Beyond the Pond

Dog days of summer

2011-06-14T22:14:00.002-04:00

Summer break has started, and I've been reveling in the freedom from middle school with one of the greatest dogs on the planet. One downside is that he hates going out, so I have to push him off the deck to make sure he does his business so that I can go about my day, running errands, stopping by the shop, or just enjoying some time on the couch watching TV. At the end of this week I'll be off to another house to watch the giant dog and the snorter. A pug and a mastiff...such an odd couple, to say the very least, but they are quite low-key for the most part.
At the approach of the summer, my goals were to get a bit healthier (maybe drop some pounds or a pant size), find a job to make some more money, and take some time to enjoy the sunshine and lower stress levels of summer. With that said, I'm not really sure that dogsitting counts as a summer job, but at least it's a bit more income for me at the moment.
I now have a week of the summer packed full of high school students in a place that means so much to me. I'm going to be counseling for a week at the summer camp I went to while I was in high school. I'm looking forward to being back but know it's not going to be the same or as easy as it has been in the past. I'm continually reminded that life is more difficult now, but I'm hoping to be reassured that it is all worthwhile!

Beauty is as beauty does...

2011-04-03T20:09:00.000-04:00

I know that I'm a beautiful person, but I don't feel that way physically. I've been chubby since third grade, and since then I have always thought that boys won't like me because I'm not skinny. I do realise that any guy that is not interested in me for that one reason is not the kind of guy that I want to be with, but it's still not a great thing for my self-esteem. I really love the person that I am inside, but it's harder for me to have the same kind of love for what I am on the outside. I know that God made me in his image and without mistakes, so that hurts me even more to feel like I'm not good enough because of my size. I'm just glad I have friends who are always supportive and encouraging.

Ratta Tat Tat

2011-03-29T21:32:00.002-04:00

Okay, big decision approaching in the coming months. It involves a LOT of planning, prepping and praying. It's bound to be a trying time with some fairly anxious moments, knowing how I tend to respond to these sort of things. I like knowing that I can plan things out and take things at my own pace when I need to. Ultimately, I'm in for quite an experience. I'm expecting fear, pain, joy, laughter, tears, smiles, love and most of all peace when it's all said and done. More on this to come...

Wedding bells will ring

2011-03-22T14:54:00.006-04:00

Another one of my best friends got engaged! Last weekend, my dear friend Nyssa was proposed to in St. Louis over her Spring Break, and I'm super happy for her and her new fiance, who've been together for over a year. I still long to be in a place in my life where I'm the one getting married, but I'm to the point where I am just so happy for my friend and so excited for the shopping, planning and partying, that I'm okay being single in the midst of it all.

with Nyssa at the Coldplay concert, Summer 2009

Change of Heart

2011-03-19T22:28:00.003-04:00

I have somehow been incredibly busy the last couple weeks and haven't made time to write. My bad. I'm trying to make a change in some habits of mine that have seemed to spiral out of control in the last four or five months, especially. Mainly, I'm trying to treat myself like I'm worth being loved. I've been treating myself like I'm only worth settling for what isn't good enough for me. I deserve to be loved, and just because I don't have a relationship as a part of my life right now, doesn't mean that I don't deserve one. Of course all of this is easier said than done, but I'm focusing on trying to put myself in positive situations and hold myself and others accountable to treating me the way I deserve to be treated. The balance of holding out for the best and not being closed off to opportunities I may ordinarily ignore is the hard part, but I'm trying to put myself first so that I can keep myself first. I know that I generally put others before myself in relationships, so it really is important to remember that I am valuable and shouldn't be treated otherwise. It may be difficult to say no to the allure of instant gratification, but I just have to keep reassuring myself that it's worth it.

Without a dope beat to step to, step to

2011-03-07T17:36:00.002-05:00

Yeah, I know, it's been a long time. Aaaand a lot has changed. Such is the way of life, though, right?! It's been nearly a year and a half since I had a real update here, and I have gone through a ridiculous amount of change between now and then.
So let's start with the things that haven't changed. I still live at home. I still have a job. I still have no idea what I want to do when I grow up. I still have the same car, and I'm still single and poor.
Now for things that have changed. I have a different job as a middle school teacher's assistant in the public school system here in Fort Wayne. I've thought about becoming a teacher, but now I'm really not so sure that I have the passion for it, so I'm thinking counseling is back at the top of my list of future career goals. Albert Timothy has gone through some tough times but has taken me amazing places including Pittsburgh and Baltimore for my fall break, and Kentucky and Chicago for amazing visits with Jenny. I have gone out with a bunch of potentially great guys that just don't seem to work out.
There are many other things that have changed in my life, but they seem so deep that they can't be lumped together in a "life sure is changing" post. I've been thinking about what I should give up for Lent this year, and while I haven't decided what that will be, I have decided that I'm going to attempt to write more. I used to update nearly daily, and I felt like I had a better hold on my life. Although that may very well have been due to that phase of my life, I think writing has generally helped ground me and keep me collected when dealing with the stress that's out in the open as well as the stress that sneaks up on me unawares. So that's what I'm trying to do this Lenten season. I'll try to make it worth the read.

Another Look Into the Archives

2010-11-23T21:27:00.002-05:00

Just another look back at some of my writings from college. It's funny how things in my life are still happening in a similar sort of pattern as they were over five years ago. I feel like a huge transformation started when I started college, and I've had a hard time making the transformation into adulthood post-college. Maybe I have already started the transformation, and I am just in the midst of the change that I can't see the change as it's happening.

Thursday, October 20, 2005

When I walk around on campus at Manchester, all I can do is smile. Even when it's nine in the morning and I am so tired that my eyes are barely open. I pass someone that I know or even someone I've only just seen before, and I can't help but smile. It seems that college has awakened me, and awakened the joy within my soul. But I'm not gonna lie, college has also brought me a great deal of pain...God really has brought me to a place where there are people that are loving and supporting me through the pain and joy of change. So many things are shaping my life and who I am. I don't see all of them as paticularly good, but they are definitely not all bad. The things in life that shape who you are going to be are the things that you should pay the most attention to. In the midst of all this change, I'm trying to find who I am and who I want to be.

And the Beat Goes On

2010-09-11T15:11:00.003-04:00

Just a snippet of an entry from one of my journals written after my sophomore year at Manchester.

"My undergraduate career is almost half over, and the person that I am now is far from the young lady I was the summer of 2005, and I'm sure that the woman I will become in another two years will be even more different. There's no way that I will be able to predict the woman that I will be when the summer of 2009 rolls around, but I'm sure that it will be full of many more amazing and not so amazing things."

On a night hike at camp the summer after my sophomore year.

I really am so different from the person I was when I graduated from college, but I am still so much the same.
I want the same things that I wanted then. I want to find love; I relish all the time I have with friends; I spend my time trying to share love with people who need to be feeling more love in their lives; I question my future and always want to know more about what's in store for me; I seek to understand before being understood; I find joy in music and fellowship; I find comfort in processing my thoughts and feelings through writing; I think a lot.
I am not in the place that I thought I would be right now, but I am content in where life has chosen to lead me. I have more than I need, but don't have all I desire which keeps me doing my best to find something better.

Friday the Thirteenth

2010-08-13T13:51:00.002-04:00

So it's been a while since I've taken the time to write. Mostly because I've been working and looking for a different job. There seems to be nothing and yet so much going on in my life all at the same time. The drama of life doesn't seem to be life changing or anything right now, but there's enough going on that is keeping me thinking and wondering "What if?" I feel like I'm back in college with the choices that I'm being faced with, and yet, my life seems so stagnant and unmoving. I'm still wanting those written directions on what I'm supposed to do with my life, but I don't think that kind of thing just shows up in the mail. So for now I'm trying things I might not normally try, but I'm being wary of guarding my heart and my future.

Work hard, Play hard

2010-05-11T13:05:00.002-04:00

I've found myself trying to do a lot of planning for the days that I have off work. I want to get the most out of the time I have to myself, especially now that the time is winding down where my best friends will be close enough to visit in an hour's drive. Having two days off in a row is definitely helpful, but often I find that the time is just not enough. I want to have time to have fun with my friends but I also need time to recuperate from working hard and playing hard.

Jiminy Cricket

2010-04-19T17:32:00.003-04:00

I know that it really is a good thing to have a conscience and all, but sometimes it seems a little harsh. I mean, I know the difference between right and wrong, but why does my body go all crazy on me when I chose to do something wrong? Does this happen to everyone, or just me?

Girl time

2010-01-13T17:31:00.002-05:00

I am so incredibly excited to reconnect with all my girls at the Chet this weekend! I have been needing some girl time lately, and I'm just so done with the stress of my life right now. Things are changing in my life, and it's clear that it's about time for that.

Inspired Again

2009-12-07T01:33:00.000-05:00

Distance haunts
Doubt condemns
Insecurity abounds
Tears swell
Words calm
Smiles comfort
Hope renewed

Thankfulness

2009-11-23T04:55:00.002-05:00

I am thankful for many things at this point in my life, but I think I'm going to focus on the things that I need to be more thankful for.

I have a car that runs and is reliable. I have a place to call home. I have people surrounding me everywhere who I know love me very much. I am never really alone when dealing with the stuggles of this life. I have a job that will help me get a start on paying off my student loans, and it's giving me experience in my field. I have hobbies that help me unwind and friends that let me blow off steam.

This year I am thankful for everything that I've been blessed with in the last 23 years.

Lily and me

2009-08-04T20:52:00.002-04:00

So this is my housemate for now. Lily and I mostly just chill and go on the occasional walk, and Lil usually naps while I go to work in Waynedale. It's been pretty lonely around the house, but it's been nice to see friends from the Chet and hang out with church people who have been kind enough to have me over without my parents. It is definitely nice to have a job now, not only to have some income, but also to have social contact and to get me up and going in the morning. I miss being able to go down the hall or even down the road to chat with friends, but it has made me value the connections that I do have in my life. I'll be ready for Mom to get back, though. It's rough just cooking for one.

Leavin on a Jet Plane

2009-07-01T09:53:00.000-04:00

Time for European Adventure number two!

Every new beginning...

2009-05-18T23:50:00.004-04:00

...comes from some other beginning's end.

These are lyrics from "Closing Time" by the band Semisonic, 1998. I have had this song in my head a lot lately, and the last line just seems to be tugging at me a lot lately. I can't believe it, but I'm actually going to be graduating from Manchester College this Sunday. I really am having a hard time realizing that I have been in college for four years and now it's my time to leave this stage of my life. I'm doing it, though. I'm getting my psychology degree. I did what I came to do.

