Cambridge :)

I spent today in the beautiful city of Cambridge! At nine o clock we left UEA's campus & arrived in the city about an hour & a half later. We separated into groups & went on a tour. It so was so cool hearing about the history of the city & the university, Cambridge University celebrated its octocentennial in 2009 so it is a very old school! Cambridge University is also a lot different than any other university I have ever heard of. Instead of applying to Cambridge, you apply to one of the eighteen colleges that make up the university, or something like that. I still don't completely understand. But it was super cool. & Cambridge isn't a campus university like UEA or EKU; the school is scattered throughout the entire city! It was very interesting to hear about.

Following the tour, which was freezing cold & got cancelled about fifteen minutes early so we could warm up, a group of us went to The Eagle, which was an interesting little pub with tasty food :) Fun fact: The Eagle is where Francis Crick & James Watson first announced that they had discovered DNA!

I personally had a tasty meal of fish & chips (though I didn't really enjoy the batter the fish was cooked in) & a tasty mug of wonderful hot cocoa (who would guess?). I also got to chat with a couple other American students that I hadn't met yet, & met a boy from Andorra (I think... I wasn't sure & googled it, & I think that is what he said. I didn't quite understand his accent). It was fun meeting new people, I always enjoy company & having someone to talk you. You all know that I always have a lot to say!

After our lunch we mostly just wandered around & looked at the market & the shops. There were some really pretty scarves that I was interested in, but I was frugal & opted not to buy one & to instead save the money for a more practical scarf that would actually keep me warm... Shocking, I know. We also went to a tea shop & got some hot cocoa. I know we had just eaten, but it was very cold & the tea shop was the only place with room for us to sit down! Plus, I wanted some more hot chocolate, because I definitely haven't had enough this trip.

I am going to post a few of my favourite pictures I took in Cambridge, but the rest are on my facebook if you want to look! Love & miss you all loads ♥

A Little Complaining

For the most part, I think that my blog posts have been pretty positive about this experience. & it is a great one! I enjoy the company of my lovely, wonderful flat mates; I have interesting classes; an easy schedule; & a beautiful place to live. I have amazing people back home who are keeping in touch & remembering me, which probably makes me happier than anything else. But because my poor boyfriend Scott has been the only one to listen to my whining for the past couple weeks, I think that I will make a short list of five things that I would like to complain about :) Do not feel obligated to read this.

1. I am really tired of cooking my own food. & if I have to cook my own food, I want an oven. It has only been two weeks, but I want some real food. I am not a gourmet chef. The fanciest dish that I have cooked up since I have been here is pasta with pesto (& the pesto was bought from the store). I want a meal. Some Fazoli's to be precise. & I want some cake.

2. These headaches are seriously getting on my nerves. Starting in my junior year I started getting headaches. They continued throughout my senior year & actually subsided a bit my first year of college (oh goodness, I nearly typed uni). I had a couple horrible weeks my first semester my sophomore year, but they had gone away completely by the time I left for England. Well, they missed me. They are back. I have had one every single day. They hurt. They make me irritable. They make it hard to read for class.

3. I have way too much free time. Wow, I never thought I would say that. But seriously. I have nine hours of class a week. That is it. Monday through Wednesday I only have one class a day. One class that lasts a whopping... one hour. The rest of the day I sit in my room & stare at the computer screen. Maybe make some food or read a book. Write mail. It is killing me. I need a hobby.

4. I am lonely. There are nice people here, but none that I have really bonded with entirely & made life long friends with or anything. I don't have anyone where at any time I can shoot them a text message or knock on their door & just sit down & chat. Or watch movies. Or laugh with. Or go get dinner with. Or go into town & clothes shopping with. Or hug. I don't think I have touched another person since Aunt Nicky dropped me off here. It sucks. Sometimes, I get a little bit discouraged & miserable about it. I am a social being, & not having close friends is making me a bit of a glum chum.

5. Of course, I am missing everyone terribly. I only get to talk to my boyfriend for a good length of time on the weekends. We have to put up with short messages, wallposts, & emails throughout the week. I miss him. I miss his hugs. I miss him making me tasty hot chocolate. I miss making fun of him. I miss playing yahtzee with his family. It is sad. I feel bad that he has to deal with my tears & mood swings. I miss my family (though I'm pretty sure I am talking to them more here than I do when I am at home!) I miss eating dinner with them & watching movies with them & just sitting in the same house as them. I miss my cat :( I miss my friends. I hate that I have scarcely spoken to any of them since I have been gone. A facebook message or wallpost here & there, but I haven't actually kept in consistent contact with anyone except for Scott & my family. It sucks. It makes me a little depressed. & of course, you knew this was coming I am sure, I miss my darling little children at home. They are always guaranteed to make my day when I am down, so I hate not seeing them. I hate that they will have grown so much when I get home. I hope they won't have forgotten me. Emory, Myles, Maya, Shelby, Parker, Hannah, Elizabeth, Gustavo, Isaac, Elliott, Hailey, Aisley, Samantha, & Evan - I miss you. Sophia Marie & Evan Paul - don't forget Aunt Rach, I love you.

