Brief Lessons from Canterbury Christ Church University

The CCCU

As of today, I have had all four of my classes at least once.  The master plan looks like this:

Monday: 3-5 - Uneasy Neighbors: The United States, Latin America, and Canada

Tuesday: 11-1 - The Modern Presidency

Wednesday: 11-1 - British Literature

                     3-5 - Modern Britain

Let's start with the first.  I initially thought the course was just going to be about the U.S. and Canada, so obviously I was wondering what was so uneasy about Canada.  When I finally got to the class yesterday, I learned my first lesson of the English University system:

1. Classes here are not done by "terms" (what they call semesters).  They are full year classes.

For my first class, this means the year is broken into two parts.  The first term is focused solely on the U.S. and Latin America.  Next term will be Canada, so I don't get to learn what we are so uneasy about with Canada.  (I mean seriously...Canada?)  Anyway, I think I am the only non-Brit in that course, and it's pretty big.  It seems pretty interesting, though, so I think I will be fine in that one.  Also, in case you didn't notice from the top, lesson two is:

2. Most classes are two hours, and they always start at odd numbered hours, 9, 11, 1, 3, and 5.

My next course is the Modern Presidency one.  I had my first class in that today.  It is taught by the same man who teaches my Modern Britain class, so I have come to the conclusion all his classes have the word Modern in them.  There are four of us Americans in that class, and it is smaller so I don't feel as awkward in it.  Will has it with me, but I got there before him today and a crazy old man sat by me and didn't stop talking to me.  I usually like meeting the new people here, and I usually love older people, but this man was really crazy.  I am waiting for Will no matter what from here on out.  I did get to meet some nice British people in that class after learning about lesson three:

3. Classes usually have a ten minute break in the middle.

Everyone gets to leave about halfway through the class to go get coffee.  I don't drink coffee, so in my class yesterday I got a water.  Today, I took advantage of the time in which the crazy old man left to get to know some of the Brits in that class. They actually began the conversation and were very interested about what I thought of England.  We talked about the weather.  It gets colder here earlier, but when I told them how cold it can get back home in Illinois, they were astonished.  No below-zero temps for me until I come home!  Another group of students had apparently heard there were people from ISU and done some research on it.  They told our "tutor" (not professor) that it was in the middle of a cornfield.  I think they meant surrounded by corn, which is kind of true.  Everyone got a kick out of that.  He even worked it into some of the lecture.  (Crazy old man was actually late coming back from break, and he then proceeded to breathe heavily like he ran about a mile to get back to the class. I am seriously a creepy person magnet.  Why is that?)  The actual class will be pretty fun I think.  It covers presidents from FDR to Carter, but since I am only here for a term, I only make it to the beginning of Kennedy.  I also learned lesson four in that class:

4. There are no tests.

None. Zero. In any of my classes.  There are small papers due once a week in my Monday and Tuesday classes, and averaging one big paper in each of my four.  No tests though.  I am really enjoying that right now.  We will see how I feel when I have huge papers due at the end of the semester.

My other two classes will meet for the third time tomorrow.  I have my first ever small paper due in Brit Lit tomorrow.  I am a little nervous about it.  Since I have nothing really to base it on, I am just kind of hoping I did it how she wants it.  We will see how it goes. 

I should probably sleep now.  I have had a pretty nasty cold for a few days.  I need it to go away because I have met new people in the last few days, and they probably remember me as the girl that sounds like a freak.  It would of course be me who gets sick.  I blame this English weather :)

Cheers!

~Taylor



For those not on Facebook...

I wanted to post a video of the London trip for everyone who can't see the pictures on Facebook.  Here you go:

A new blog will be up tonight!
~Taylor

The sights, the sounds, and how we got stuck on a movie set in London!

This is going to be a super long post. If you don’t have a lot of time here are the main highlights:


1. This details two days. We went to Canterbury Cathedral on Friday. It is really beautiful.

2. Saturday in London was AMAZING. We walked a LOT. London weather is cooler right now than Illinois weather so it was pretty cold most of the time while we walked.