I studied abroad in England for a semester. I was an RA for five semesters. I was in choir for four years. I served on executive boards in different campus clubs. I lived in a different room every year. I made a lot of really great friends. I made the Deans List more than once. I was inducted into Alpha Psi Omega, the theatre honor society and Psi Chi, the psychology honor society. I managed to maintain a social life in addition to having a job and being a pretty good student. I kept in touch with close friends from home while building friendships at MC.

at Mont Juic during my tour of Europe, 2008

So where do I go from here? I think that's the scariest and most emotional part of the end of this process. I'm glad to be embarking on a new beginning, but it's difficult knowing that I won't ever be back in this stage of my life in quite the same way. I will miss so many people in so many different ways, and I am terrified about having to go into this next stage of my life nearly alone. Maybe I'll feel differently about this on Sunday, but it just seems incredibly strange to be moving on from this place. I hope I don't feel so alone when this is all said and done.

Talkin bout Chi-town

2009-03-25T01:33:00.004-04:00

I've been in Chicago, Illinois since Saturday afternoon. I am staying with my brother and sister-in-law in their apartment in Flossmoor, and it's been a really good time so far. It's mostly been a lot of relaxing and sleeping in (which I have missed since I started my internship in January) but I've kept busy too. Sunday night we went to the Neo-futurists' "Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind" which I enjoyed quite a bit, because it was, after-all, alternative theatre. Today Kyle and I went downtown and went to the art museum where I immediately ran into four girls that live in my dorm. After the museum Kyle appeased my wishes to take countless pictures at Millenium Park in "the bean" and parouse tacky, cheap souvenir shops on Michigan Avenue. Taking the train and being downtown made me remember my travels from last spring, and I always remember just how much I love big cities.

the reflection of me and Kyle in the bean

Reflections

2009-01-15T23:05:00.002-05:00

It's been over a year since I arrived in Europe for my five plus months abroad.
I've finished the fall semester of my final year as an undergraduate.
I'm just beginning my internship on campus that is giving me my first real-life job experience.
The time of opera season has begun and I have a real role in the full opera we are performing.
I was in three weddings last year.

Life is moving so fast, and all of the sudden I feel that I'm becoming an adult. It really doesn't feel like I should be anything but a student, because it's all I've known for the past 15 and a half years. So I really have no idea what my life is gonna look like a year from now, or even five months from now. All I know is that the time is now, and I'm trying to live with no regrets. Here's to 2009!

Wedding Bells are Ringing

2008-12-27T08:51:00.003-05:00

Today, one of my best friends of all time is getting married. We've known each other since seventh grade, and now that she's graduated and is so obviously in love with the man who is about to become her husband, it's time for her to get married and start a life with Steve. I have realized that this doesn't mean that she's forgetting about the life she's had here, and that I will always be a part of her life, as she will forever be a part of mine; it's just that now I will have Steve as an extension of my friendship with her. Today, I am wishing them the very best!

Ben Folds A Cappella

2008-11-14T22:52:00.002-05:00

The Audiophiles covering a cappella "The Luckiest" by Ben Folds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5Va0kYndJU

The Audiophiles: Laura Dell, Casey Lambert, Katrina Kardys, Katy McFadden, Kacie Gauby, Daniel Myers-Bowman, Stephen Hendricks, and David Moan.

Featuring: Verse 1- Daniel and Kacie, Verse 2- Stephen and Katrina, Bridge- Kacie and Daniel, Verse 3- Casey and Kacie, All Chorus- Laura and Casey

Great job guys, it sounds awesome!

Good News

2008-11-13T14:16:00.001-05:00

Well, it seems that lots of people around here have been having bad news come their way, including me. So to help myself feel better I will post some good news: I passed my senior comprehensive exam! Actually, all of us passed, so that was pretty great to find out, too.

Jane Eyre...really?

2008-11-02T21:34:00.002-05:00

So today I had to leave my darling Lily Pup to go to a Jane Eyre rehearsal that was two and a half hours too long. From what I got out of the two and a half hour rehearsal the story is quite depressing and rather morbid. Chamber Singers was volunteered to help with this event with the high school choir and the community, and while I'm sure it will be a good musical production, it has not come at a good time. I will be missing a great deal of the election coverage, so that's really upsetting. Plus, the high school singers are horribly chatty, so that doesn't help my tolerance level. I definitely would have been more excited about this whole thing if it had come at a different time.

Puppy time!

2008-10-13T23:35:00.003-04:00

Lily is my mom's new puppy, and I must say that she is quite the sweetheart. I've only been able to spend a day and a half with her, but she's just too cute. She was pretty subdued the first day we had her, but after she recovered from being sick she perked up quite a bit. It's nice to have a puppy in the house again, but I know that it'll be much nicer and less stressful once she's house trained. She's definitely bringing lots of love and energy to the house, and it will be nice to spend some more time with her this weekend when I'm home for Fall Break. It's been a stressful semester so far, and while it'll be nice to be past midterms, I'm just ready for everything to just slow down. I'm definitely ready to have an extended break from classes to have time with my family, including little Miss Lily.

Roller coasters

2008-09-22T16:53:00.002-04:00

Lately I've been on a few roller coasters. I'm not sure exactly what is prompting it, but something is causing me to feel like I'm on a bit of an emotional roller coaster. I've been more weepy than normal and don't have a poignant reason for this fairly sudden change. I've been very happy and content for the most part, but I start doubting my plans for the future and then all sorts of other stressors come into play.

I've also been on a work load roller coaster. Luckily, I am in a downswing right now, but I can see that the climb is not far off, and the next drop is unclear at the moment. The last week was a constant climb, so this lull in my workload is greatly appreciated right now. I'm just hoping to survive this ride without throwing up all over myself.

Culture shock, coming right up!

2008-09-06T21:49:00.002-04:00

I haven't experienced an insane amount of culture shock yet, but I have definitely noticed a large amount of differences. Plus, I miss my housemates like crazy! There's a lot of academic differences from England, and while it's nice to have more structure now it seems like I have ridiculous amounts of homework.

Blogger's Block

2008-08-19T00:07:00.001-04:00

I have stuff going on in my life, for sure, but I've just not been able to sit down and collect my thoughts enough to add a significant entry. I'm sorry about that.

You're my sunshine

2008-08-05T00:27:00.003-04:00

Friendship has become one of the most important parts of my life.

I was reminded of this when I checked my cell phone this evening after class and discovered that I had missed a call and I had a new voice mail message. As I listened to the message I was comforted by the concern and love that was easily expressed by a dear friend of mine. We haven't seen each other since before I left to go to England, and my friend spent all of last year in Mexico, so we haven't really been able to spend a lot of quality time together. It seems unreal, but somehow I still felt extremely close to my friend even when we were an ocean apart. We were able to stay connected through the shared experience of studying abroad, although our experiences were far different.
What prompted the phone call this evening is why friendship means so much to me. Merely the gesture that my friend took the time to call me and make sure that I was doing alright meant so much to me tonight. I love you, Nicolas.

Nick is just one example of how friends of mine impact my life. I am so blessed to have such amazing people in my life.

How I spent my summer vacation...

2008-08-03T01:00:00.002-04:00

Anyone that heard about what I went through this week would not imagine that so many things could happen in one week.

I got locked out of the house I was dogsitting at 4:30am and thus slept in my car for five hours before having my youth pastor's husband help me break into the house; there was a fire in my house; someone charged over $700 from my banking account, so I had to spend a lot of time at the bank and filed my first police report; my room has not cleaned itself nor has the book I'm supposed to be reading read itself; I haven't really slept a whole lot; my tan isn't what I want it to be; I haven't heard from many of my friends in far too long, and time is running out on my summer.

I am ready for a semi-relaxing week now. This week is the last week of my history class, so I really need to bear down and do well on my paper and on the final this Thursday. I know a lot of these things aren't really that stressful, but it just seems that everything piles on and sneaks up on me and then I'm totally overwhelmed. I'm just praying for patience and understanding this week.

School Daze

2008-07-23T00:26:00.002-04:00

My friend Mandy grew up in the town where I now attend college. I told her this evening that I cannot wait to go back, and she most definitely laughed at that. It is strange that I have fallen in love with a tiny town just fifty minutes away from my home, but it is true. There isn't much to the actual town really, but it's the campus that makes me long to be back there as soon as possible! It's going to be so strange going back knowing that this will be my last year there, but I'm hoping it will make me make the most of opportunities and not dwell on the sadness of another phase of my life coming to a transition. As the Newsies so wonderfully inspired me as a child, I will remember to seize the day.

Shower time!

2008-07-14T11:31:00.004-04:00

Another bridal shower!

Me and my future sister-in-law, Melissa

This one was quite a bit different from the last one, but it was definitely fun! First, this was my future sister-in-law's shower, so when we got there I got to be introduced to each table as the groom's sister, which was just fine. I met most of the bridesmaids, and they are all lovely girls with a wide range of personalities. It was really good to meet them and get to know them a little bit.

My traveling buddies: Sheri, Mom, Myra and Betsy

The shower was in Chicago, so that meant that for the 1pm shower we left Fort Wayne around 9:30am. The ride wasn't too bad, but the accelerating and stopping for so many stoplights was getting to my stomach before too long. We stopped for lunch which turned out to be entirely unnecessary because they fed us some amazing stuff at the winery. The ride back was a little better, but I took some Dramamine just for good measure.

Kyle stopped by the shower to help open gifts and load up the gifts, and I got the task of taking pictures with his camera. I hope that some of the pictures came out, because most of the pictures were turning out blurry. I took a lot, so I'm thinking there will be some that will be okay.

The fam at the shower: me, Kyle (my bro), Melissa and Mom

So that's two showers down, one to go for the rest of this calendar year. I'm hoping I won't pull camera duty at Jenny's. I'll be getting to know her bridesmaids too, since I think I only know a few of them. 'Tis the year of weddings!

The Politics of Education

2008-07-11T17:24:00.002-04:00

Quick question: Why is there so much political process involved in the institutions of higher education?

I'm getting sick of it. That's all.

Name Change

2008-07-02T23:35:00.003-04:00

I've been home for a full month now, so I decided it was time to change the name of the blog. Since I am no longer on the "across the pond" I figured it would be a little misleading considering almost all of my readers are from the USA. So now it's "Beyond the Pond" and I'm beginning to discover what that is going to mean for me.

So far beyond the pond hasn't been too horribly challenging. I've been able to spend some quality time with close friends, sort out some of my academic frustrations, AND I finally sang at church with one of the praise bands again. It's been over six months since I had sung with any organized group, but somehow singing at church isn't quite the same as singing at MC. I've missed choir so much, so I'm really hoping that it will feel like I haven't missed out on too much.

