LONDON!!!!! :) :) :)

LONDON WAS SO MUCH FUN!!! We left Lancaster at 5:30 on Friday and got in around 8pm.  We rode first class on the train and it was wonderful.  I could actually get some work accomplished! We took a cab to our hotel, Chancery Court and then walked around for a half hour.

Saturday we woke up early and headed out to grab a hop-on hop-off bus that would take us all over for the day. We passed St. Paul’s and saw some of the protesters. We went across the Tower bridge and got off at the Tower of London.  There we saw some of the crown jewels, the armory, the bloody tower with some different torture instruments, and then proceeded to the gift shop. I didn’t buy out the entire store surprisingly but I did buy some really cute postcards (aka ones of Prince William and Prince Harry :-P). We then took a river boat cruise down the Thames. I probably took a hundred pictures of the Tower bridge from there.  It’s so cool! We also went under the London Bridge (which didn’t come down on top of us), saw Cleopatra’s Needle, the Houses of Parliament, County Hall, the London Eye and lots of other cool places!

We got off and crossed over the bridge to go to the London Eye. The view from it was amazing!!! You could see for miles.  I took a lot of pictures and when I looked at the clock tower with Big Ben in it, all I could think of was “All you need is faith, trust, and pixie dust!”  When we got off we got back on the bus and rode around to Westminster Abbey.  We walked around the back of the Houses of Parliament and around Westminster Abbey.  The architecture is so beautiful and old!  Back on the bus we went until getting off by Hyde Park.  Dad and I had spotted a shop with a nice Lamborghini in the window we wanted to check out. There were a couple of really nice Pagani Zondas!!!! We also saw the Aston Martin store and drooled over all of the nice Astons. Along the bus tour and walking around we saw a couple more Lamborghinis, Lotus, and a few really nice Maseratis!! 

Inspiration for Diagon Alley

It was time to head over to Leicester Square for the HP walking tour so back on the bus we went. We saw the Marble Arch, Oxford St. and some other really posh parts of London. We got to Leicester Square and met up with the tour.  We saw where the world premiers were held for all of the films.  We then walked to this one alley right off of Charing Cross Rd. and saw the real life inspiration for Diagon Alley.  In one of the windows there was some Harry Potter money.  Across from that store was a bookshop that also sold potions and had a tarot card reader.
We walked on to Trafalgar Square where the Death Eaters flew across in DH part 1. We also saw a place that hosts live chamber music concerts.  Dumbledore is rumored to have visited it many times.  Then we saw where the filmed the visitors entrance for the Ministry of Magic in OotP.  We also saw where the filmed the bit in DH where the trio knock out a few Ministry employees and drag them into a garage to finish the polyjuice potion.  After a short river cruise we saw the millennium bridge which is the bridge that the death eaters destroyed in HBP.  Apparently it took them an entire year to do all the computer effects in order to make this scene.

We also saw where the filmed knockturn alley (CS) and the back entrance to the Leaky Cauldron in PoA. Then we saw where they filmed Diagon Alley and the original Leaky Cauldron in SS.  We then took a short tube ride to King’s Cross to see where they filmed there (which actually took place between platforms 4 and 5).  We finished up just outside King’s Cross Station where there was a little mock up of Platform 9 3/4 that you could take a picture with.  It was a really cool tour! :)

After the tour was done we walked back to the hotel and then went to the Ship Tavern for a pint and fish and chips. We headed back and went to bed.  We got back around 10:30.  Around 2:30am my mom gets a call saying that their flight from London-Heathrow to Philly had been canceled due to lack of flight crew.  So they spent the next bit trying to figure out how to get home.  But they ended up finding a flight from London-Gatwick to Charlotte to Buffalo.  They left around 6am and I spent the next 3 hours being lazy before heading back to Euston for the train home.  I got back to uni around 2:30.

That night I watched Halloweentown because it was the night before Halloween! Then I watched Star Wars episode IV with Greg.  For some reason after that I needed to watch Iron Eagle so I had a very lazy night! This morning I met with Georgina (President of the Study Abroad Society) and finally sorted out the bank account and then had a general meeting with all of the exec.  I registered for next semester’s class at Genny :( 

I hope everyone has a fun Halloween!!!! :) :) I will hopefully post all of my London pictures soon!