3. We were on a movie set! We saw Rowan Atkinson filming Johnny English Reborn.

4. McDonald’s is much nicer in London. They had flowers on the table!

5. I LOVE Parliament. I want to go inside so badly.

6. A lot of tourists don’t speak English. We actually walked for a while intently listening for someone speaking English. No matter what language they speak, though, everyone knows Mr. Bean. (See #2)

7. The London Eye is beautiful at night, but if you are anything like me, it is super scary no matter when you go up in it.

8. I finally got to see a public proposal! My future husband better do a good job with the proposal. I will be holding him to a high standard :)

9. I have yet to stay awake during the entire trip between London and Canterbury.

10. I can’t wait to go back the two times the school is taking us.



Ok…now for the long version. Grab a cup of coffee (or if you are like me, hot chocolate) and relax. We will start with Friday…

We had a long day of tours on Friday. Our group started with the Cathedral. It was pretty spectacular. I realized then that I take lots of pictures. Everyone else has a lot of pictures, but I took double what some people took. I guess I want to remember every detail. After the Cathedral, we went on a tour of the city. We thought we would be going to new and different places, but really, we walked down the same streets we have been walking down for a couple weeks now. The tour guide was nice but really long-winded. Plus, after not really experiencing the typical “English” weather for the last two weeks, it rained while we were walking around outside. So really, the Cathedral was the best part of the day.

Saturday, I woke up very early. I realized that since it was 6:00 AM here, it was midnight back home, and a lot of people wouldn’t even be asleep yet. That made me tired, but I was so excited that I didn’t mind. We got to the bus station and took off at about 7:30. This was my second trip between London and Canterbury. The first was the drive from the airport. Just like that day, I was not able to stay awake the whole time. I guess I’m just not meant to see everything between them.

When we got to the station in London and walked outside, we didn’t know where exactly we were. Thankfully, Sam had a trusty London map, and Will had internet access on his phone. We figured out we were near Buckingham Palace, so we decided to go there first.

It was pretty much what I had seen in pictures. There was a flag on the Palace, so that meant the Queen was there. We wondered if she ever just gets bored and looks out at all the people that come to see her house. I was expecting to see the big guards with the red outfits and funny hats, but apparently they are somewhere else. The guards at the Palace are behind the gate. We did get to see them switching the guards out, so I have a video of that crazy tradition. There is a lot of stomping and shuffling. They also walk in circles a lot. Just standing there all day must be a terrible job. There was a big fountain in the square next to the Palace. We tried to get around to the front, but we kept being told we couldn’t go to that side. They finally let us around for about five minutes before they ushered us back again. We wondered what was going on, and we had to go around through a park to leave the area.

Once we were about to leave the park, we were stopped again. We were told no one was allowed that way. Finally we saw a production crew and realized they were shooting some sort of film. We initially thought it would be some documentary. We waited around to see what the shot would be. When they finally called out that they were rolling, a bunch of cars sped out of the square in Buckingham Palace and drove away. That was it. We were then allowed to walk down the street toward Trafalgar Square. Walking past the people from the set, we caught a glimpse of the movie clapper, and it said JOHNNY ENGLISH REBORN. Will Googled it and started giving the names of the cast and the movie synopsis. Rowan Atkinson was the only name we knew in the cast. I laughed at the thought of Mr. Bean in an action spy movie, but I guess it is supposed to be a parody. I never saw the first one.

We continued walking down the street and came to the Duke of York pillar. It was at the top of a set of stairs, so I told Sarah to run up the stairs like Rocky. I have a good video of that :) We decided to move on to Trafalgar Square, but we were once again blocked by the movie crew. Because of that, we took a detour toward the old Admiralty. A crowd had gathered around some horses, so we stopped to see what was going on. There was a Horse Guards Parade about five minutes after we got there, so that was fun to see. Next, we walked through St. James Park. It was really pretty, but we were getting pretty hungry so we decided to walk back to where the filming was going on to see if we could get to Trafalgar Square.