I'm still nervous about adjusting to campus, but there's definitely some exciting things to be looking forward to by the middle of August. There's RA training, everyone moving back to campus and off-campus housing, and of course, the real football season! No, I'm not talking about MCs quarterbacks and runningmen. I'm talking about the men that make awesome tackles and have impressive footwork. My time in England just increased my love for soccer, and I can't wait to go to the home games this season!

Just for old time's sake, a pic of me at Wembley stadium at the USA/England football friendly!

Summer School

2008-06-30T20:48:00.002-04:00

5:30-7:50pm; Monday, Tuesday and Thursday; CM 112; HIST106: American History Since 1877
Everything about this class had boredom written all over it, but somehow, the academic powers that be have taken mercy on me and have delivered me into the land of plenty.

Okay, that last part my be a bit of a stretch, but so far my summer class has been much better than I was expecting. I was thinking an old woman would be drudging through the history of the United States, and I would have a really hard time staying focused on anything related to the class. Luckily, nearly the opposite has occurred. A fairly young man is teaching and is a really good lecturer. So for the first time since eighth grade, I am not dreading going to history class.

Rain Showers and Bridal Showers!

2008-06-25T15:16:00.005-04:00

There aren't too many things that made me laugh harder than Grandma picking out the skimpy black thong for Candace at her shower. I didn't get too many pictures at the shower, because I was the designated gift secretary. I also wasn't feeling so great by the end of things, so that didn't help much either. But hey, one shower down, two to go for this year.

A bunch of old ladies playing with underwear...fun times.

The Bride to be with the task of deciding who bought which panties.

In other shower related news, it rained incredibly hard today at the most random and sudden times. I had almost forgotten how strange Indiana rains can be, but today reminded me very quickly. I drove through a torrential downpour in a matter of three minutes and then returned to rain in less than half an hour while I was eating lunch with one of the girls that I am nannying this summer.

Fitting

2008-06-15T22:51:00.006-04:00

So it's honesty time. I am terrified of going back to Manchester. Yes, I am excited and can't wait to go back, but honestly, I am terrified. Now why, may you ask am I terrified? Is it because I'm not wanting to get back to actual classes with actual homework and actual schedules? NO! I can't wait for those things! It's because I'm terrified I won't have my place anymore. I know, that's a horrible cliche that Manchester has over-marketed, but it's true. I am more afraid of not having the same social connections than I am of actually graduating. Wow, that's another horrible fear of mine! I'm not ready to graduate. Luckily, I have a year to get over that, and I'm sure I will be ready when the time comes. I just have to remind myself that there are so many people for me at MC that will make sure to move things around so that I will fit.

Like this wonderful man...

...and this amazing woman who has more than enough experience to relate with me...

...and this fantastic lady that is full of understanding...

...and this girl who is more like my sister than my coworker...

...and these girls who I could not live without...

...and this guy who I could talk to for hours...

...and the greatest boss/friend I could ever ask for...

...and a big sister that is sticking around MC for a little while longer...

I'm so lucky to have all of these people on my side, but it still makes going back pretty scary. I know I will be anxious before I leave, and I'm sure that I will be REALLY nervous on move-in day, but I just have to take comfort in all of these people that love and support me. It really makes me cherish and miss my girls from England.

What would I do and who would I be without these crazyheads?

I owe all of these amazing people so much for the ways in which they've touched my life, and this is just scratching the surface. I know that there are people that I have missed since I've been gone on my worldwind adventure, and I just wanted to thank you all for the way that you have made a difference in my life. I love you and would not be who I am today without you.

So this is home

2008-06-02T10:14:00.003-04:00

Well, after more than five months I am finally back home in good old Fort Wayne. It has been quite the adventure, but I am sure glad to be back!

The last few days I explored London on my own and with Christine. We made it to Abbey Road in the England drizzle (something I won't miss so much).

Now that I am home and feeling the pain of five months in Europe on my bank account. I start my nannying gig on Wednesday to alleviate my debt to my parents, and I am thankful for a job that I know I will love this summer.

Back home again in Indiana

2008-06-01T10:24:00.000-04:00

I'M HOME! I'M HOME! I'M HOME!

I wanna go home

2008-05-30T15:21:00.000-04:00

I'm headed home in less than 24 hours!!!

Seven is my new favourite number!

2008-05-29T07:15:00.003-04:00

The game last night at Wembley Stadium was absolutely amazing! We were there from around 6:30pm or so until after 10pm, but I swear it felt like Christine and I were only there for five minutes. It was such an amazing experience, and the guy that sat next to Christine was really nice to us. The game itself wasn't particularly exciting, but the atmosphere of being with over 71,000 people is pretty intense. Our seats were absolutely fantastic!

I'm home in TWO DAYS!!!

London Take 2

2008-05-28T06:54:00.002-04:00

Well, life does not always go accourding to plan. Long story short, I am safe and have a place to stay. I am also a pro at using the tube now. Tonight is the USA/England soccer/football match at Wembley and I am definitely looking forward to that! After tonight I would like the next few days to fly by so that I can get home! I miss everything so much!

The Neverending Coach Ride

2008-05-24T17:51:00.003-04:00

Hello from Glasgow, Scotland! After a long coach ride (over 10 hours), a wonderful dinner (Hawaiian pizza), and an excrutiating walk to find our hostel (a story for another time and free internet) I am finally relaxing in Glasgow in the lounge of our hostel.

Happy Birthday, Mom! I love you and can't wait to see you NEXT Saturday!

Wales of a Tale and Gloucester too!

2008-05-18T11:31:00.006-04:00

What a wonderful weekend! I am so lucky to have had one of my best friends from home with me in Cheltenham for the weekend!

Me and Christine having a pint together at the Student Union Bar at Francis Close Hall Campus Friday night.

Saturday was busy, busy, busy! Wales was A-MAZ-ING! It just made it a million times better that I was able to experience it all with one of my best friends. :) We took the train from Cheltenham to Cardiff early Saturday; went to the castle where we took lots of wonderful pictures; checked out the shopping in Cardiff; caught a train early evening; got Fish and Chips; went to the Park SU Bar, and then finally crashed for the night back at the house.

Christine and me before the tour of Cardiff Castle

This morning we went to Gloucester and got to the cathedral just as they were preparing for communion, so we sat through a bit of the service and stayed through the end. There were boys and men singing for the service and it was one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. The people at the church were also incredibly friendly, and Christine and I had a lovely conversation with a lady while we had tea and biscuits after the service. Then we walked around the rest of the cathedral and took pictures- Christine was pretty excited because they filmed parts of the Harry Potter movies in the hallways. The church was enormous! We walked by the old docks of the city and low-and-behold they were having boat races and there was some kind of carnival type thing set up for the kids and such; it was really neat so we watched for a bit. We got on a bus back to Cheltenham; took some pictures in town, and got back to the house with enough time to cook up some lunch before Christine had to get back to the bus station.

Christine in front of the fountain in town

It has been a wonderful weekend, but now I am absolutely exhausted! I need a nap, but I need to study this evening for the exam that I have tomorrow.

Mother Nature, what were you thinking?!?!?!

2008-05-16T13:38:00.003-04:00

We have had some pretty amazing weather the last couple weeks, and all of the sudden, yesterday and today are horrible! I'm talking about going from warm sunny days to dreary cold nightmares. Okay, it isn't quite that bad, but when I was walking to campus yesterday I could see my breath!

Last night we had a surprise thank you dinner for our BCA program coordinators, and they were honest-to-goodness surprised. I was glad that we were able to thank them in a way that they didn't expect, because they have definitely been wonderful to us for the semester. It was a good night.

If you can't see the resemblance between me and the burglar on the plate...well, maybe you just had to be there.

Tesco, I will miss you

2008-05-13T13:14:00.002-04:00

Josie, Katie and I recently returned from the large Tesco where I probably spent more than I needed to but now have hoards of food to choose from for my meals instead of PB & J or a ham wrap/sandwich. I will still be eating lots of the aforementioned sandwiches anyways, but at least it's not my only option anymore. I have gotten better at grocery shopping, but I need to make lists when I go home instead of just browsing the aisles. I know that grocery stores at home have TONS more variety than the stores here in the UK, but somehow I will miss the inconvenience and high prices of the dear Tesco I have grown to know and love.

Let the sun shine!

2008-05-08T17:51:00.004-04:00

Today was an incredibly beautiful day. I got up around 10am or so and sat around in my room doing nothing in paticular. I got lunch and started my wash around noon, and then went to campus with Josie to return books I had checked out for my first psychology final. We then went to the park down the road from us where are housemates were already laying out in the sun. I spent a good two and a half hours there before I got utterly bored and decided to head back to the house to get some work done. I didn't actually accomplish anything noteworthy mind you, but I did get some things done none-the-less.

If the weather stays this nice I will not be motivated to study for my last final which is on May 19, and I really must do well, because the English grading system is ridiculously crazy. I won't have any time to study the weekend before it, because Christine and I are going to Scotland! That's right, one of my very best friends from home is now studying in England, and she and I are traveling together on the weekends! Next weekend we are spending a day in Wales, (Cardiff, I think) and the weekend after that will be the wonderful Scotland (Glasgow and Inverness to Loch Ness)- both trips are bound to b super-wonderful!

PS: In case you couldn't tell, I'm super-excited to see Christine! She will be a piece of home for me, and I am in desperate need of some home. It will be hard to leave here, but coming home to the summer that I have lined up will make it a lot easier. I cannot wait for the journey to continue!

Princess at the Ball

2008-05-04T17:59:00.004-04:00

Summer Ball was last night. It was tons of fun, but I'm really exhausted from it. I will write more about it later this week, but for now I will just put up a couple pictures.

Erin, me, Josie and Kyll in front of the house before heading off to Summer Ball

Me and Kyll

Wait...it's May?

2008-05-02T11:13:00.003-04:00

I am almost in disbelief that it is indeed May. I will be boarding a plane from London to return to the Indiana on May 31. I am torn between how I feel about this. I feel as if I have been in England forever, and on the other hand it seems like I just left the States. I miss home and everyone there, but I really have grown to love England, my housemates and the other people that I've met here. This whole feeling has been extremely surreal, and I'm just waiting to wake up in my room back home for Christmas to start and my real life to commence where this alternate reality has been playing out. Anyways, I'll be home soon, and in the meantime I'll be enjoying my time here in England.

Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day...

2008-04-27T09:55:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I journeyed with 24 other Americans to Stratford-Upon-Avon. Our group is slowly dwindling from 30; one has already gone home, another is set to leave at the beginning of May, and many of the group were traveling this weekend so to make up for that we had a lot of visitors on our trip this weekend. It was strange...a lot of the Messiah College students had visitors at the same time, and it's almost time for finals back home. I know that at least one of the guests was visiting from another study abroad program, but it just floors me how others can afford to fly from the States (not just financially but academically as well). Anyways, Stratford was pretty cool, although I must say that I enjoy the one in Canada a bit more than the original, which I hope Nicolas will be happy to hear. Regardless of my preference it was a lovely visit, and I enjoyed the day. The weather was nice, but it was far too hot and times and quite chilly at other times. This week I will be hitting the books to begin preparing for my two exams: let the games begin!

