So this week has been crazy busy. It went as follows-
Friday- Wake up at 7 AM. Leave at 8 AM. Arrive in York around 11. Visit Yorkminster and look at all of the medieval architecture. Marvel at the sheer splendor of it all. Eat sack lunch outside, in the drizzle. Walk around York with the Boyfriend. Visit the Shambles, which used to be a butchering district and is now famous for its tilting buildings. Drink tea in a small, non-touristy tea room. Visit the very boring National Railway Museum. Meet up with some friends at Evensong, an Anglican service where they sing for most of the time. Get lobster ravioli for dinner. Go on a ghost tour of York. Go back to the hostel, talk with friends, listen to Nora Roberts being read out loud, and sleep.
Saturday- Wake up early, drive to Vindolanda. Walk among the ruins of ancient Roman forts. Walk Hadrian's Wall, which was built in 120 AD to keep the Scots out of England. Feel like I'm in a Brontë novel, as the Wall is built on the Moors of Northumberland. Drive to Alnwick. Stay in Alnwick Castle, where they filmed the FIRST TWO HARRY POTTER MOVIES. Go out with friends and eat at a tiny café. Go out to a club and dance. Come back and sleep on the most uncomfortable bed of my life.
Sunday- Explore the Duchess of Northumbrland's gardens in Alnwick Castle, including, but not limited to a giant treehouse, a bamboo labyrinth, hundreds of cherry trees, and a poison garden. See the super elegant and priceless state rooms of Alnwick Castle. Drive to Lindisfarne, which is only accessible when the tide is low. See Lindisfarne Castle, which is surrounded by grass and rocks and the sea. Drive to Durham. Eat tapas and drink rosé. Talk about life and its complexities over a milkshake. Sleep in an incredibly uncomfortable bed.
Monday- Listen to a lecture on early British feminist, Josephine Butler. Explore Durham Cathedral, which is almost a thousand years old. See the old monks dormitories. Go back to Nottingham. Start laundry. Eat fish and chips with vinegar. Watch Futurama. Sleep in my own bed.
Tuesday through Friday- Go to the University, and stay over for a few days. Meet people from all over the globe. Forget many of their names. Go to multiple information sessions. Explore the campus. Go out clubbing. Have a blast clubbing. Come back to the flat. Eat English pizza. Post on blog. Prepare to sleep.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
It seems a bit unbelievable, but I'm in England right now. It's foggy and beautiful and the food is surprisingly delicious.
My flight to England left O'Hare Airport at 6PM, and we didn't get into Heathrow Airport until 8 the next morning. Which was 2 in Central Time. And guess who didn't sleep at all on the plane?
We bought some food at the airport at M&S, which is usually a clothing store but also sells food, especially at the airport. There were all of these cold meals that it sold, like sandwiches and salads and cold pasta dishes and fruit and drinks. The most interesting thing I saw was a taste of India sampler. Everything was fairly cheap and very fresh and delicious. We drove back to the flat from the airport on a coach, and there were trees everywhere. It's lovely here.
Our flat is spacious enough for thirteen people to live in. It still feels cozy, but cozy in a good way. My room is a four person, which has been excellent so far. Everyone's been really nice and we're all getting along really well.
I can look out my window and see people drying their clothes on a clothes line and an ancient looking garden wall. It's something that you'd have to be hard pressed to find in the States. And I love it.
More to come later.
My flight to England left O'Hare Airport at 6PM, and we didn't get into Heathrow Airport until 8 the next morning. Which was 2 in Central Time. And guess who didn't sleep at all on the plane?
We bought some food at the airport at M&S, which is usually a clothing store but also sells food, especially at the airport. There were all of these cold meals that it sold, like sandwiches and salads and cold pasta dishes and fruit and drinks. The most interesting thing I saw was a taste of India sampler. Everything was fairly cheap and very fresh and delicious. We drove back to the flat from the airport on a coach, and there were trees everywhere. It's lovely here.
Our flat is spacious enough for thirteen people to live in. It still feels cozy, but cozy in a good way. My room is a four person, which has been excellent so far. Everyone's been really nice and we're all getting along really well.
I can look out my window and see people drying their clothes on a clothes line and an ancient looking garden wall. It's something that you'd have to be hard pressed to find in the States. And I love it.
More to come later.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Once upon a time
There was a little girl who wanted to travel the world. Her desire to travel the world sprung from her babysitter, who spent a semester in Taiwan and then told the little girl about it. A desire was sparked. A few years later, that little girl read a Nancy Drew mystery where Nancy Drew went to Oxford, England to solve a mystery. "Yes," the little girl said to herself, "England. Someday, I will go to England."
I'm semi-grown up now, and about to embark on what I've wanted to do for at least the past 12 years. In two unbelievably long/short days, I'm leaving Chicago for Nottingham, England, where I'll be spending the next nine months. It's a crazy, dream come true, sort of thing that I still haven't completely wrapped my head around.
Most of my packing is done, but my room looks like a disaster zone. I have bright orange post-its on my mirror, to make sure that I don't forget anything that could possibly be important. I've been combing my emails and saying my goodbyes. And it still hasn't hit me yet.
My dream is about to come true. This year, I'll be a legal resident of the UK. I'll be studying at the University of Nottingham, which is a very fine school. And I'll have adventures. Maybe I'll take a ferry over to Ireland. I'll explore a few pubs. I might even get up the courage to try some curry, but for a picky eater like me, that is a fairly terrifying prospect. And hopefully I'll have an adventure of a lifetime.
This is where I'll be recording my adventures, experiences, and adaptations (see, there's the title worked in). It won't be a fairy tale. It will probably be fairly ordinary. Hopefully, though, you might find it interesting.
Bon voyage.
I'm semi-grown up now, and about to embark on what I've wanted to do for at least the past 12 years. In two unbelievably long/short days, I'm leaving Chicago for Nottingham, England, where I'll be spending the next nine months. It's a crazy, dream come true, sort of thing that I still haven't completely wrapped my head around.
Most of my packing is done, but my room looks like a disaster zone. I have bright orange post-its on my mirror, to make sure that I don't forget anything that could possibly be important. I've been combing my emails and saying my goodbyes. And it still hasn't hit me yet.
My dream is about to come true. This year, I'll be a legal resident of the UK. I'll be studying at the University of Nottingham, which is a very fine school. And I'll have adventures. Maybe I'll take a ferry over to Ireland. I'll explore a few pubs. I might even get up the courage to try some curry, but for a picky eater like me, that is a fairly terrifying prospect. And hopefully I'll have an adventure of a lifetime.
This is where I'll be recording my adventures, experiences, and adaptations (see, there's the title worked in). It won't be a fairy tale. It will probably be fairly ordinary. Hopefully, though, you might find it interesting.
Bon voyage.
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