When we got there, we waited around a while to see if they were going to film something, and as soon as we tried to go past, they wouldn’t let us through again. We were told we would have to take the back way to get to Trafalgar Square. We knew that meant they would probably be shooting something soon, so we waited with the small crowd of people to see what it would be. After waiting for a while, and almost giving up and leaving twice, the crowd started to move forward. I looked up to see what was going on, and a few yards away from us was Rowan Atkinson! It was so funny because a lot of people in the crowd didn’t speak English, but everyone knew him. All you could hear were a bunch of different accents and, “Mr. Bean” “Mr. Bean” “Mr. Bean!” After hanging around and taking pictures and video, we left to find somewhere to eat lunch.

We ended up just off of Trafalgar Square at an American-Italian restaurant named Little Frankie’s. It was cute, and the food was pretty good. Next, we went to the Square because I really wanted a picture climbing on the lions. But, when we got there, everything was blocked off for a concert. Hopefully I can get that picture when we go back to London. From there, we decided to head to Parliament, Big Ben, and the London Eye.

We knew where to go, and we got to see the Eye from across the Thames on our walk toward Big Ben. I saw the side of Parliament, and we turned a corner to stop and talk about which way we should go to get a good look at it. As we went around the corner, I wasn’t really paying attention. All of a sudden I looked up, and I was looking directly at Big Ben. I think because I was so surprised to be right in front of it at that moment, I had a very self-aware moment. There I was, 4000 miles from home, looking at this huge iconic clock. It was a pretty cool feeling. We decided to walk onto the bridge toward the Eye to get a good look at Parliament. That was another thing I had been dying to see in person, so I was really excited to be looking at it. I had gotten a text from my mom and decided to call her. I think the first words out of my mouth were, “I’m standing outside Parliament right now.” It was super amazing to be able to see Parliament and Big Ben and then turn around and look at the London Eye – definitely something I won’t forget.

Next, we walked back toward Big Ben to head to Westminster Abbey. On our way, we walked around behind Parliament. We finally got to the abbey about a half an hour after they closed. We ended up just taking some pictures, and then we decided to go to Hyde Park. It was getting pretty cold and windy at that point, and we stumbled upon one of many Starbucks in London. We went in for some hot chocolate and to take a break from all the walking we had done.

Once we were done we continued the LONG walk to Hyde Park. It is a huge place, but I really just wanted to see the Diana Memorial Walk. Luckily, that was the first thing we came to. It was really pretty and peaceful, so we sat by a fountain there for a while. Then as we walked on, we found a cool tree whose branches had grown like an umbrella all the way to the ground. There were openings to go under it, so we did. Sam always wants to climb trees, so she immediately hopped up into the branches. There were carvings and names all over the trunk, so she got creative and carved ISU into the tree with one of her keys. Next, we found a stump that we took posed pictures with. In the end, we spent a lot of time in the beautiful park just hanging out and relaxing. That was one of the best parts of the day.

We had decided to try to get to the Eye around 7 PM to ride it in the dark. Once we left Hyde Park, we started to walk that way. We were getting hungry, and didn’t want to wait for a restaurant meal, so we decided to go to a McDonald’s we had seen on our walk. It was very American of us :)  The McDonald's was nice.  There were even flowers on the table!  After eating, we made our way back past Parliament and Big Ben, and walked across the bridge toward the Eye.

When we got across the bridge, I realized that I hadn’t heard anyone speak English for a while. Sam had noticed too, so we decided to see how long it took us to hear it. It took a lot longer than I thought. I think it was because we were close to the Eye, so it was a prime spot for tourists, but it was still weird to hear nothing but different languages for a good amount of time.