~Carolyn

A few of my favorite things!

Hey everyone! I’m sorry I haven’t been posting a lot, but I haven’t really done anything other than work and hanging out with friends.  But that all changes because I’m going to London tomorrow!!!!!!!!! :) :) :)

My parents got here yesterday and we walked around Lancaster for a little while.  Wednesday is market day so there were a bunch of shops and everything to look at. We went to the Thai restaurant in town and got curry.  Today I had no classes so we rented a car and went to the Lake District where we found this little old car museum.  It was jam packed with a lot of really cool old cars, motorcycles, and other things as well! My dad drove and it was definitely an experience I won’t forget. He only drove on the wrong side of the road once, but we drove through this one little town where the roads were barely big enough for two cars to pass each other.  Also, there was a part where cars were parked on both sides and so he had to drive through the center without hitting anyone.  It was definitely an adventure! Then we went to Sainsburys and I got a bunch of groceries. We headed back to drop them off and invited Jen to come out to dinner with us.  We ended up going to their hotel (Penny Street Bridge) for dinner and it was really good! I got a filet and it was AWESOME! I was craving a steak like it was my job! I also had a bite of the fish ‘n’ chips which was excellent.  But…the crowning jewel was dessert, the flourless chocolate cake.  Anyone who has had the one on a Royal Caribbean Cruise knows how amazing these can be, and this one definitely was one of the best. SO GOOD!

Now I’m back in Grizedale and hanging out, mostly packed for London this weekend. I can’t wait for the Harry Potter walking tour on Saturday :) NERD POWER FTW!!!  I am also hoping to go to the Tower of London and cover as much ground as possible.  I’ll also scope things out for when Jen and I get there, especially when the Christmas market is happening :) 

Since I haven’t been posting a lot, I think I should list some random factoids.  

1) RICE PUDDING IS AMAZING!!!! I am addicted.

2) crumpets are fantastic and I need to smuggle a bunch home.  

3) I love the farmers markets here! 

4) I downloaded the latest Simple Plan album and I’m in love with it!

5) Jen got me addicted to this one youtube show and I CAN’T STOP WATCHING IT!

6) I pretty much live on pasta, baked potatoes, and cheese toasties (grilled cheese).  

7) I never realized how much I really love tea.  

8) Treacle toffee is WONDERFUL and I totally think of HP everytime I have some.

9) I live with some really crazy amazing people :).

10) THERE ARE SO MANY NICE CARS HERE!

11) I saw a Reliant Robin today on the road and I DIED! (watch these youtube clips to understand why http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQh56geU0X8   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b4WzWFKQ20)
  

12) Jen and I are hoping to at least visit Manchester, Bath, London, Edinburgh, and Dublin.

13) BBC iPlayer is how I survive, along with iTV and 4oD

14) I miss hockey but I’M SO EXCITED TO SEE A FOOTBALL GAME!!!!

15) I NEED TO GO SHOPPING

16) My parents brought me sponge candy from home!!!! <3 

17) MARMITE IS THE NASTIEST THING EVER!!!!!!!

18) They don’t have amp over here so I don’t know what I’m going to do when it gets down to crunch time.  I do have instant espresso though…

19) Every time I look at my Stig poster I giggle and try to do the Clarkson voice in my head while reading it.

20) The bar stool in my room is a wonderful door stop! :) 

That’s all for now!!!! <3
~Carolyn 

So much fail in so little time :-P

The past couple of days have been a whirlwind of classes and loads of work.  I’ve been finalizing my plans for next term in Geneseo and I’m going to have 0 life.  5 300-level classes and a 100-level dance class.  Yup…it’s gonna be a “fun” last semester.  But back to things in England!

Ciara, Niall, Jen and I

Tuesday Jen and I hung out with Ciara and some of her biology friends.  We then went to this night club called Revolutions (Revs).  It was just like the IB in Geneseo.  But the veggie pizza I ate later was DELICIOUS!!! Also, garlic mayo is HUGE here! I’ve gotten addicted to putting it on my pizza and chips (aka fries).  What I’m going to do without it when I go back?????

