Edinburgh, Scotland

Mom said to make a post about Scotland. ;)

I went to Scotland.
It was really windy and rainy.
The two big attractions (castle and cathedral) were closed due to the wind.
The hostel was dirty, but they had warm water for showers.
I went on a haunted graveyard tour.
We went to a lot of pubs.
I rode on a train for a long time.



I put some pictures up on Picasa. The best ones were on one of the other girls camera, so I will post those later in the week when I get them from her.

I will edit this post later to have more detail, I just don't feel like it right now....

Hugs to everyone, miss you.

Woohoo... MAIL!

After a long day at school today I came home to the best surprise! I had mail! I mean real mail, not junk mail. My mail included my ballot to vote and ranch packets. I know, you might be wondering, ranch packets?!? This country does not have ranch. At restaurants or supermarkets, it is crazy. One of my favorite foods is ranch and frenchfries.

About two weeks ago I was telling my mom that they don't have ranch here, and how much I missed my ranch and frenchfries. So, without telling me until about a week later, mailed me ranch packets. I had a hard time finding a measuring device to make it (have not needed to buy any yet). I ended up using my camelback water bottle that Ashley gave me for Christmas. I ate my frenchfries and ranch... they were SOOO good.

Thanks Mom!

London Eye and Brighton

On Wednesday night 115 international students rode the London Eye and went on a pub walk. The London Eye is a giant faris wheel (450 feet tall) that towers over most of the London buildings. You can see all across the city when at the top. My camera did not take good pictures, but I did post some of them. Parliament was the most memorable to look at. The building is lite up at night to make it more spectacular than in the day. My pictures do not do it justice.

After riding the eye we went on a pub walk. I was really sick, and only went to the first pub (mainly for the free sandwiches). I was like any other pub, not really special.

On Saturday Erin and I went on a tour to Brighton. Brighton is a very popular 'get away' town on the south coast of England. There are lots of casinos, a large pier, great shopping and lots of hiking trails along the coast.

To get there we rode the overground. It took about 90 minutes to get there. We walked through the shopping districts and then went to the Royal Pavilion. The Royal Pavilion was built by Henry IV. He built the Pavilion with Asian architecture. He had never been to Asia, but built the entire thing by copying drawings that had been brought back to him by his explorers. It is known as the most unusual palace in the UK. It had many bright colors inside, dragons and snakes everywhere, and beautiful Asian themed furniture. We could not take pictures inside, but here is a website that has some, it is worth a look http://www.royalpavilion.org.uk/default.asp

Next we ate fish and chips on the pier. It was a beautiful day, so there were many people on the pier. We took some pictures and then headed off to a bus that would take us more east.

The bus took us to Seven Sisters. There are seven huge chalk cliffs right in a row, which is where it gets its name. We walked about 3 miles from the bus stop to the water. The beaches in Brighton and Seven Sisters were all big rocks. I found some really neat rocks that I will bring home. There are some pictures that show the size of the rocks on my Picasa.

Back at Brighton we had just enough time to grab some quick dinner before we went back to the train station. Erin and I had crapes with corn, ham and cheese. They were so good. I think savory crapes have become one of my favorite foods since I got here.

This weekend is Scotland, I will tell you about it next week!

Stonehenge and Bath

Yesterday I went on a tour of Stonehenge and Bath. The school organized the trip as apart of the International Student social program. There were 111 people in 3 coaches, each with their own tour guide.

Stonehenge was incredible. The stones were much larger than I had expected. We were not even allowed to get that close (due to vandalism problems), but they were huge. I have no idea how they would have moved them 300km. The wheel was not yet brought to the area, so it is a true mystery how they would have got the stones where they are today.

Bath was really beautiful. The buildings were completely different than the ones I have seen in London. The stone and design are completely different. They had a cathedral that was absolutely amazing. The detail and height they were able to achieve before modern machinery was really amazing.

The Roman baths were also interesting. There were remains of the old buildings that had once surrounded the baths. Again, I was amazed by the intricate stone carvings that were achieved without modern tools. They had a large number of stones that looked as if they were carved yesterday. They had been well protected for many years inside the old buildings. When the building collapsed the pieces were well preserved under the rubble. They also have found intricate mosaic tile flooring that has also been well preserve. A beautiful mosaic horse was my favorite piece of ancient flooring.

I will upload pictures on Monday or Tuesday. They are really amazing.

Walking Home from the Gym

On Wednesday I choose to walk home instead of using a bus or the tube. The pictures I took on the way are now on Picasa. Take a look!

Email Questions

Hi everyone,

I have been getting emails with questions that others may also have. I will be answering some of the questions that I have received in my blog. Here are some of the questions:


You mentioned in your blog about the other students you have met. Where are most of them from?

All the students from the CIEE group are from the USA. Students in my building are from the USA, UK and Spain. My classmates are from all over the world. In one of my seminar classes out of 20 students, 7 countries are represented.


Do you have all the same classes together?