We waited in line for tickets, and I was worried that the line would be really long. They sell fast pass tickets that you use to jump the line, but they are way more expensive. I shouldn’t have been worried though. We got our tickets and waited in line for no more than 10 minutes to get on. While we were waiting, we saw a couple people get in a capsule that looked pretty empty. We started talking about how cute it would be if a guy was proposing to his girlfriend. I told everyone that would be awesome because I had never seen a public proposal before. After that, I was getting pretty nervous because I hate heights and Ferris wheels, so the Eye was not the greatest thing for me to be on. I knew it would be great, though, so I got on with everyone else, and the door shut behind us.

Once I realized exactly where I was, I started to freak out. My legs got really heavy, and I was too scared to stand up. I sat in the middle while pretty much everyone else walked around. About halfway toward the top, Sam hit me and told me I had to look out the window. There were a bunch of people holding a sign on the ground that said, “Vienna, will you marry me?” It was adorable. So, I finally saw my public proposal. (We saw them back on the ground, and she said yes!) After that, I sat down again. I really was terrified, so Sam took my camera and took some pictures for me. Around the top, I got the courage to finally stand up. After that it wasn’t so bad. London at night is beautiful. It was also really cool because one way you look it was nighttime and really dark, but since we were up so high, looking the other way we could still see somewhat of a sunset. That was gone by the time we got around, though. All the buildings and Parliament and Big Ben were lit up and really pretty. I got a lot of pictures, and I am really glad I didn’t chicken out.

Once we were done, we had to head back to the bus station. We stopped to take a few more pictures of Parliament at night before passing by Big Ben. I had been annoying everyone since we got to England by constantly saying how much I wanted a picture with a red telephone booth, and we finally got them on our way back to the station :)

Our bus back was much nicer than the bus there. It had leather seats and played amazing lite rock music :) I was mesmerized as we drove back through London and South London. I had another moment of realizing just how crazy it was that I spent the day in London. It was crazy to comprehend. Again, though, the ride was long, and I was just too tired to stay awake. I am really not supposed to see everything between here and London!

Well, this is almost 4 pages on Word, so if you are still reading congratulations. I know some of you are reading the blog and don’t have Facebook. For you, I made a picture video with some of the more important pictures from yesterday along with a song, but it wouldn't let me upload it.  If you want it, email me at taylor_garrison@hotmail.com and I will get it to you :)

Thanks for reading!

~Taylor

When all else fails...write about food!

My cabinet of cooking supplies.

Once again, nothing too huge happened today.  We had our two "American" classes, so that took up 4 hours of the day.  I promise Friday and Saturday will be better blogs with much more to talk about.  The one thing I could think of to write about tonight is how the whole "fending for myself when it comes to food" is going.

If you know me at all, you know I can't cook anything unless it comes with microwave directions.  Frozen pizza is the one exception to that, but sometimes even that doesn't work out too well.  So not having a meal plan to depend on here was something I was nervous about. 

Our food shopping trips have been almost a daily thing because we had been buying things one or two meals at a time.  The problem here is that the food expires really quickly.  Sam pointed out that probably means it's healthier because it has fewer preservatives to keep it good for an indefinite amount of time.  But, when the only bread you want expires in three days that can be a problem.  We have solved that by sharing bread.  I have also been eating a lot more sandwiches in the past week and a half :)  That's pretty boring, but it's just so easy to rely on food that take less than a minute to prepare!

A few nights ago I was feeling ambitious.  We had gotten better at shopping for food that didn't include meat, cheese, and bread.  I had bought pasta, and I decided I should try to make some just to prove to my family I could.  (There is a pretty famous story in my family about a pasta misunderstanding.  Some will tell you it shows just how inept I am at cooking, but really my dad was just being mean. :)  Ask him the story sometime.  He loves to tell it.)

I can honestly say I did better than expected.  Yes, I did use the smaller pot, and looking back, that was a bad idea.  I had too much water, and it decided to boil over the side and get all over the top of the stove.  I should have probably turned the heat down before that happened, but at least I learned something.  In the end, I had edible food that wasn't really bad at all.  Hopefully my next try doesn't require as many paper towels to clean up. 