On the train back to Lancaster

Today Jen and I were supposed to go to Sheffield for a shopping trip and general girls day out.  After a mix up with the bus (also known as the one we needed didn’t start until 9:09 with our train leaving at 9:27), we missed our train.  In my determination to still try and have a good day, we hopped on a train to London hoping to figure out a connection.  After a 15 minute ride we stopped in Preston.  Jen and I decided to get off because we realized we had no idea where to get off to get a connection to Sheffield. So we texted Zhen and asked her to look up the next train from Preston back Lancaster.  We had a half hour to spare so we grabbed some food (I got a delicious fresh tomato, basil, and mozzarella sub) and some magazines (I got the new Top Gear magazine and Ok! with Prince William and Kate on it).  So even though we didn’t go to Sheffield, it was still kind of fun and random.  But now we’re back and I HAVE SO MUCH READING TO DO!! *sigh* 

My parents are going to be here Wednesday night and then Friday night we’re going to London.  I’ll be back on Sunday. I’m also looking forward to a trip to Manchester with the girls.  Ciara told me that when we go it’ll be when the German festival is happening there.  It’s one of the best times to go visit!! :)  So even though things didn’t work out today, we still have lots of time for traveling! Also, I may wait to go to Spain until after term is over.  

Other than that, it’s been a decent week :) Cheers.

~Carolyn

Shopping and fun things :)

Well it’s been a fun couple of days! Jen, Zhen and I booked tickets to go see Arsenal v. Wigan on December 3rd (Premiere League Football). I AM SO EXCITED! We got the tickets and a return bus ticket all for 45 quid.  Pretty good deal I should say! Also, Jen and I are going to book tickets tonight to go to Sheffield on Saturday. It’ll just be a day trip but we’re going to shop and just enjoy the sights. It’s been a crazy couple of days at work and I already found my place in the library that I will live in when it really gets down to crunch time.  I’ve been working on my reading for my Middle East class and I haven’t gotten my book for it yet in the mail :/.  Fingers crossed that it comes soon! 

I started watching the show New Girl (it’s an American show) and I LOVE IT!!! I have watched the first 3 episodes twice already and I am definitely hooked to it.  The only new British show that I’ve somewhat started watching is called Nevermind the Buzzcocks.  BBC iPlayer IS FANTASTIC!!! I will definitely miss it when I go back. I’ve also bought a couple of very nerdy econ books for fun.  But I need to finish my reading so I will post more probably after the trip to Sheffield :) 

~Carolyn

Just another Friday night.

LAST NIGHT WAS SO MUCH FUN! 

Shaun and I played corridor jousting.  I had the mop as my weapon and a pillow for my shield.  He had the broom for a weapon and some sort of plastic case for his shield.  We were on wheelie chairs at opposite ends of the hall and CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGED!!!!!! Even though I had a fluffy pillow for my shield, I still won :) Everyone was laughing so hard, it was hilarious! The mop disgusting so for a while Greg, Shaun and I were chasing Jen around with it.  Then Shaun and I played a different version where you could only propel yourself with your weapon (no feet or hands) and had to beat the other to the middle in order to pop a balloon.  He won that round.

A while after that Jude, Shaun, Jen and I were playing Shaun’s F1 racing game.  I’ve definitely improved my racing lines and was able to pose something of a threat to Shaun’s title as champion.   He has a wheel and peddles for it so it does kind of feel like you’re in the race.  Then everyone else went to bed except for Jen and I.  We watched part of the men’s gymnastics team world championships.  

Around 4am we decided to go see if the laundry room was unlocked. IT WAS! So at 4 in the morning, we decided to to laundry. In between wash and drying we watched some of the F1 practice runs in Korea, and I showed her most of Ken Block’s gymkhana videos :D Around 6am we finished up and I went to sleep.