Out of the CIEE group, I only have one class with someone from the group. All of us have different majors, interests and different classes that transfer to our home institutions.


Do you all live in the same area?

In the CIEE group, no, we live all over. The group of 18 was divided into 4 different buildings, all over London.


Are you scoping out areas in the outskirts?

Not yet.


Do you like to go to antique type places?

They are nice to look at. I have been to some markets and shops with antique shops, but I just like looking, I have not bought anything yet.


There is a place called Ardingly. It is an outside and inside flea market type place. That is where Sharon found a lot of her horse brasses. Does your mom have some of those also?

Yes, my mom does have some horse brasses. I have not herd of Ardingly, but will have to look it up to check it out.


What is the best part so far?

The first thing I can think of is my new cell phone. I can call Cody for 2p a minute. I miss him more than ever. I really wish he could be experiencing this with me. Other than that I like the architecture, the tube, and the people (from the UK and those I have met from the USA).


Do you have the same schedule of classes every day?

I go to class Tuesday and Thursday. Tuesday 10-2:30, 6-9. Thursday 1-5:30


Do you have holidays/breaks?

I have a 3.5 week Christmas break (which I am spending most of with Cody). I also have a 3 or 4 week Easter break (aka spring break).


Your mom mentioned that she and Ashley were anticipating coming over, in the spring?

Mom and Ashley are coming in the spring, probably most of my spring break. We are planning on going to Paris and Germany for part of the time and spending the rest in London.

Afroslam

Yes, the title is correct. Afroslam. It is the title of the fitness class I took part in today. It is a combination of fArican Dance and aerobics. It was a HARD class and the most unusual aerobics class I have ever taken. I feel like I just went to my first basketball practice of the season.

Classes began on Tuesday. So far I only have classes on Tuesday and Thursday. The upside is that I can travel for a long weekend. The downside is that I am in class for 9 hours on Tuesday and 4.5 hours on Thursday. I am currently enrolled in: Introduction to Information and Communication Technology, Accounting, Theory and Practice of Business, and the role of the Manager.

Information and communication technology is mostly going to be a joke. We are going to learn how to use word, excel and PowerPoint. My academic life at home is this.

1. Do lab and use excel to enter and evaluate data.
2. Make a PowerPoint to present experiment and data.
3. Use word to write the formal scientific paper.

So, we will see how much I learn from that aspect of class.

The Role of the Manager will be really good for me. It teaches you how to problem solve, delegate tasks and evaluate performance from a management point of view. I think I will learn a lot from this class.

The other two are just 'there.' Nothing to special, just part of having a business minor I suppose.

Other than going to the gym and class I have not been doing that much. I have been sick, so sleeping and laying down in my dorm reading has been a priority. This Saturday we are going to Bath and Stonehenge. I have to leave my dorm at 7am, which is a drag on a Saturday, but I am sure it will be well worth it when I get to go see the sites.

Well, today is absolutely beautiful outside, so I am going to go do some walking around. (I am talking 68 degrees, and no clouds, so nice)

Cheers

The Last 3 Days

Hi everyone! Here is what has been going on in the past couple of days.

TUESDAY

I meet with my study abroad adviser to register for classes. All the classes I registered for will transfer to PSU straight across. I am taking Accounting, Management, Information and Communication Technology, and Theory and Practice of Business. Other students were talking about problems they had registering, and how their classes would not transfer to their home school. I was very relieved to know I had classes that would count toward my minor.

WEDNESDAY

RUGBY!! Yep, that's right, I went to a rugby game. Three or four study abroad groups met at the CIEE office last night to catch a coach to a big rugby match. The coach was a luxury double decker. We drove through the countryside for a little less than two hours. It was nice to see grass, horses and fruit trees.

The rugby match was really fun. We had chips (frenchfries) and drinks. My stomach was upset so I had Sprite, but everyone else had a beer. The players tackel eachother just like American football, but with no padding. I am suprised they have teeth at all. On the way home everyone else was freaking out because they had to go to the bathroom since they drank a beer or two. The coach was supposed to unlock the toilet room for our trip, but didn't. I don't know what they were thinking putting 50 college kids in a bus for 2 hours without a toilet. Everything was closed when we got back to London so the pay-to-use toliet had about 25 students all lined up at 12am. It was funny, I wish I would have had a camera.

THURSDAY

Today I went to the grocery store. I got steak, potatoes, mushrooms, and salad stuff. Erin (the other girl from PSU) made a tastey steak dinner. It was really good. We are really starting to develope a friendship. It makes me happy.

I also did some shopping for my dorm today. The most exciting thing I got was a plant. :) It is a tropical looking tree thing. I was, and still are, very exited about it. It makes my room feel like someone actually lives here. I also got thumbtacks and hung up my calendar Ashley made me. I also got a plastic shower caddy and laundry hamper. I am starting to feel like my room is more "me".


Picture issues...

My internet here is extremly slow. Therefore, uploading pictures takes forever. With that said, I will not be uploading pictures as often as I thought, sorry Ash. I will upload some when I get time between classes next week.