Clockwise(ish) from left: Jesse, Andrea, Chelsea, Martina, me and Shauna in the sculpture park at Anne Hathaway's Cottage

Blue Skies Smilin' at Me

2008-04-24T19:35:00.003-04:00

I have known for a while that the weather has a powerful impact on my mood. I know that if I am not in a particular mood it is the weather that will make or break me. I know that a good mood can be lessened by bad weather, and I know that good weather can brighten a bad mood slightly. I know that I like to relax and take it easy after I've been working hard at something, but I get bored too much non-activity. I have discovered this because I am growing more anxious after feeling somewhat cooped up in the house all week.

I have been relaxing from school work since I finished my horrendous paper Sunday night and finally turned it in Monday afternoon, but I can only stand so much time in a house. I took a walk Tuesday afternoon and basked in the glorious weather that we were having over here. It was warm enough for me to walk around in capris and a jacket, so that's just what I did. I walked around campus and out to a park that's just down the road from our house and took some pictures.

I feel artsy whenever I have my camera and am not at a specific event or in a tourist location, so I took quite a few pictures of everyday life type things. The picture above is one of the two massive trees that is in the park down the road; Clarence Square. It's a tiny park, and it just makes the trees look that much larger. The lower branches of these trees reach down to the ground almost as if they want a hug, and it makes me feel like one of those illustrated children in a Shel Silverstein book.

In unrelated news, I will be going to visit Stratford-upon-Avon Saturday, and I cannot wait! I'm upset that I can't see a play while I'm there, but I really would have only enjoyed one of the comedies or Hamlet, and none of those are playing now anyway.

Moving time!

2008-04-23T10:57:00.003-04:00

Okay, no one freak out! I'm not moving to England nor is my family moving from Fort Wayne (as far as I know). The move which I'm speaking of is my move to Garver first floor that will take place next August. My boss just told me my floor placement, and while I'm upset that I'm not going to be with the girls on GW3 it is a blessing. I will get to meet a whole new floor of girls, and my family will really appreciate that there are only 17 steps to first floor, as opposed to the 44 that were quite tiring during move-in and move-out this year. I'm really looking forward to building a closer community with the girls that will be on the floor next year.

Hug a Tree...and a person or two!

2008-04-22T10:22:00.003-04:00

Today is Earth Day, which is not only a wonderful day because we need to remember that nature is pretty rockin-awesome, but also because it is the birthday of two of my favorite people. Happy birthday Shannon and Betsy! I love you both and can't wait to catch up with you when I get back.

When it rains it pours!

2008-04-20T19:16:00.002-04:00

It is raining INCREDIBLY hard right now. It's kind of ridiculous. I'm used to Indiana rain that lasts weeks without sunshine, but here it showers and is over in a matter of half an hour or less. As of now it has been raining for a good solid hour or more.

On a weather related metaphor, I have been horribly homesick since I got back from my three week tromp around Europe. It started with my tickle of a cough that started to become annoying during the middle of week three. By the time I was home I was coughing violently and have actually caused substantial damage to one of my left ribs in the process which hurts like none other. The damage to my ribs and continued coughing spells have resulted in an undesirably painful week and a half. The coughing ceases at times but has not stopped altogether. For the most part I have been improving, but the lingering effects are just frustrating. I've been taking ibuprofen for the pain and subsequent fever, cough syrup, and have demolished five packs of cough drops in a matter of about three days. On top of my physical sickness I had been having problems with my computer and after a three foot fall to a concrete floor (I did not touch it, it just fell) my laptop has refused to start up. The diagnosis does not appear to be very positive, but I am still hoping to retrieve my pictures from my time here. I have many of the pictures online, but I still would like to have the folders and such that I have on my computer.

On a lighter note, my final paper of the semester is nearly finished! I only need 100 more words, and that should come quite easily in my conclusion paragraph. It seems that this paper has taken forever to write, but I have gotten all the actual writing done in less than two days. It was all the extra research that I did that took so much time. I hope that added time works out for the best.

It will be nice to be done with all of my papers, but I always feel really accomplished after writing one for the classes over here. I feel like if I wrote something this long for a class at home I would ace it with flying colors, but here it's harder to tell. The papers I have gotten back so far have been really good marks, but they were not for any of my psychology classes, so I don't know if I'll have a better or harder time with the grading system for those papers. After this paper I have two exams and then I am done with my academic semester here in England! My first exam is May 7 and my last one is May 19, so the scheduling of those worked out quite nicely to allow ample time for me to study. I'm hoping to motivate myself enough for some quality essay writing. The exam style brings me back to my high school days at Canterbury, and I'm hoping that's a good thing.

More Technical Difficulties

2008-04-17T19:29:00.001-04:00

My computer may have died. I'm not quite sure yet. Updates from here on out may be limited.

Technical Difficulties

2008-04-16T19:08:00.002-04:00

It was lovely SKYPE-ing with those of you at the church this evening. Technology is a wonderful thing, but it has definitely proven itself difficult these past couple weeks. Since I returned from Easter break the internet at the house has been less than reliable. It comes and goes and we are kicked off our network and immediately switched over to our neighbors, and often we just go without for hours at a time. Skype is not immune from this glitch, and as much as I am grateful for this convenient tool, I can't help but wish that it was just a little bit better with the call connection. It would just be nice to be able to talk on it without worrying about a dropped call. Such is the technological world.

In other difficult parts of my life, I have been sick for the past couple weeks. It seems to be just a cold, but when I cough, I cough really hard, and I injured a rib in some way, so that has been a little added pain that I've been dealing with and today has been the worst it's hurt. I have been taking lots of medicine for my various symptoms, but the pain from my ribs has definitely been the most intolerable of all. I will do my best to take it easy, but I need to go to class tomorrow afternoon, and I should probably work on my paper at some point. If I didn't have to worry about either of those things I would probably just be sitting in bed reading and watching movies to baby the pain, but the lecture tomorrow will cover what the exam is likely to be over, so I definitely don't want to miss that.

Believe it or not I will be done with all of my schoolwork on April 19. I will spend the rest of my time here enjoying Cheltenham and perhaps seeing some more of the British countryside. I am looking forward to coming home, but I must remember to enjoy the time that I have here.

Home Sweet Cheltenham

2008-04-10T07:49:00.002-04:00

Well, I've been back in Cheltenham, England for a few days now, and I'm so glad to be back. It really has become my home away from home, much as Manchester is my home close to home. All of the girls have returned home to the Purple House, and it really is just great to be back with this special "family" of mine. I don't know how I would have gotten through this semester without them, because they are all so amazing!

The whole Purple House family: Erin, Josie, Kylleen, me and Katie

My European Adventure

2008-04-08T06:06:00.014-04:00

I started my trip with a visit to my dear friend Melissa in Barcelona, Spain. It was certainly a great start to the trip, and it was absolutely wonderful to be able to spend the weekend her. Melissa is one of my closest friends from Manchester, and she was a most excellent tour guide. We saw:
the Christopher Columbus statue (he is pointing to America, but I'm not sure if it's accurately positioned or not)
the highest point in the city (four Ancient Roman columns are still intact and on display in a small cove beside the plaque denoting the elevation point)
Los Ramblas (a cute street with live human statues, a flower market and endless amounts of souvenir shops)
Park Guell (my absolute favorite with Gaudi art everywhere and beautiful views of the city)
Mont Juic (the palace now houses an art museum)
the Cathedral (the garden inside had palm trees!)
Sagrada Familia (the church/temple has been under construction for centuries and will never be used for an actual house of worship)
tons of street performers (a group of break dancers was the most notable)
the old bull fighting arena (just the outside)
the park of the victory arch (it seems that every major European city has one of these)
TWO OF MY HOUSEMATES!!! (we ran into Kylleen, Erin, and Erin's sister Katie on our way out of the park)
and THE BEACH! (too cold to swim or even wade, but I stuck my feet in and played in the sand)

Here I am up at Mont Juic with the city behind me.

Next up was France! My friend from high school, Rosie, is studying in Aix-en-Provence in Southern France, so I was able to spend 6 days with her. I couldn't get enough of the Mediterranean blue skies. It was fairly cold while I was there, and the day trip to Paris didn't give us very good weather. I did go to the Louvre, and it was really quite an enjoyable museum. I wasn't in so much awe of the Mona Lisa as I was with Venus and many other sculptures. I have discovered a love for sculptures that seemed to start with my visit to Vigelandsparken (the sculpture park) in Oslo, Norway. The Eiffel Tower was pretty amazing, but I just wish we would have had better weather to enjoy the day.

In front of the Louvre. I'm glad I brought my winter coat with me!

From France we flew to Rome! Now to be honest, the worst day of the entire trip was Easter Sunday when we got into Rome. The flight was easily the worst flight I have ever been on, and I was so flustered from the flight that I left my purse on the plane. I realized it soon enough to get it back, but that was a little too much "excitement" for me for one day. Getting to the housing for the night was another stressful "adventure" and I broke down at the bus stop. I was missing home. I knew that my closest friends from home would all be at church, and I really missed all of them. I just needed to cry, so I let myself go and felt better by the end of the day.
The next day was sightseeing and the weather was wonderful! It was just the change I needed, and I ended up loving the city. I was constantly reminded of the history and importance of everything around me. The Vatican was also amazing, and my visit to Rome ended well.

On our tour bus in front of the Coliseum.

I took a train from Rome to Milan and then a flight from Milan to Prague, Czech Republic. Andrea (a friend of mine from high school) has been studying in Prague for the semester, and I was able to stay with her for about 6 days as well. It was wonderful staying at her apartment. The flat had lots of visitors that week, so I spent one night on the floor, but it wasn't too bad for only one night. The city is incredibly large, and I know that I didn't see all that Prague has to offer, but I fell in love on the second day I was there. The second day was the day I discovered Old Town Square. There was an Easter market still set up with food and souvenirs, but most importantly food. Chocolate covered fruit and marzipan were my sweets of choice and a pastry-type thing that I had on the last day in a different area of town was absolutely amazing. The pastry is dough wrapped around a metal pole that is roasted over a fire and then rolled in cinnamon, sugar and almonds. It was delicious hot off the fire! We walked up millions of stairs to Prague Castle (not as impressive as the English ones), and we also walked across the Charles Bridge. We went through the Franz Kovka museum (very interesting although the set up was quite strange) and also saw the John Lennon wall. I loved simply sitting on the benches in Olde Town to people watch. The facades of the buildings looked like set pieces from a movie. I felt like I was on a movie set for a week, and I loved it!