We went grocery shopping tonight.  I finally have enough food to last a few weeks, and this time there is more variety.  I will still need to go to the store for bread, though...those sandwiches are just so easy to make! 

~Taylor

Major blog delay...

I haven't been keeping up with the blog :(

So, I promised myself and others that I would blog once a day.  That hasn't turned out very well.  Sorry about that.  Honestly, there hasn't been that much to tell.  Sam and I have concluded that the past few days we haven't been feeling as "up" as we had been.  I think first and foremost, the newness and excitement has started to wear off.  Also, since two of my classes don't start until next week still, it feels like we are doing nothing.  We have explored our territory, gotten comfortable, and are now waiting for the next thing to happen.  I am 100% surprised to say this, but I have had a few fleeting moments of homesickness.  They have lasted a few seconds at most, but, having thought that I would never get homesick, they surprised me.  They said there would be a period of adjustment, so I guess this is it.  I haven't had actual classes since the end of April, so believe it or not, I am just waiting to jump into school mode again.  I think then we will be in a routine and actually doing something, so everything will fall into place.

I just realized how whiny that paragraph sounded.  Believe me, I love it here.  It has just been weird the last few days.  I know I will look back on this blog, though, so I want to make sure I detail the whole experience, not just the amazing parts. 

Now for the fun stuff!  We are touring Canterbury and the Cathedral on Friday, and I could not be more super excited for it!  Expect a ton of pictures.  Then, on Saturday, we have bought bus tickets to London.  It will just be a day trip, but we will be going to as many places as possible.  Expect even more pictures after that. :)  We are also looking at a trip for the weekend after that, and a big final trip the last week in Europe.  The schedule is going to get pretty full!  I will find some time soon to go down to the coast for a special visit.  The woman who came to stay with us during Dad's teacher exchange, Chris Stupples, lives just 25 minutes from me.  I am going to get in touch with her soon.  I haven't seen her since 8th grade, so we have a lot to catch up on.  Should be fun! :)

There.  It ended happy, right?  In case you need something else happy, check out the band Mumford and Sons on YouTube.  They are British and awesome.  You can thank me later ;)

~Taylor

A Little History

King Ethelbert and his wife, the Queen

Since I did really nothing of interest yesterday, I thought I would blog about some history I found that relates to a few of my pictures. 

I was reading a book on England that I brought with me.  In the Canterbury section, there is a paragraph on the people in the statues I photographed a few days ago.  Apparently, because of them, Canterbury became the thriving pilgrimage city it is today.

When talking about how the city was founded, the book says:

"Then along came St. Augustine, sent by the pope to convert England's King Ethelbert of Kent to Christianity.  Ethelbert (who had a Christian wife) joined the Church and allowed St. Augustine to set up a monastery on the edge of town.  As Christianity became more established in England, Canterbury became its center, and the Archbishop of Canterbury emerged as one of the country's most powerful men."

So there you go.  I knew the people had to be important to have statues, but I didn't know they were the ones who allowed St. Augustine to build the monastery here.  Pretty important people.

(Also, while we pronounce it St. AU-gus-tine, the British pronounce it St. au-GUS-tine.  It's a little weird to hear the first time.) 

Ok, I know this was boring, but it was seriously more interesting than anything I did yesterday.  Tonight the football game is on, so hopefully I have more interesting stuff to write about.

Until then,

~Taylor

Finally...Fish and Chips!

The essential English food!

Short one tonight because it's late, and I don't have much to say.

Today was not very eventful.  We had a tour of the library this afternoon, but other than that we had nothing to do.  When we got back, everyone wanted to get fish and chips because we hadn't had it yet in our 5 days in England.