Today I watched the women’s team world championships (USA WON!!!!!!!!!) and now watching Lawrence of Arabia for my Middle East class. I think we’re going to have a board game night tonight.  We’re hoping that they have Risk downstairs that we can play.   Tomorrow it’s time to get cracking on research for my 2 papers.  Woooooo.  Hope everything is hunky dory with you! 

~Carolyn

Ah a day of no classes :)

Hello everyone! This is going to be a very rambling post. Sorry!

The last couple of days have been hectic but a lot of fun :) Yesterday, Jen and I went shopping and I bought this gorgeous blue necklace for 10 quid.  Shopping is a bit limited in Lancaster but hopefully we’ll get to Manchester sometime! This weekend we’re going to the Lake District to walk around a bit. I can’t wait, it’s supposed to be beautiful up there. Today I had no classes so I spent the morning catching up on some reading. I also watched Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark for my Contemporary Issues in the Middle East class.

Ashton Memorial

At 4, Ciara, Jen and I went for a drive around (Ciara got her wheel checked and fixed because it was shaking a bit) and then walked around a park. We saw the butterfly museum and the Ashton memorial. Lord Ashton built it for his 2nd wife, but half way through the construction of it, divorced her and married his 3rd wife.  Haha oh Lord Ashton.  Tonight was also the first meeting for the Harry Potter Society :D I got sorted into Slytherin though, but oh well. Then I came back and watched the Middle East Top Gear special…you know…for my Middle East class. I still have to watch Laurence of Arabia for it as well. We’re supposed to watch them and gauge the stereotypes and ideas that people have about people from the Middle East. Example: In Indiana Jones when the one swordsman comes to challenge Indiana and he just shoots him.  I’ll spare you the explanation and all that. 

I LOVE IT HERE AND I DON’T WANT TO LEAVE! But Ashley told me that I have to be back for the weddings. I wouldn’t miss them for the world. Alright I’m going to bed. Night everyone!
~Carolyn

Classes have begun!

Well it’s Tuesday and I have had had the lecture and seminar for Politics of the European Union. We just started covering some of the basic theories and discussing the atmosphere after WWII.  It seems likes it’s going to be a pretty good class. BUT MY LECTURER IS AMERICAN!!! Haha it’s so wrong. But my seminar tutor is from the UK so that makes up for it. Professor Geyer (the lecturer) is pretty funny though.  My top 2 quotes from him are “Baddies equaled commies back then” and “Giant bathtub homes!”  If you don’t know what a baddie is…go look it up and then watch this (go to 0:52 if you want to skip the intro stuff) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e7R3y-qwZ0&feature=related

Top Gear FTW! Ah yes. Anyways, other than that I haven’t been very busy.  I’ve started working on my reading some and watching Friends with Jen.  I love that show :) Last night Ciara, Jen, and I had a girls dinner and went to Cartmel.  I tried a grilled pork steak with tomatoes, mushrooms, peas, and chips (yes, like fish ‘n’ chips, not sun chips) Darn it, now I want harvest cheddar sun chips which they don’t have over here. Considering I practically lived on those last year during finals, this may be a good thing.  Dinner was really nice, Ciara had gone home this weekend for a wedding so we were all catching up. 

Shaun got this new F1 racing game, and it came with an actual wheel and peddles. IT IS SO MUCH FUN!!!! Haha Jen and I were playing it the other night with him and I did pretty well for myself. It kind of made me miss playing Need for Speed.  It’s pretty difficult though, especially when you shift it into manual instead of automatic.  It has those stupid flappy paddles on the side of the wheel. I think I did maybe one lap with it in manual because I was concentrating so much on when to shift that I kept crashing into the walls. :-P Good times indeed.

Hmmm what else.  It really does rain here a lot. I knew it would rain, but I didn’t think they meant this often.  It’s rained probably 60% of the time I’ve been here.  But that’s okay, I have my spiffy looking trench coat! I bought another Jeremy Clarkson book and a couple course books. Tonight is the first meeting for Swing dance! That should be good fun :) It’ll be an interesting switch up from Orchesis. First exec meeting for Study Abroad Society tomorrow.  OMG I ALMOST FORGOT, I finally made plans with Vanessa to visit her in SPAIN!!!!!! I’m going to Madrid on November 4th and going back November 7th. I’M SO EXCITED TO GO TO SPAIN!!!!!!!!! :) :) :) :) 

I think that’s all for now. I hope everyone had a great day!