The Charles Bridge is on the right in the background.

Prague was difficult to fly out of, so a flight to London Stansted and an evening in the Radisson was a lovely break from the norm. I took a nap, had a wonderful bath and watched the Manchester United/Roma game on the television. There were quite a few episodes of Nickolodeon shows that served as wonderful time passers. After a night of sleep it was back to the airport and on to Amsterdam!

Amsterdam was quite as I remembered it when we first got there. I legitimately remembered exactly where I was. I had been near the train station when Fran and family and I had gone on our canal boat tour, and when I was back at the station I recognized the area like it had been yesterday, instead of the three months that had actually passed. (Wow, I can't believe I've been gone so long!) So a tram ride later and after check in at the hostel it is on to exploring the city. After getting lost for quite a while I found a lovely cafe right next door to the Anne Frank House museum. I got a Snapple, used the bathroom, and got online for a while (the bathroom and internet were free to paying customers). I then ordered a tomato, mozzarella, and pesto panini and it was wonderful! Amsterdam was a much different city this time around. I saw the red light district, the Van Gough museum, stayed in a hostel with a smoking bar downstairs, and did some wonderful (although probably unnecessary) souvenir shopping.

I'm between the "I" and "am"...pretty cool art if you ask me.

Onto Northern Ireland to see Brandon! In the airport in Amsterdam a lovely couple offered to get us from Belfast to Derry, because that's where they were from. It was about 10pm or so and we got into Derry to the student village just before midnight. The weather was all over the place, much like the Indiana weather that I'm used to, but much colder than that time of year. It was good to catch up with Brandon, and although my sickness decided to pummel me during the weekend, Brandon was also experiencing some congestion and coughing, so we were sick together. I had some Guinness with my dinner one night and heard some genuine Irish music at a couple pubs while I was there.

Billy and Faye Gallagher, the lovely couple from the airport.

So that, in a somewhat short way, was my three weeks traveling around Europe. Of course there are things that I would liked to have changed, but I worked with the hand that I was dealt. It was an eye-opening experience, and I definitely learned a lot about myself. I hope I will be able to return to some of these places again sometime, but for now they remain a treasured memory of my semester across the pond.

Spring Break so far

2008-03-19T07:29:00.003-04:00

The places I've seen in the past few days have been truly beautiful and amazing. I won't go into much detail now, because I don't have much time, but once I return to Cheltenham you can count on some substantial entries about my journeys.

Me at Mont Juic (with other tourists in the background)

Barcelona...numero uno

2008-03-14T18:30:00.003-04:00

Tiff and I have made it safely to continental Europe! Our hostel is located in a strange part of the building but a convenient part of town. It has free internet, so that´s a huge plus!

We arrived in Barcelona and Melissa was waiting for us at the airport! I can´t express in writing how amazing it was to see her and how great it will be having her as our personal tour guide this weekend. Travelling has gone pretty smoothly, but without Melissa today I think Barcelona would have been a little tricky to maneuver alone. Tomorrow we will be seeing the city with Melissa. I think we are seeing the mountain and the palace. I´m sure we will find more than enough things to do.

We had McDonald´s for dinner. I know, I know, that´s too American, BUT I ordered my meal IN SPANISH! So that was pretty exciting. We will be experiencing more authentic Spanish food tomorrow for sure.

Easter Vacation

2008-03-13T04:31:00.002-04:00

The Itinerary for my journey across Europe:
March 14-17 Barcelona, Spain
March 17-23 Aix en Provence, France
March 23-25 Rome, Italy
March 25-26 Rome to Milan, Italy
March 26-April 1 Prague, Czech Republic
April 1-2 London, England
April 2-3 Amsterdam, Netherlands
April 3-6 Londonderry, Northern Ireland

I will update as I am able. It should be a great trip!

Stones, Salisbury, Ships and Shoes

2008-03-09T16:33:00.008-04:00

Stones...

Salisbury:

The Cathedral holds one of the four copies of the Magna Carta, but we didn't have enough time to look inside.

Ships...

the coast at Portsmouth: SO COLD, but the ships were quite lovely. We went on a tour of an old ship, and I definitely learned a lot.

and SHOES!

Portsmouth had an outlet mall where I found two pairs of Pumas for an incredibly reasonable price!

Just sleep

2008-03-07T18:00:00.003-05:00

I turned in my enormous psychology paper yesterday afternoon, and it ended up being 18 pages with all of my appendixes and the written analysis. It's crazy that I actually wrote all of that for one paper, but I felt extremely accomplished after I turned it in. So accomplished in fact, that today I not only slept in, but I also took a lovely nap this afternoon. It's been a very unproductive day, and this weekend is a BCA trip with my program to Stonehenge and Portsmouth, so I won't be getting work done until Monday anyhow. I have picked up five books from the library, so once I dig into those I should be able to get some solid work done to be ready to turn it in Thursday since we leave Friday for Easter vacation!

Norway: Part Two

2008-03-05T09:00:00.008-05:00

Oslo in Pictures...

The second day was a WONDERFUL day! We slept in and headed to the sculpture park on the other side of town. We ended up getting a day pass on the tram, so we took that around everywhere all day (definitely worth the money). We made it to the park and spent an hour or so there, and I really loved it! I could tell that Tiff wasn't really enjoying it, but I didn't let that affect my experience. I took tons of pictures, and the artsy part of me can't wait to see more sculpture parks in Europe and then maybe find some in the States when I get back.

There was a waffle stand outside the park and we hadn't had anything to eat yet, so Tiff and I got waffles, which were really more like French crepes in waffle form. We had raspberry jelly on them and they were sooo good! I thought I got orange juice, but it turned out to be orange flavored soda, but we haven't had much of that here in England, so it was still really tasty.

We hopped back on the tram and headed to the Nobel Peace Center, which was a really amazing museum. We spent an hour there, and I loaded up on gifts in the museum shop. We took the tram back to the hostel (I swear we rode it around the entire city of Oslo) and asked the guy at the desk how to get to the restaurant we were planning on going to that night. He gave us directions and we went out in search of the bus station so that we knew how to get back there in the morning to get back to the airport.

Nobel Peace Center

We got back on the tram and went to Karl Johans square where we ate at HARD ROCK CAFE!!!! I had an amazing quesadilla and splurged on the most delicious chocolate mousse cake ever. The waitress spoke English, so that was a plus, too.

The delicious chocolate cake

Most people we met spoke some English, especially people in service-related jobs, but the first night at the little restaurant was definitely a situation that got lost in translation somewhere. Okay, so Hard Rock was awesome, and after that we rode the tram back to the hostel, which was another trip around the city.

The outside of our hostel

The second night we had a guy from Poland, some guy from London and two Chinese exchange teachers living in London. We spent the remainder of the night talking to them and I wrote a couple post cards before I went to bed.

Kind of blurry, but my bed was the one closest to the window. Not too bad for a hostel.

We woke up early Sunday morning and managed to make it back safely to Cheltenham a little after 10pm. It's strange how Cheltenham has become another one of my homes away from home, and it was really great to see my housemates when I got back.

Norway: Part One

2008-03-03T13:08:00.004-05:00

Basically, Norway was amazing! I'm really busy this week, so this will be a two part post at least.

Just outside the Torp Airport, two hours away from Oslo.

When we arrived at the airport it really wasn't much colder than it had been here in England. There was some snow on the ground, but not as much as there is back home right now. I had packed for the extreme cold and it was only chilly, but I'm glad I was more prepared rather than the other way. It just meant that my backpack was packed to the max, but it all worked out alright.

The first day we were in Oslo was pretty uneventful, minus the side account of getting lost on our way to the hostel. We weren't lost for very long, but the girl I was with was getting a bit grumpy about the whole thing. We ended up making it to the hostel well before our check-in time, and I guess you can't check in until after your time, so we just sat around in the lobby reading a booklet about what there was to do in Oslo.

We checked into our room (it was pretty nice for the little money that we were paying) and we just relaxed most of the evening. We hadn't slept much the night before because we stayed in the airport overnight to catch our 6:30am plane, so we took a nice nap before dinner time and then went down the street to a little pizza and calzone place. The pizza was alright but nothing special.
We got back to the room and chatted it up with our roommates for the evening- an Iranian man and a guy from Melbourne, Australia. They both spoke English (clearly the one from Australia would) so it was cool to talk to them for a little bit before we went to bed. I woke up at 1am and couldn't sleep, so I just listened to some music on my ipod before I finally fell asleep around 3am or so.

EARTHQUAKE!!!!

2008-02-27T07:33:00.004-05:00

No, this is not about the fun icebreaker game we play during RA summer training, but that is one of my favorites, for sure.

Anyways, England experienced an earthquake last night just before one in the morning. The quake may have caused millions of pounds of damage, but luckily only one injury has been reported and no deaths. Preliminary readings have put it at about a 5.2 on the Richter scale, and this is the first quake of this size in the last 20 years or so. All of the girls in the house felt it, but we were all thoroughly confused as to what was going on. It's nice to know that it was an earthquake and not that our radiator was going to blow.

The site of the quake is the red dot/star, and I live by the purple dot.

A Good Day

2008-02-25T20:51:00.002-05:00

the smoke alarms went off before my set alarm went off
lunch took longer than expected
I finished my resume for the Senior RA position
I started working on my cover letter for the same job
the stain came out of my University hooded sweatshirt
my laundry is done but not put away
I successfully maneuvered the bus to and from Park Campus
I got a free drink at the SU bar on campus
we got food money
I've been listening to great music courtesy of my housemates from itunes shared music
I got a great message from a friend that I totally wasn't expecting
another friend reminded me of an inside joke that always makes me smile
I've been able to chat with some friends from home

Cinderella

2008-02-23T19:42:00.005-05:00

My mom has this strange way of sending me e-mails that hit my heart. This almost always results in tears running down my face. She managed to pick out the song that my father will not be able to get out of dancing to with me at my wedding reception. I'm not sure if that's ironic at all, but I'm really thinking there's no real way that he will be able to say no to a song that had me in tears this evening after a wonderful day in London. Don't worry, the tears weren't hurting tears, and this strange gift that my mom has isn't a bad thing at all. It just means that somehow, she knows what I need to read to know that I am loved and missed. My parents are so amazing, and I really couldn't have asked for any better. I know that I will be a good parent someday because of all that I have learned from them.

And now a couple London pictures!

Hyde Park

Baker Street Underground Station...Baker Street is the home of fictional character Sherlock Holmes.