We looked up the best place to go, and found a small little shop near the City Centre.  So for dinner tonight we sat outside at small tables on the side of the English shopping district, and ate fish and chips.  The men working there kept asking if it was a good first experience, and it was.  It was exactly how I pictured it being.  There were even pigeons walking around hoping for a bite.  It was really filling and greasy, though, so I think I will wait a while before getting it again :)

~Taylor

Zimmer Frames and "Football"

We went sightseeing today.  This is less than a 10 minute walk from where I live.  How cool is that?!

Today was an amazingly fun day.  Most of the time was spent talking to people who were very interested in the fact that I am American.  I love talking (especially about myself) so it was really easy to get caught up in a conversation with them.  It started when Sam and I went to get our English "mobiles" at the T-Mobile store.  The man working there started talking to us, and we ended up having a conversation the entire time he was filling out our contracts.  He asked a lot of questions about us as Americans. "As girls, do you really like men with English accents?" "Can you tell the difference between our different English accents?" (I can't. Sam can.) "Does your zip code have anything to do with your area code?"  Finally, he asked how long American students usually go to college.  We told him normally 4 years, but I said since I am going to law school it will be 7 for me.  He thought that was a long time and told me I would need a Zimmer Frame by the time I was done.  I thought maybe I heard wrong, so I asked him to repeat it.  Then, he said it again and mimed like he was walking with a walker.  I said "Oh, a walker."  He thought that it was absolutely hilarious that we call them walkers.  I googled it, and apparently Zimmer is a company that makes walkers so it kind of makes sense I guess.  I love learning little differences like that.

Then, tonight, we went out to a few pubs and got into a few different conversations with people.  Everyone is very interested to know what we think of their country.  It almost seems like they assume we won't like it.  They sometimes talk about how horrible it is here and ask why we chose to come here when we already live in America.  I don't understand why!  Maybe it's the whole "grass is greener on the other side" thing, but I think it is awesome here. 

The best part of the day was when I learned that one of the pubs is doing something great on Sunday.  On Sunday, here in England, I will be sitting in the Jolly Sailor watching the Cowboys play football.  I can't wait.  I am on this crazy adventure on an entirely different continent, I have travelled thousands of miles, and I talk daily with people who say things like Zimmer Frame and mobile, but I get to sit down on a Sunday and watch American football.  It will almost feel like home.

~Taylor

These are the "New" chocolate biscuits that were advertised at ASDA yesterday.  :) Hehe...new.

It is so funny to see things like this.  Knowing that something that has been so distinctly American for so long is just now getting to England.  I have had two, and maybe it's just because it's England, but I think they taste healthier :)  I have chocolate breakfast cereal, but even Sam agrees that it is healthier than American chocolate cereal.  Hopefully we are right, because it is still hard for me to read the nutrition labels.

I had my first classes today.  Today's two were the ones each American student has to take.  I started in British Literature with a "tutor" (not professor) who was just informed two weeks ago that she would be teaching the class.  Our first reading is one of the stories in Canterbury Tales.  When she handed out the copies of the reading, I had flashbacks of senior year AP English.  Hopefully I remember enough of it to do well.  Our second class is in a big lecture hall, and I think I'm going to like the man who teaches it.  That's good because he will also be teaching another class I am taking on Tuesdays.

Sam and I have found many different places to buy necessary items here in Canterbury.  ASDA is like the Wal-Mart, but it is about a 25 minute walk from where we live, so we needed to find somewhere closer.  There is a store called Tesco that is close, but we couldn't find everything we needed there.  Tomorrow we are going to try a third store that will hopefully have what we need.  It will be our fourth day in a row going to the store, so hopefully we can go one day without buying things sometime soon.

Speaking of not buying things, I found the shopping district in downtown Canterbury.  Luckily, I have only been by at night, so the stores have all been closed.  Now that I know it's there, I really want to go back and look around when they are open.  I am trying to save my money, though, so maybe I can avoid it for a while.

