England is absolutely INCREDIBLE. So far, I think this is one of the best decisions I have ever made-- it is worth every penny (of which I have to stop spending) The British are amazingly friendly and always willing to help. It's very much like the United States, as in, I am experiencing very little to no culture shock. The only real difference is the driving (scary) and the accents... which are very fun to listen to. I also loooove the area I am in. It's so quaint and pleasant. I would say "I could get used to this," but I am pretty sure I am already used to it.
It's been absolutely crazy these past few weeks. As you know, the first week I was here, my family accompanied me. I was so very glad that they did. I think now how much more different the transition would have been without them, and I thank them for investing the time and money to come to England with me and help me adjust to my new environment. Regardless, I had a lot of fun with my family. While they were here, we took a train to London to see the end of the Tour of Britain-- which largely took place in Westminster. The craftsmanship that went into many of those buildings down there-- Parliament, Westminster Abbey-- was absolutely breathtaking! They truly are architectural marvels.
I also managed to convince my family to head out to King's Cross station so that I could find the infamous Platform 9 3/4. We walked through the station and ended up where it should have been, only to find that it was not there! Upon further searching, we appeared to be blatantly lost, and a man stepped off his train and asked if we were searching for Platform 9 3/4. Thankful, yet mildly embarrassed that it was that obvious, we discovered that the Platform has been moved to the outside of King's Cross due to the large amounts of construction going on within the train station. It was a bit of a disappointment to find it in a small, metal shack on the street outside, but it was still awesome, and I still managed to take a picture of it.
Big Ben on Parliament
Parliament from Behind
Tour of Britain outside of Parliament
Westminster Abbey-- You all know what happened here. :]
Continuation of the Tour
The Fam testing out the iconic London Telephone booths.
I apologize, because I still have quite a few pictures from the time that my family was here that I need to put up on Facebook and such. But here are a few for you guys! Like I said, it was a lot of fun.
At some point while my family was here, we also went to explore the city of Stoke-on-Trent and its history of pottery. (This area isn't called the "Potteries" for nothing.) Therefore, we took a trip to Gladstone Pottery Museum (Wedgwood, as historically awesome as it would have been, just seemed too expensive and out of the way) What we thought was going to be a simple afternoon outing, turned into an all day event-- it really was THAT interesting. Gladstone Pottery Museum was a former Victorian pottery factory that specialized in Bone China. It is characterized by its LARGE, iconic, coal-burning, bottle-neck Kilns which, in its heyday, used to litter (quite literally) the skyline of the City of Stoke-On-Trent. It was a fantastic place to visit, and if you're ever in the area, I suggest you try it out!
Just a few pics:
At some point while my family was here, we also went to explore the city of Stoke-on-Trent and its history of pottery. (This area isn't called the "Potteries" for nothing.) Therefore, we took a trip to Gladstone Pottery Museum (Wedgwood, as historically awesome as it would have been, just seemed too expensive and out of the way) What we thought was going to be a simple afternoon outing, turned into an all day event-- it really was THAT interesting. Gladstone Pottery Museum was a former Victorian pottery factory that specialized in Bone China. It is characterized by its LARGE, iconic, coal-burning, bottle-neck Kilns which, in its heyday, used to litter (quite literally) the skyline of the City of Stoke-On-Trent. It was a fantastic place to visit, and if you're ever in the area, I suggest you try it out!
Just a few pics:
Finally, it was time for my family to depart. I tried very hard not to cry as I stood in line with them and waited for them to go through security at Manchester International Airport. I even commented to my mom-- who was having a harder time than I was-- "It's just like you're sending me off on the Hogwarts Express!" Nerdy, I know... but it was the most comforting thing I could think of. Eventually, I got choked up and had to leave after I said good bye and took one last, good look at my family before I left them for 9 months. It was sad, but I went immediately to find the Keele collection group, where I located my other American friends-- Joan and Hannah-- who had arrived just that morning from Ohio.
The Keele collection was an ordeal in itself. We had all been instructed that we would all be on the 9:30 coach out of Manchester, and that the collection group would be there at 9:00 to register. Well, come 9:30, we are neither on a coach, nor has the collection group come to register us. Finally, at about 9:45, they show up. Apparently, they had decided to settle on the 1st floor of the building to try and take registration, when they had told every single one of us to meet them on the ground floor... which is where WE were. By 10:30, I had registered, and I was on my way to the bus with my friends... when they stop us and tell us there is no more room, and that the next bus would be along in 2 hours. Fantastic! I could have gone on, seeing as how I had no luggage, but I decided to stay with my newly-made friends.
So, we waited at Manchester Airport. It was pretty fun, despite the evacuation of Terminal 1 (because of a "Mysterious Package" being left alone in an open area) and the fact that everyone was very, very tired. We all got to chat, meet new people, and get to know our fellow internationals before going off to Keele. I wonder that, if we hadn't been delayed like that, would we have made the same friendships as internationals? Regardless, by 1:45, they had returned, and we were off to Keele University!
Once at Keele, we had to queue for forever to pick up our packets and keys for accommodations... which was a pain. And then, they were providing buses for students with luggage, but we decided that it was NOT worth the wait, and a bunch of us decided to drag our bags the mile back to Hawthorns Hall. That night, Keele University had a "Welcome to Britain" party for the internationals, where they served us Fish and Chips, as well as Bangers and Mash. It was pretty fun-- met a few Internationals from Canada and other places.
Keele has had many little events for us since we arrived at Keele-- such as the International Ball at Keele Hall, and other things. I think the next most exciting thing was the Icebreaker Event-- which was like a Giant club. It really was amazing, and I had LOADS of fun, danced all night and the such.
Since I have been here, I have done something just about EVERY day and EVERY night, usually until relatively late. Needless to say, I'm very tired and I feel relatively drained. I did push through on Tuesday and try Rowing at Rudyard Lake. It was quite a bit of fun. Mostly international girls trying out for it, but that's all right. :] Sat next to a sick girl-- who I didn't immediately know was sick-- and I hope I am not beginning to regret it. Hannah's already gone through her bout of the Fresher's Flu, and I am beginning to wonder if I am picking it up... especially since I started feeling symptoms a day or so after I sat next to the person fighting it. ((For those of you who don't know, Fresher's Flu is just like... a bad cold. Not an actual Flu. I guess it just sounded better for alliteration purposes.)) Apparently, it's something that a great number of uni students get as they return to school, though... and having been running my body more than I am used to by staying up late and going all day, as well as exposing it to a constant battering of brand new germs from many different countries... it's no wonder I'm beginning to feel a little ill (sneeze-y, snotty, and the such... and a sub-par diet probably doesn't help...) I plan to take it very easy this weekend, visit Boots at some point today to grab some medications (Boots is like Walgreens or CVS for us) drink vitamin C, and hope that my immune system pulls back up to speed by Monday when classes start.
Anyways, that's the quick and dirty version of what has been going on here, so far. I don't mean to sound rushed, but we are leaving at 2pm to go to Newcastle so that I can get a few last necessities, and I am cutting it a bit close. I will try to keep up with this more, now that school is about to start and I have a feeling things may just quiet down a bit. But we'll see!
Peace, Love, and England, guys.