We should get Primarks in the USA

2008-02-22T12:34:00.002-05:00

Somehow I only spent the equivalent of under $30 at this amazing store, and I came home with a coin purse for going out that will fit my IDs and my camera and house key, two cute summery tops (one was only 25 pence, which is 50 cents), a cute colorful polka dot shirt/dress, a big belt, and a pair of black skinny jeans! I can finally wear my wellies (rain boots) outside of my jeans. I went shopping in the wonderful land of Primark because I couldn't let Rosie visit me here without going there. She found jeans for herself as well, so we were both pretty excited about our cheap finds. She got here Wednesday night and left this afternoon, but it was so great to have her here. Last night was amazingly awesome, because we just had a great heart-to-heart and caught up on what our lives are like now. It seems so crazy, but I hadn't seen her since Thanksgiving break of our sophomore year of college and we've both been through some bad stuff since then. She's pretty happy in Southern France, and I'm so glad about that! We also watched "Superbad" last night, and I must say that although my expectations were that it would be a horrible movie; I ended up really liking it. I've seen two movies with Michael Cera in them recently, and I just think he's pretty much adorable. And Kyle, this summer we/I will be watching Arrested Development in the evenings, okay? I have decided to work with my two favorite girls this summer. It will be really nice to spend the summer watching Rachel and Bethany again. Well, in other news, I will be in LONDON tomorrow with Tiff and some of the other Elizabethtown College girls. So pictures will be coming soon, I'm sure.

Rugby

2008-02-21T10:39:00.004-05:00

I went to my first rugby game yesterday afternoon. My friend Tiff plays, so the girls from the house went out to cheer her on. She scored once, had some great tackles and the team won! I need to get back to work on my paper, but decided to put up a picture here for a small/short brain breather.

Tiff is the one on the right.

If it weren't for all this schoolwork...

2008-02-19T13:12:00.002-05:00

I really would be a lot less stressed. I have a paper that I need to write tonight, and I'm also working on an interview project for my interpersonal and group behavior class. I'm trying to take breaks here and there to relax my mind, but it's hard to keep those breaks to a minimum as far as time goes. At this moment Melissa's music is keeping me from going crazy, so thanks for that, sis! Speaking of Melissa, I got measurements to her yesterday and will be picking out a bridesmaid dress soon enough. I know that there will be time when I get home before the wedding, but it's gonna be a pretty busy summer from what I can tell so far. I'll need to be working, and then I'll be busy connecting with friends that I'm missing right now. I'm hoping to get a job at Naked Clay Cafe by our house, but that's not for sure, and I'm not sure how many hours that would be. If any of you know of a good summer job opportunity in the Fort Wayne area, feel free to let me know.

Music is My Soul

2008-02-16T13:15:00.002-05:00

I have been listening to music in my room most of today, and I really could not imagine life without music. It's difficult over here without a real outlet for my music. I tried the choir at the university, but I really didn't like it. I know that I would rather have to find my own way to get my music fix than to not enjoy the music that is provided for me. I guess I've been fairly lucky to have enjoyed most of my music experiences. Don't get me wrong, I have definitely had some bad music experiences, like say second semester of my senior year in high school. But regardless, I have been able to maintain my love for music, and I think aside from family and friends, music is my next greatest love. I can't wait to refresh my soul when I get home!

Valentine's Day

2008-02-15T08:58:00.005-05:00

Well, I couldn't be with my Valentine this year because he is in Mexico. Fortunately, I had the next best thing: my housemates! So the housemates and I made dinner together, and then we spent the entire night together talking and just being silly. We also demolished an entire pan of brownies in a matter of minutes. It was a pretty small pan of brownies, but we ate all of it. By the end of the night we were just giddy, and there were times where we would just bust out laughing. I love my housemates so much and cannot imagine what my time here in England would be like without them.

After class I got purple tulips for the Purple House!

Comment away!!!!

2008-02-14T08:20:00.003-05:00

Martha brought it to my attention that the blog would not allow her to comment anonymously. I went through the settings and have now changed that! So now all of you can comment on whatever you'd like! I'd love if you'd at least leave your name so that I can know where it's coming from. Love to you all from England on the lovely Valentine's Day!

Fish n Chips and other things British

2008-02-13T06:15:00.004-05:00

I finally had my first experience with fish n chips on Monday. It's taken me this long because really, I don't so much like fish. I didn't want to waste money on food that I didn't like, so I chose Monday knowing that I could find something real at the house if I absolutely hated it. We also got food money Monday night, so I knew that I shouldn't worry about the cost and just try it. For the most part, it wasn't too bad. I did use tomato sauce (ketchup, not spaghetti) when I was eating the fish and obviously the chips as well. It was also a really big meal, so it pretty much lasted me the whole day, and I just had a small dinner with the fam that night.

My half-eaten fish and order of chips from the Master Fryer down the road from the house.

The rest of Monday involved me turning in my very first assignment and catching the bus to Park Campus with Josie for BCA stuff, but BCA stuff was pretty boring. We got to Park and met with our program coordinators, and they didn't have our money yet, so we decided to chill at the SU (Student Union: the on-campus bars) instead of being bored out of our minds in the refectory (cafeteria). Josie and I each got a pint to enjoy; she got a Kermit and I tried my first Snakebite. The Snakebites at the SU are basically half a pint of Strongbow Coder, half a pint of Foster's Lager, and just enough blackcurrant juice to make it pinkish-purple, and it was really quite delicious. We finished our drinks in time to meet the rest of the group to go to a guest lecture on British Politics. That was incredibly boring, and while I did learn some, I would have much rather heard it from one of my friends that knows about it. The lecturer just seemed to go on and on, and he was really rambling by the end of it. But we got our food money, and after catching a bus back to the town centre we walked home (stopping on our way at Tesco for some chocolate).

It must have been the combination of finally turning in an assignment, having fish n chips, drinking the Snakebite, learning about politics, and feeling somewhat comfortable on the buses that somehow made me feel really British on Monday.

Windsor Castle

2008-02-09T19:08:00.000-05:00

It was a beautiful day to be walking around Windsor seeing the Royal castle.

The entire house finally together for a photo!

Hey Mom!

2008-02-08T14:57:00.000-05:00

Before I get things started...HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AUNT MICHELLE!!!

Sorry guys, this post is for my mom. You can still read it if you want.

Things are going fairly well, and I have 3/4 of my paper done! Could I e-mail it to you to have you proof read it for me? I have a few sources left to work with for the last quarter of the paper or so. I've used seven so far and have four at the most that I can still use. I'm thinking that should give me enough material to analyze. I was feeling pretty warm this morning when I woke up this morning (yes, it was technically morning) so I've had my window open all afternoon, and I've been drinking cold fluids to hopefully equal out my body temp. I'm seriously hoping that it's not a fever or anything, because we have so much to do this weekend. We're going to Windsor Castle tomorrow! I've had my camera batteries all charged up so that I can take lots and lots of pictures. When we went to Bath my batteries died the first time I turned on my camera, so I'm making sure that won't happen tomorrow. Sunday a few of us are going to Birmingham for the Chinese New Year, so that should be an interesting experience at least. Dinner tonight was pretty great. The E-town girls and I made a dish with chicken, potatoes, carrots, peas and cream of mushroom soup as our sauce, and it was really yummy. Erin made each of us a biscuit while Kylleen and I went to the library. I had a book that was due, and they don't have a drop box, so you have to turn in books during normal office hours. Strange, but it got me out of the house for the first time today. The weather has been really nice the past week or so, with rain randomly in the day but not too much or for very long. I'm hoping for some good weather for the weekend adventures! I'm sure you're glad it's the weekend. Hopefully this last day wasn't too bad for you. I hope you have a good weekend, and tell John and Myra "HI!" for me. Have fun with the labradoodles tonight!

Alright, back to my paper. Lots of love to you, and everyone.

Gimme a Break

2008-02-07T12:55:00.001-05:00

I have been working on my English paper nearly all day! I have taken short breaks for food and the occasional internet break, but overall it has been reading and writing for me today. I am almost a fourth of the way done with the paper, so it shouldn't be too much more work to get it finished with time to spare before it's due on Monday. Here's a plus, no class on Monday because our paper is due. Next week will hopefully go smoothly and I'll be able to get ahead on my next paper.

By the way, they have Orange and Mint Kit Kats over here in the grocery store in bulk! So far I have resisted them, but we'll see how long that lasts. I have not been strong enough to resist Nutella. It is a house favorite!

Something completely random

2008-02-05T10:05:00.000-05:00

On my walk home from class today a man and his dog were walking in front of me. About halfway from campus to the house the dog stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and started peeing. Maybe dogs over here aren't shown where to and not to take a wee. Either way, I just walked around the largest puddle of dog pee I've ever seen.

Emotional Mayhem

2008-02-03T15:41:00.000-05:00

I have been lucky enough to have had some conversations with friends from home via the wonder of instant messaging. This has been great for me, but it also caused quite a bit of emotional distress for me this afternoon. It hasn't been anything life threatening or anything, but it has made me assess my life and what I want for myself. I also found that I have truly amazing friends from Manchester. I know that I have great friends elsewhere too, but it's just nice to know that the people that I spend most of my time with really do care a lot about me. It was difficult to be feeling so insecure over here with little to no one to really talk to about it, and to be able to talk to my friends at home is almost as good as having them here with me.

Tonight Tiff and I are going to a pub in town to watch the Super Bowl! I know that it won't be the same, but it's worth experiencing over here. Go Giants!

My days are bipolar

2008-02-01T19:41:00.000-05:00

Today was a WONDERFUL day!

I didn't have class so I slept in, and after a relaxing lunch I went out shopping. My purchases were...two pairs of flats for the equivalent of $10, white leggings (they wear leggings with everything when they go out) for $2, a scarf for $1, a trinket for Nyssa for $1, and finally, my favorite purchase of the afternoon, a Glasgow Rangers (Fort Wayne native Demarcus Beasley plays for them) soccer jersey for $36!

Also, I had a message in my facebook mailbox waiting for me this morning from a friend at MC. Josie and I went shopping at the big Tesco (equivalent to a Kroger at home) tonight to buy some food and snacky stuff, and it was a huge success! I think we will be set on snacks for a while. Josie made some really great mac and cheese tonight (Carol, your daughter is quite the talented cook!), and we had amazing tiramisu ice cream for dessert.

I have been chatting online this evening with friends both here and from home, and it's just nice to talk to people even if I can't be down the hall anymore.

My ROCKIN-AWESOME Glasgow Rangers jersey!

Oh yea, I can't believe that it's already February!

One day at a time...