I have started thinking about trips I will take while I'm here, and Paris is on top of the list.  I think I repeated about ten times tonight, "I really want to go to Paris, guys!"  Once we look at schedules and prices, hopefully we can set a date to go.  I can't wait!

It's about three in the morning right now, so luckily, I don't have to get up for anything tomorrow.  Hopefully, I can sleep with no alarm on for the first time in England!  Sounds great right about now.

Sweet dreams!

~Taylor  

Short one tonight

This is what I'm looking at while walking around town :)

This is going to be short because it's late, and we start classes tomorrow.  Today started out incredibly lazy.  Sam and I were going to get up and going kind of early, but the snooze button overpowered us both.  We finally made it to the grocery store around lunchtime to buy some food.  Then, we walked to campus to tour around for a while. (It's still a little confusing.)  We went from the campus to ASDA to buy some more necessary items.  One of the things we couldn't find - an umbrella.  That confused me a lot since it is supposed to rain all the time here.  Luckily, I have been told a few places that do have umbrellas, so I can get one tomorrow.

Later in the night, we toured around the city centre.  It was really pretty at night, but I think we won't get the full effect until we go during the day when everything is open.  After that, we went to a party in the student union on campus.

This post is terrible.  I did promise to write every day, though.  So this is the best I can do for now.  Hopefully there will be a much better one tomorrow.

Until then,

~Taylor

Finally an England blog!

(This is my one picture of Canterbury that is outside.  You can see the cathedral in the distance.)

Not a good start to the whole “I’m going to blog everyday” thing. It is my first FULL day in Canterbury though, so I guess that can be my excuse. I have a lot to talk about, so this will be long. Get ready:

Everything started very early Saturday morning. Getting up at 5 AM was not the easiest, and I only got about 4 hours of sleep. We took off from Carlinville around 7 and got to the airport at around 11. That was way too early, so we had a pretty long time with nothing to do. Sam and her family got there around 2:30, and we still waited until about 4:00 to leave everyone and go through security. Saying goodbye wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, but walking away from my parents at the airport was one of the strangest feelings I have ever had. I think it hit me then that I wouldn’t be able to see them in person until December. Luckily, the craziness of security took over, and I didn’t have to think too much about that.

I said many times that I was more worried for the flight than anything. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Sure, I made Sam hold my hand until the captain turned off the seatbelt sign when we were at cruising altitude, but I could have been much worse :) Here are a few observations I made about flying:

1. First class makes me sick. Everything there is so much better. Plus, they close the curtains so you can’t even look at them. Seriously, are they that important that they can’t even stand to look at us poor people in coach? I am very bitter toward them because of observation 2…

2. You can’t sleep in coach. It is possibly one of the most uncomfortable places I have ever been forced to sit in for 8 hours. I knew that I needed to sleep because the time difference would cause crazy jet-lag, but I just couldn’t. I only got two hours at the most.

3. The seatbelt sign will come on just as you decide to go to the bathroom. It will then stay on for what seems like an eternity.

4. When in doubt, choose pasta over chicken. Plane food is terrible.

When we finally landed in Heathrow, I was exhausted. I only got a few hours sleep total for what should have been a combined two nights of sleep. Then, we had to wait nearly 3 hours in the airport to finally get on a bus and drive two hours to Canterbury.

I spent yesterday trying to not be a zombie from jet-lag. Then, we went out to a welcome party for a little while, and then left to find food. Everything was closed at that point because it was Sunday night, so we ended up getting McDonald’s for our first meal in England :)