~Carolyn

Marmite and Crumpets

MARMITE IS NASTY!!!!!!!!! Ugh I feel like I still have the taste of epic nastiness in my mouth.  Jen bought crumpets and I bought marmite a couple days ago and finally decided to give them a shot today.  We also did crumpets with butter and nutella on them. We toasted the crumpets and then put on the toppings.  We tried the marmite one first. I wish I had taken a picture to show you all the looks of sheer disgust and grossed-outness that we had on our faces. I shudder just thinking about it.  I ran over to the garbage and spit it out, quickly followed by Jen.  Thankfully the butter and nutella topped ones were much better! Crumpets are pretty good! They are rather spongy and doughy tasting. I will definitely be buying some. Then we watched Miracle and now figuring out what to do with ourselves before classes start tomorrow.  It’s turning into a lazy day.

~Carolyn

                 

                

Fresher's Week

It has been a great first week! I am looking forward to classes starting tomorrow :) This week has been a lot of going to orientation talks and getting settled. One of the talks was regarding the history of Lancaster and it was really interesting. I definitely need to look up more about the witch hunts that happened here. The town is really beautiful as well. It feels like a step back in time but still modern.  I’m hoping to explore it more soon and take more pictures.  

Other than going to all of the orientation stuff, I’ve been hanging out with my flatmates a lot! Jen, Zhen, Greg, Jude, Ciara, and Shaun have made this week a lot of fun! Between teaching people how to shuffle cards and do the bridge with them, finding homeless bar stools, and corridor frisbee, it’s been good times! It was Shaun’s 21st birthday earlier in the week so we decorated his door with balloons, a sign, and a card.  Then we went out to the pub to buy him a birthday drink.  I ended up playing foosball with Zhen and Jude.  Through visualizing an ice rink instead of a football pitch, I kicked some butt! Haha just kidding :-P But Jude and I did win.  

Thursday was Fresher’s fair and I am the treasurer for the Study Abroad Society so I was there for pretty much the duration. Right across from our table was the Swing Dance club (MIKE ROFF I THOUGHT OF YOU!) and they were playing videos the entire time.  By the end of it I had signed up for the club because it looks like a lot of fun.  They lured me in with their awesome clips.  I have wanted to try it for ages as well.  I also signed up for the Culture Society and the Harry Potter society (yeah that happened).  I can see my brothers rolling their eyes already.  But hey I got a free key chain out of it! Scuba diving club was there as well but I don’t know if I will do it.  Dives are pretty cheap and they have some equipment, but dry suits instead of wet suits.  Let’s see here, my coldest dive was Lake Erie during the summer for my cert dives.  I wore a wet suit for that. We’ll see.  

Hmmm I can’t think of anything else right now but I’ll probably post during the week about classes. I’m taking Politics of the European Union, International Political Economy and Globalization, and Contemporary Issues in the Middle East.  I am also probably going to audit the Policies and Politics of the United Kingdom.  It should be a fun term :) I can’t believe I’m only here for 2 months :(

I will post more later! <3 

~Carolyn

This is amazing

Hi everyone!!!!

Well soon will be my second full day at Lancaster and honestly, this place is amazing.  I’ll start back with my bus ride here.  Normally I would be attempting to take lots and lots of pictures through a bus window and then getting annoyed with the inevitable glare on the picture.  So I decided to skip that bit and just watch all the cars go by the country side.  Pretty soon I started mildly keeping track of the cars I saw going past.  From what I saw, Citron, Peugeot, Volkswagen and Volvo were the most popular.  But after that, I SAW SO MANY BMWs and AUDIs!!! A lot of really really nice ones too! I also counted 13 Porsches in that hour as well which I thought was a lot. 