2008-01-31T17:23:00.000-05:00

This afternoon and this evening were just a lot more difficult than I was expecting. Really, it's just been quite stressful planning the spring break trip than I thought it was going to be. As of now we have tickets to get us to Barcelona, but we're having a hard time connecting to the other places that we want to go. It's also a lot more expensive than I was hoping, but I guess if all else fails we will scrap some of the trip. I shouldn't let all of this stress me out. It seems that this is just the straw that's breaking my back in this case. Hopefully things will be looking better tomorrow afternoon. All of this stress just makes me really miss home, my family and my friends.

A little pick-me-up...me and Kylleen at the Boogie Lounge last night.

THE WAIT IS OVER!

2008-01-29T10:41:00.000-05:00

Me in front of the statue in the town centre that is the namesake for the URL of this blog.

All productivity is created equal?

2008-01-27T07:53:00.000-05:00

Yesterday may not have been productive in the academic sense, but I did accomplish quite a lot of things that needed to be done.

I went to see "Dan in Real Life" at the cinema near our house, and that was an interesting experience. First off, it's quite expensive over here to go to the movies. The food is even more ridiculously priced; the tickets are almost twice as expensive as what I'm used to in Fort Wayne; the children (I do mean children, the kids looked about 12 or so that were at the cinema by themselves) are easily a million times more annoying, and finally, the movies come out a good month or two after they are released in the States. Back to the part about the children; it was utterly ridiculous how badly behaved these kids were. First, they were at the movies without an adult chaperon, and this was a group of about seven twelve year-olds both boys and girls. Secondly, they came into the movie late and made a loud scene when they were finding their seats. I thought that alone was rude enough to constitute good behavior for the rest of the film, but I was horribly mistaken. They continued to talk to one another throughout the entire movie, and Tiff and I were so annoyed by it that we moved to different seats after about twenty minutes of shooting them dirty looks and asking them fairly politely if they could please keep it down. Once we moved we could hear the movie just fine, and it was a fairly good one.

After the movie Tiff and I went to FCH to get some books from the library, and they weren't really open long enough for either of us to accomplish a whole lot of anything. I did get a couple books for my English paper; I'm hoping that they will be legitimate and somehow relate to the topic I'm working on. After the library closed we went to the refectory (cafeteria-type thing) which wasn't open, but we just wanted to sit anyways, so it worked out alright. We sat on some comfy little chairs and planned out our spring break. We have planned some time in Spain, France, Italy, Prague and finally Ireland. If Tiff finds out from her friend in Italy that we can stay with her we will be staying with people we know for the entire trip. It will be incredibly nice to have people around to show us what to see and how to do everything, especially in places where English is not the language of choice. So now we really only have to book our transportation for the trip, and I need to check with some family outside of Paris to see if I can connect with them, and if they would be willing to host us and show us around Paris that would just be another added bonus. Tiff and I are also working on planning a weekend trip to Amsterdam, because she'd really like to go. I also would like to go back, because I'm sure that I didn't see everything in the short day that I was there. Also, I really just liked the city.

So I got a lot of things sorted out that I needed to figure out before too long. I'm hoping that my VISA cards will start working soon so that we can book flights and bus seats to London. My parents are going to be working on that this week, and it's nice to have a good relationship with my parents so that I don't have to worry about anything like this being a huge ordeal for them. I spoke to them on Skype yesterday, and it was really great to see them, but unfortunately I didn't have my camera set up at the time so they couldn't see me. Either way, it's always nice to see them and other pieces of home. I'm looking forward to receiving mail from them this week sometime.

Academic motivation, anyone?

2008-01-25T18:26:00.000-05:00

I cannot motivate myself to be productive with my schoolwork. I really need to get something done with my English paper before too long. I've just gotten so good at wasting time, and I didn't get around to the library today, so I will really need to get to that. Tomorrow I'm going to the cinema with some friends and we are seeing "Dan in Real Life" so hopefully that'll be good. A friend of mine from MC that studying at Cheltenham last Spring has been here since last night, and she's been staying at the house with me since we have the convenient spare room in the basement. It's been so nice having her here, and I've gotten to meet some of the people that she was friends with last year. Oddly enough, I don't have too much to say today.

Sunshine Day!

2008-01-24T13:12:00.000-05:00

This is just across the road from the FCH campus. The sun was shining and I knew I wanted to capture just how lovely this was to me.

This is what I see everyday when I arrive at the FCH campus. I go to the left under the little opening in the building to get into the main part of the campus.

The Chapel and the Quad Tower at FCH

The "Teaching Centre" at FCH. It's just where classrooms and the computer lab are located.

On top of this being quite a lovely day, my friend (and former resident) Megan from Manchester is in Cheltenham this week. She was here with BCA last spring and is coming out for a visit to see her friends from over here. I am meeting her tonight for drinks and to meet her friends after choir (it's the first time for me, so I hope it goes well), and then I'll be having lunch with her and our BCA directors over here tomorrow. It will be really nice to have a familiar face around for a while, but the rest of the weekend I really should start to work on my paper for my English class. Tiff and I are getting together tomorrow afternoon to plan some things for our psychology papers, and then I think the rest of the weekend must be devoted to my English paper. I am needing some academic motivation for sure. I just don't know what to expect and what's expected of me.

Hollywood across the Pond

2008-01-23T13:02:00.000-05:00

It's true, I am still affected by the Hollywood culture out here in England. I first heard about Heath Ledger's death via a friend's AIM away message, and I was in a bit of disbelief at first so I rushed to the MSN website to see if it could indeed be true. Alas, the tragic news was not a piece of fiction. The first article I read was almost certain that it was a suicide, but as I've been reading more today it seems that the tides have turned. It's difficult for me to know what to believe with the Hollywood culture, but I think I'd like to believe the most recent articles that state the findings are inconclusive and his death may have been a medical mistake with medicines that he was taking for various reasons. Whatever the truth may be, I cannot help but pity his family and most of all his two-year old daughter. I love my family so much, and I cannot imagine losing someone so close to me at such a young age. My heart goes out to his family and all of the families in this world that have had to experience the tragic death of a loved one.

Hands Down

2008-01-21T22:06:00.001-05:00

Some AMAZING things that happened to me today (technically yesterday):

We did a counseling exercise in my English class. (see previous entry)
Mandy came to visit!
I found a duvet cover, a fitted sheet, a flat sheet (all in soothing colors) and a laundry hamper for a reasonable price at Primark.
We had Indian food for dinner, and it was wonderfully good.
I had great dinner guests.
I put my English flag up again, with hopes that it won't fall anytime soon.
I received an exciting and uplifting facebook message from a friend back at Manchester.
I shared my ridiculous levels of joy with my housemate, Erin.
It wasn't pooring rain, even though it did drizzle for a while.
I walked around town with my visitors and felt like I knew where I was going.

Hands down this is the best day I can say that I've had since I've been here, and it's really not because of any huge monumental occasion, but rather the accumulation of several really nice things that I really appreciate and hold dear. I love you all!

Counselling in England!

2008-01-21T09:58:00.000-05:00

I returned from my English class titled "Language and Gender" not too long ago and today we talked about discourse, meaning different standards of speech and communication based on the situation. Well, we did an experiential exercise in none other than counseling psychology! We were given a handout about general rules for conversation for both the client and the counselor, with suggestions such as "use open-ended questions" and "nod or use other non-verbals to indicate you understand and are listening" and all sorts of other good things to use as a counselor when you are just learning the basics. We did the same kind of thing as I had experienced in my counseling class at Manchester last semester, but more specifically it was just one person clienting and one counseling, and then two of us were observing for about 10 minutes.

I told the girls I was with that we had done this in a class I had taken last semester, so I encouraged them to try it to see how it was, and after our mock session I think they all liked it pretty well. The two girls that participated were friends so it was easier for them to talk about some things, but both the client and counseling were amazing from what I expected. The client didn't hold much back and the counselor was a really great listener and asked some questions that were just dead on to helping the client sort out how she was expressing herself. I was just in awe at how they had picked it up so well, but there were other groups in our class that just didn't seem to get it. I'm glad that the group I was in was so open to the experience.

That has been the highlight of my academic experience here so far, and it wasn't even in one of the psychology classes that I'm taking. The psychology classes that I am in seem to be very interesting, but they are all deeply rooted in social psychology so it is much different than any psych class I've taken at MC. I definitely miss the closeness of my counseling class and was thinking of them today as the teacher was introducing the activity. I shared with the girls in my group openly that the counseling class was the greatest class I have ever taken at university level, and that's quite true for me. I am so blessed to have had such a wonderful experience with the subject that I intend on being involved in for my career.

Sleepless Nights

2008-01-20T11:03:00.000-05:00

I ended up staying home yesterday from the outing to Gloucester, because I haven't been feeling very well the past couple days. It's nothing serious, just a sore throat that has been causing me to lose my voice in the mornings. I also haven't been sleeping very well lately, and I know last night it was because I napped yesterday afternoon. I've been up all day today, and I've just been in the house reading and checking a few things out online. The past week has been kinda chill, but I've been working on sorting out things for classes and life in general. The internet in the house has been really frustrating lately, but we are able to access websites with no problem, so it's just the communication programs that refuse to work properly. Hopefully that will change, but if not feel free to e-mail me whenever you'd like. (klgauby@manchester.edu) It's always nice to hear from home.

Touchdown Turnaround

2008-01-17T21:19:00.000-05:00

So I was feeling quite bummed last night after a series of events that just started to weigh down on me, and going to class today was quite the task because I was just feeling extremely tired. Luckily, Tiff invited me over for dinner and we went to the Student Union at Park Campus for drinks afterwards. I just got a pint of Guinness which started quite a few conversations about the strangeness of my drinking habits. Apparently it is strange for an American to like the Irish beer, but I think it was because I'm a girl since it was only guys that were talking to me about it. The SU (Student Union) was really nice over there, especially compared to the Pittville Campus, and people that I didn't know at all had no problem talking to me. I even talked to a guy who knew where Indiana was, and I got to know a couple guys that Tiff is friends with and they both have this great dry sense of humor.

After we left the SU we went to Regency Hall where the rest of the BCA students live, and we hung out with four of the girls that live there. It was so nice to finally just hang out with people from the program, because we tend to get excluded from things out at the house. We don't have keys or codes to get into the campus residences, so it's kind of difficult to get together with everyone else, and we didn't really get to know any of the rest of the group during orientation because we always stuck together. Tomorrow night there is a showing of "Bend it like Beckham" at the Francis Close Hall Campus, which is the one that is just down the road from our house.

Saturday we are taking the bus to Gloucester to see the cathedral where some of the Harry Potter movies have been filmed, so that should be interesting. There should be a fairly large group of us going so that will be good. I think the girls from the house want to go shopping while we there, and I'm almost always up for that even if I don't buy anything. It sounds like it should be a good weekend. I'm glad that my slump seems to be over for the time being.