Today, we had a 6 hour orientation where we were welcomed and got to sign up for classes. I was very happy, because I only have four classes, and it is only two days a week. That is definitely cool. They also gave us a ton of travel websites, so I am very excited to look into where and when I will be able to travel first. We found a nice little grocery store down the block this morning, so I won’t have to go far to get food. They also have a store called ASDA that is their equivalent of Wal-Mart. We needed some things, so three of us went out to find it tonight. Sam was the only one smart enough to look up directions, but the map didn’t realize that some of the streets it gave us didn’t have sidewalks. So for the first time in England, we were lost. Also, while the weather was very nice yesterday and this morning, by evening it was typical gray sky, spitting rain, windy, slightly cold English weather. Our trip we thought would only take an hour ended up taking about two and a half. We finally made it there and back, but we have to go back tomorrow. By the time we got home, the grocery store, Netto, was closed, and we didn’t have any food for dinner. After our walk, we were tired and starving, so we went to a place we saw last night when we were out. It was the first time someone commented about us being American. He seemed genuinely interested though, so it wasn’t something mean. After all that added to the jet-lag I already have, I am exhausted.

Tomorrow we have a free day, so we are going to get groceries and go back to ASDA. On our way, we are going to tour the campus so we know where our classes are on Wednesday. Then, we want to go to the city center and do some sightseeing. So hopefully, tomorrow I will have a bunch of pictures to put up. For now, here are some quick observations about England so far:

1. The whole driving on the other side of the road would be weirder if I were driving. The only thing we have to worry about is crossing the street because the cars come from the opposite side. That has been hard to get used to.

2. The roads are very narrow sometimes. There are also a lot of one way streets, and from what I can see, that means you can walk in the road if you want.

3. “Lemonade” here is Sprite. Sprite is also Sprite, but not the American kind. It is carbonated water with a tiny bit of lemon-lime flavoring - not very good.

4. They have pizza here with sweet corn on it. Also, an Americano pizza has pepperoni, beef, and onions.

5. The accents are awesome. Just hearing random people talking to each other on the street makes me smile. The little girl with an accent at ASDA made me smile even more.

That’s all for now. I need to get some sleep. I’ll be sure and write tomorrow.

Cheers!

~Taylor

Three Days...

This is what my living room looked like tonight. Tonight I learned three months is a really long time…especially when you have to pack for it. The check bag can’t exceed 50 pounds, and after tonight it was only about 32. I still have more to pack though, so we will see if I can make it under the limit.

It is less than three full days now. I can’t even begin to describe how weird it is that I am only sleeping in my bed for three more nights. When I first decided to study abroad it seemed like such a long way away. Now it is less than 72 hours until I take off from O’Hare. The heavier, harder goodbyes have started. Last week it was goodbye to the ISU girls. Sunday it was some family – including Josh and Angela (and Huck!) Today it was goodbye to everyone at CHS, and tomorrow will be everyone I worked with this summer. Friday and Saturday will be the worst ones, and I don’t even want to think about them yet. After that, though, everything gets better :)

I was asked a lot today about my nerves. “Are you scared? Nervous? Anxious?” Obviously, there are many things I could be nervous about. It would be completely normal to be a little afraid of this huge adventure I’m about to have. But honestly, the only thing I can say I am truly nervous about is the flight there. Isn’t that crazy? Sure, flying is a common fear, and I have very little experience on planes. Plus, we are flying out on September 11th. It would be crazy to not be a little nervous about that. That’s pretty much as far as my fear goes, though. It would be natural to be nervous about going to a different continent where I don’t know anyone, truly living on my own for the first time, and not being able to constantly call home if I need help or advice. (Yes, I was on my own at ISU, but I could call whenever I wanted, and I was always just two hours from home.) No one would fault me for being nervous about these new challenges. The thing is, though, I am not nervous about them at all. It is like the excitement has taken over and pushed all the nerves out. If you know me at all, you know that I worry about EVERYTHING. So this sense of calm about the craziness that is about to happen is very out-of-character. I kind of like it :)

I know the next few days will be crazy, so I am not sure if there will be another blog before I leave on Saturday. I might try for a “last night in America” blog on Friday, but I’m not making any promises. Sam and I have decided we have to blog every single day when we are there, so hopefully I can keep up. I am ready for the craziness that is the next few days. Because, like the packing, it seems like I won’t be able to get it all done. But, like it always does, everything will eventually come together.

:) Love you guys!

~Taylor