Moving forward, I live on the best floor with the best people around. There are 8 of us who share 2 toilets, 2 showers, and a kitchen.  Everyone is really nice, 2 of the girls are also from America, one from Canada, and the other girl is from Manchester.  All of the boys are from England.  Our first night here most of us were pretty knackered so instead of going to the toga party most of us crashed in the one guy’s room and watched There’s Something about Mary.  I also bought my first bottle of wine!

Yesterday we had to be up and out by 9:45 to go to a series of talks for International Students.  We learned about the history of Lancaster, how academics differ here (IT’S SO DIFFERENT but from what I can tell, seems a bit better, more on that later), and a few other things.  It was a long day but they gave us tea and cakes at the end of it :D. Afterwards, 3 of the girls and I went into town, walked around a bit and stocked up on supplies.  I found the Top Gear magazine and bought it!  It was a lot of fun walking around and seeing all the different foods and stuff they had in Sainsbury’s (the supermarket we went to).  Then we came back and worked out timetables for registration.  

I love you Geneseo, but registration here is so much better.  It’s a little different for Freshers and International Students.  We’ll actually go to one of the buildings on campus and all the departments will be there.  We’ll just go around to whatever department a course we want to take is in, and then tell them we want to sign up for it.  Very few classes here have quotas so I don’t have to worry about not being able to get into one of my classes. SO MUCH BETTER AND LESS STRESSFUL!

I have my room pretty much set up and decorated. I also have an amazing view! I can watch the sun set over Grizedale college (the residence hall I’m living in, it’s called a college here).  I took a few pictures so go check it out on facebook if you would like to see it.  The only thing that isn’t so good is that I have limited internet usage.  I can go on websites like facebook and youtube as much as I want, but anything that requires downloading or just a lot of bandwidth (like video chatting on skype) I am limited to 30 gb of usage.  I’m not sure if it’s per month or for the whole semester.  Also, washers (£1.70)and dryers (£1.20) are kind of expensive here. Geneseo, you spoiled me with your free laundry services. 

So far I am absolutely loving it here. I register for classes today and then having a meeting with the study abroad society e board to make our poster for Fresher’s fair. If I have time I’ll go into town and try to sort out my phone, being essentially phoneless is not fun :(

Classes are a lot different here.  Typically here, you’ll only go to 1 lecture a week (typically an hour long from what I have seen) and then you’ll probably have a workshop, seminar or laboratory at another time during the week.  The rest of the time is you doing reading and learning on your own about the subject.  Sometimes the professors will give you explicit reading lists but that’s usually only for first year modules (classes).  They also have 3 terms, Michaelmas, Lent, and Summer.  Typically, you’ll register for your full year of classes and then not take any exams until the Summer term.  A lot of the classes run for the full year. 

I’ll update more later :D 

“WALKING IN A GRIZEDALE WONDERLAND!”

I'M HERE!!!!!!

Well I just arrived here in the UK and well…all I have seen so far is the innards of Manchester Airport.  Despite that, it seems pretty beautiful so far. It was sprinkling a little when I went outside, but I figured that would be a good English greeting.  It’s not snow so I’m definitely not complaining. I had some fun trying and later succeeding in finding the Lancaster University table.  I’ve gotten roughly 7 hours of sleep over the past 48 hours soooo I’m tired and this won’t be a very long post.  Also, I only have 30 minutes of Wi-Fi.  The layover in Philadelphia wasn’t too bad, I sat and watched Modern Family for 3 hours.  I forgot how much I love that show. I also found a replica of the Liberty bell made out of legos.  Yeah I’m rambling. I’m waiting for the bus to take me to Lancaster and I want to sleep! But no sleep shall be had for a while. It’s 10:21am here.  I have an hour long bus ride to Lancaster and then unpacking for a little while.  I’m hopefully going to meet up with some people around 2:30 and just hang out before college talks at 6:30.  Then it’s time for the graffiti toga party!  Thank you Whose Line is it Anyway for keeping me entertained on the long flight since I couldn’t sleep.  :D Alright I’m getting off (Wi-fi is about to expire).  I’m sure I’ll update in the next couple of days, when I’ve gotten more sleep and can write coherent sentences.  Bye!!!! :-)