Not from today, but from the other night at "thirteen"
My friend Tiff (from Elizabethtown College) and me

Picture time!

2008-01-15T21:08:00.000-05:00

The Purple House

This is the lovely abode that I now call home. It is 9 St Pauls Road, and we are two doors down from a lovely bakery-type place which has been my landmark when trying to find my way back from town. Do not be fooled, although it is not purple on the outside the name we have given to this wonderful house is entirely appropriate. All of the walls are painted lilac, the furniture in our sitting room is also purple, and the curtains in our rooms are purple.

So this is me. I hope that was fairly clear to you all. This is the dress that I got while we went shopping this weekend, complete with the leggings I found to wear with them. I wore this out to the club "thirteen" tonight, and aside from lugging around my purse and coat all night it was a really good time.
(That is the English flag behind me on my wall...I'm hoping to get a Union Jack before I leave.)

Internet difficulties

2008-01-14T17:38:00.000-05:00

Well, we have our own internet in the house now, but we're not sure how permanent it's going to be. We got errors popping up when we were installing the router, and my skype has been over-sensitive tonight. The plus side is that our internet does seem to be working, and I was able to talk to my parents for a little bit via skype. I even got to see them on the webcam they got, and it was really nice to see them. Hopefully things will be working better tomorrow.

Sundays are just chill

2008-01-13T14:52:00.000-05:00

I haven't done too much today. Really, none of us in the house have done very much today. Kylleen decided to move upstairs, and Katie moved up into the room Kylleen left. So now our "guest room" is in the basement, but at least we still have an extra room to offer our visitors.

I know most of you won't believe me, but I cleaned my room today! I knew that some of you wouldn't believe me, so I took pictures.

Shopping

2008-01-12T16:05:00.000-05:00

Instead of going to the library this afternoon, we went shopping. I ended up getting a black dress with orange, yellow and white floral print, a black camisole to wear under it (the dress fabric is shear), gray leggings to wear underneath, an orange headband to match, and I also found some really cute rain boots. I will hopefully have pictures of the outfit (not with the rain boots) sometime whenever I decide to wear it, and that could possibly be as early as Monday night or so, but I don't really know.

The girls and the two male friends of Erin's that are visiting us for the weekend went to the Hog's Head Pub for dinner tonight. I had a burger and chips (fries) and it was soooo good! We watched the Manchester United vs. Newcastle United football (soccer) game, and it was a really good first half, but during the second half Newcastle just got blown out of the water. It was cool to experience a genuine English football game in a pub.

Rain, rain, go away...

2008-01-11T11:57:00.000-05:00

Well Indiana, you've followed me! We have flooding here in Cheltenham. I was sitting in the library this afternoon trying to find books for my classes and one of the librarians suddenly announces, "We're closing at 4:30pm due to flooding in the area." I was kind of shocked, because I had been outside less than 5 minutes before she said this and the rain wasn't really pouring down. So I'm not sure if England just has horrible draining systems or what, but the campus was already starting to flood, and I guess some roads in Gloucester were flooded already as well. I have a feeling that the flooding won't get nearly as bad as what it's been like in North Manchester, but they closed the library three and a half hours early, so I'm thinking it might be kind of serious.

In other news, I am thoroughly sick. I'm not on my death bead or anything, but I have a pretty nasty sinus infection that has moved to my throat, and the weather surely isn't helping things at all.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: IT'S SNOWING NOW!!!!!

The Academic World

2008-01-09T14:28:00.000-05:00

Just so you know, I've only been to my classes once so far and I have one class left to go to tomorrow, so these are my initial reactions to the English university system.

First off, classes only meet once a week. This is a good thing because I don't have to go to campus all the time, but if I'm sick and miss a class it will carry more weight on my course work than it would at Manchester. Strange enough, attendance is not a factor of your grade in classes, but you need to use information from lectures in papers or on exams, so it's just going to be a good idea for me to go to class. It won't be bad for me because....(drumrole please)....I don't have any of my classes before noon! HOORAY! It really wasn't too hard to schedule things that way.

Secondly, I only have one class a day. This is a really nice thing because I don't have to worry about getting from one class to another or rushing lunch or anything. I'm also hoping that this will keep me from procrastinating too much. This is all prone to change, but I'm really hoping that I can stay somewhat motivated.

Third, I am in three 200 level classes and one 100 level class. This doesn't translate appropriately at all. My 100 level class is social psychology, and two of my 200 levels are fairly closely related to social psychology. My final class is a 200 level class which I can best describe as a feminist English class. My 100 level class is the only one that I have not been to yet, so I can't tell you about the difficulty of that one yet. My 200 level classes are going to be quite a bit of work, and they are definitely at about 300 or 400 level back home, so don't worry, I'll be working my tail off even if it doesn't always seem that way.

Last of all, there are four campuses of the university in the area. It's not like IU with their campuses at Bloomington, Fort Wayne, Kokomo, South Bend, etc. The campuses are all connected by bus, so you can hop on a bus to class, but one of the campuses is a good 40 minute bus ride from the campus that is closest to our house. Luckily, I only have classes at the Francis Close Hall campus (lovingly called FCH) and that just happens to be the campus that is only four blocks from our house. So lucky for me I get to walk to class everyday and don't have to worry about catching the bus to get to class.

I am adjusting to the English system for the most part. I'm actually impressed at how well I've been doing here. It will take me a while to get used to everything, but so far I'm doing fairly well.

Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore. But seriously, it's not London, either.

2008-01-08T21:02:00.000-05:00

I have gotten the impression that most of my lovely friends from the States have this strange feeling that I am going to school very near London. Relatively speaking, yes, yes I am. Realistically though, no, no I'm not. I'm living in Cheltenham, and we are within walking distance of the town centre. I can catch a bus to the Cheltenham Spa train station to get a train to London, but the ride is over two and a half hours each way. So no, I don't see the Queen everyday, and no, I haven't been to London yet besides the short trip from the airport in which I saw about none of the city. I'll let you know as soon as I do visit London, because I'm sure I will have tons of pictures with which I won't know what to do. Sorry, my English seems to be getting a bit more proper over here. I think the accent makes me think that I can't use plain American English without looking or sounding silly. I haven't tried the accent much, because oddly enough, it's been just fine being one of the American girls over here.

Classes have been pretty relaxed so far, but it's the very first week so it's difficult to gauge how hard they're really gonna be. I'm taking three psychology classes and an English class, so hopefully none of them will be too bad. I really like the way classes are set up here, because I only have one class a day and all of my classes meet in the afternoon. Classes only meet once a week for two hours, and I'm really liking that so far. I do have class tomorrow, and it is getting fairly late here, so I'm going to get to bed here pretty soon.

I'm loving England so far, but I'm often reminded that there's no place like home. I love you all!

Class and Neighbors

2008-01-07T18:59:00.000-05:00

This is Uni Gloucestershire Oxtalls Campus. I don't actually have any classes at this campus, but we took the bus around so I figured I'd take a picture of it while we waited for the bus.

Class was a lot less intimidating than what I was expecting. I was really expecting to be completely overwhelmed, but it really wasn't bad at all. Our newest housemate is actually in my class, so it was really comforting to see her there. I met a girl whose Dad is American and she lived in Colorado when she was in fourth and fifth grade. Her name was Anna and she was fairly nice. The class started out by talking about feminism, which I had a decent grasp on from my SOC classes and our Gender Cafe discussion about "The F Word" both from last semester. I think it should be a good class. It's strange because my classes only meet one day a week for two hours, and I only have four classes. I have a class a day starting Monday, so I have Fridays off! I also only have afternoon classes, so that's a Godsend for me.

After class the first three girls of the house and I went to campus to catch the Unibus and we rode it to the different campuses and then back into town. It was nice to kind of get our bearings on the bus, and this nice girl, Laura, was extremely helpful in explaining how the whole thing worked.

Kylleen, Erin and Josie waiting for the bus.

We picked up a few things at the grocery store before we came home, and on our way in we noticed that our neighbors were home. We dropped our stuff off at the house and introduced ourselves before we had dinner. There are four or five guys living next door, and they all go to the University at the Pittville campus I believe. They are all extremely nice, and they insisted on taking us out to the SU (Student Union, the campus bars) so we went with them after we had dinner. They walked us out there, and Josie and I came back with one of them and a friend of his instead of going on to a bar off campus. I figured I had enough to drink, and I would have plenty of time to check out the local bars on days when I didn't have class the next day.

One of the guys from next door, Luke, bought us a drink when we got there, and we all got "Kermit"s. :) It was green and really good but wasn't too strong. Jack was the housemate that walked Josie and I home, and he talked to me for the most part on the way back. He seems like a really nice guy, and really the whole house has been extremely nice and pretty cool to us. I won't have any classes with them, but I'm hoping to meet more people as the semester progresses in my classes and such. So far we haven't really met anyone from here that has been mean or that we haven't liked, so that's been really great! I miss you all but am feeling better about getting settled into a routine around here.

A Day of Rest

2008-01-06T17:47:00.000-05:00

I am not made for non-stop action. It's good to keep me busy to a certain point, but if there's too much going on my body just shuts down. That's what I got to recover from today. Luckily I know when my body is reaching it's stopping point, so I was able to slow down and not completely shut down.

One of the girls in the house has a brother that lives in Fort Wayne. She was talking to him on her webcam today, and he showed me the work that's happening at Frieman Square from a window out of the the Downtown library. That's when I almost cried. I've been pretty homesick today. Sundays are my favorite days whether it be at home or at the Chet, and not really knowing what to do has definitely made me miss the regularity of Sundays back home. I'm still doing really well, and our final housemate moved in today and seems really nice. For now I'm going to get ready for bed so that I can be up and functioning tomorrow for my first class.

My housemate Kylleen (the one with the brother in Fort Wayne) and me at the Indian Restaurant last night.

Settling down

2008-01-05T19:08:00.000-05:00

Josie and me at the BCA dinner

We have been incredibly busy since we got here on Wednesday. I seriously can't believe that I've been in Europe since Christmas Eve and it's already the January 6 over here. We have been going over tons of stuff for BCA (Brethren Colleges Abroad, which is mostly kids from Messiah College, oddly enough not a Brethren College), and we walk almost everywhere. We've taken the bus twice and a coach twice. There is a difference there to the British, because the bus is local trips while the coach takes long distance trips like the trip we took to Bath today and the ride from the airport. I am fairly exhausted from all of this running around business. I decided to stay in tonight to get some rest, and I'm thinking we will all be sleeping in at the house tomorrow morning. Luckily we have all day Sunday to do what we want. I'll try to give a better update sometime tomorrow when I'm not feeling so drained.