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.