure what I would do without technology because a seven-minute phone call cost me ten pounds, which is like seventeen dollars. JEEZ! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, the exchange rate = crap!

Big Events:

On Tuesday, we went to an American bar, "Sports Bar" I want to say that's in Trafalgar Square but I'm not very good at remembering where things are.

Thursday, we had a boat cruise which took us up and down the Thames River, very beautiful but it was down pouring (not a rarity here) and we were extremely over dressed. They called it a "boat cruise" but they should have called it 'Drunk Jet-Ski Excursion' by how wet, drunk and casual it turned out to be. Four hours later, we got off the boat to look for a pub, but everything closes here and we walked for ages in—in heels–until we settled on a pub called Green Man for some grub, right by the Great Portland tube stop. We then proceeded home and off to bed.

Friday, my flat mates—the sweetest flat mates I could have asked for—took my friend Kristin (who is also from RWU) out to a Dub-Step Club by London Bridge. You'll have to Google it to get an idea for it. It's indescribable and is not something common in America, though according to my friend from California, Paige, it is catching on around the West Coast. My flat mate, Becky did my make-up for me (outrageous and very cool) and we left around 10:30. Unfortunately in London, the Tube or Underground stops running between 12:00 and 1:00 depending on the station, so we were bond to take a "night bus" home. We left the club around 3:00 because my other flat mate, Sophia had to work in the morning. Due to the awful night bus, it took almost two hours to get home; a 35 minute tube ride mind you. 5:00AM bed is still affecting me. And my ears were ringing for two full days.

Sunday: This was my favorite day so far here. It was the first day I didn't cry at all (only a week of tears, not bad.) We spent hours sight seeing, which is all I've wanted to do since I got here. We started with Platform 9 3/4 (yes from Harry Potter) and then went to Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye and even parts of where Harry Potter was filmed. We also have a mini photo shoot in a telephone booth and got pictures of the Abe Lincoln statue. Poor Abe, he said he'd never set foot in England, so when he died, they built a statue of him in British soil to spite him. Anyways, we then went to Harrods which is supposedly and experience but it just made me wish I wasn't on a budget and then we proceeded to the Hard Rock Cafe, London. That was amazing because I hadn't really eaten much all week and since my spirits were so high, I was able to eat a delicious burger and "chips" (fries) with hot sauce. Perfection. We then went to a pub to grab a beer and see what the hype was about. By the time I finished my Guinness I was so tired that we went back to our rooms and chilled out.

So now it is Monday, about 7:15. Today, we went into the city, as usual, and I changed one of my classes. Turns out I didn't need to get stuck in Harrow away from my friends because my classes don't count as anything but electives at Roger Williams anyways! But I'm thinking maybe everything does happen for a reason and this will give me a better experience or make me stronger or something like that. Or at least that what I keep telling myself. So I did not have class today because I have Monday's off but I have class Tuesday through Friday. So Friday to Monday will be used for traveling hopefully. Tonight, were off to the campus pub for "Messy Mondays" which means I have to go eat dinner really quick and then shower. Luckily, I don't have class until 2:00 tomorrow and thankfully, my friend Lauren is in it with me. So now that everyone at Westminster University is here and moved in, tonight should be fun, at least I hope it is. The more distractions, the better!

Burlington, Connecticut to London, England

As a junior at Roger Williams University, I believed it would be a great idea to study abroad. What an experience right? It'll make me 'worldly' and 'more knowledgeable' right? I can see all the famous and historical places that we see in movies or on the news. Let's see if it's all it's hyped up to be, better or worse.