Okay. Mopeyness is over, be expecting another bright & sunshiney post in the near future! & to end this whole thing on a good note, here is a beautiful scene from the amazing movie Easy A that I have been watching non-stop ever since I got here. Enjoy! :)

Church & shopping :)

Today I actually got quite a lot accomplished :) Something very impressive for me! I got up at about 9:15 & caught the bus to go to church at 9:30. I know, early riser, right? The service was nice. A lot of singing, which I always love, & an interesting sermon. It was quite a long service too. During part of it I actually got quite dizzy & nearly passed out, but it was all good!

Following church, my flat mate Deborah, two of her friends, & I all walked around Norwich trying to find a bridesmaid dress for one of the friends. It was very enjoyable to look at all the shops & just spend some girl time! It's been hard being here without any close friends, so it was pleasant being able to just walk around & chat about clothes & classes & that sort of thing. Deborah's two friends are very nice, & I do hope to get to know them better! Though this experience will be amazing regardless, it would be nice to go home with some new friends :)

Ah, perhaps the greatest achievement of my day... I went grocery shopping! & only purchased two things that weren't on my list - an Aero bar & Ribena, which were obviously essentials. & only spend 14 pounds! What a glorious day. I don't have a whole lot of food supplies yet, but then again, I'm a bit of a sporadic eater & not a great cook yet, so it is okay :) &, on the plus side, the less money I spend on food, the more I have to spend on TRAVEL! & cute clothes!

This was a bit of a pointless little blog :) just a brief update on what is going on here across the pond. Not a whole lot of homework yet, though I am going to try & begin my 4,000 paper that is due in 10 weeks... perhaps if I break it down nicely it will be a breeze. I have also begun the 30 Day Picture Challenge on facebook to kill some spare time, should be interesting, hahah.

Love & miss you all loads, can't wait to hear from you <3

Mid-Week Update :)

Not a whole lot has been going on, I have mostly just been settling in recently (& there are no new pictures to speak of at all). My schedule has been pretty easy! It looks something like this...

Monday - Education & the Media Seminar, 2-3 pm
Tuesday - Education & the Media Lecture, 10-11 am
Wednesday - Education & the Media Lecture, 10-11 am
Thursday - Creativity & Learning Lecture, 11 am - 1 pm; & Creativity & Learning Seminar, 2-4 pm
Friday - Comedy in Drama, 11 am - 1 pm

Not a difficult schedule at all, but classes are different here so it is something I will have to get used to! Also, I have begun thinking about an assignment I have due in April (a long way away, but the only assignment for the entire course!) & have been stressing a little about the idea of writing a 4,000 word essay on a specific example of how media effects education... It will be something I will have to put a lot of work into!

I have also been trying to get into more of a routine recently. I would like to do school dance team again next year, so in the afternoons I have been planning on (today may very well be day one) working out, & I plan to run at least three times a week. It's slightly miserable, but for a good cause. Also, I have a new plan for Tuesday nights! A girl from my flat Debbie brought me with her to the "Christian Union" last night, which is kind of like CRU on EKU's campus. It was fun & interesting, & probably the way I will spend my Tuesday nights from here on out.

Making friends here has still been a little bit difficult for me, but I have been doing my best at being friendly & open, as well as trying new things. For example - my first pub experience. Hopefully I will be able to leave this experience with plenty of new & interesting people in my life. It will be hard, but I think that I can do it as long as I am brave.

Missing you all so very much.

Saturday :)

Today was an absolutely amazing day :) I was able to enjoy a lazy morning & not get out of bed until almost eleven, watch a movie (Couple's Retreat was hilarious, & very sweet), & take my time relaxing before grocery shopping! Lots of fun, tasty, & not too unhealthy snacks for me to munch on. After that Aunt Nicky dropped me back off at school before heading back to London, it was a little scary having my last family member leave me here, but I feel much better now.

I came back to the room & decorated my billboard with all my posters & the beautiful artwork that my darling little children have made me - Maya, Shelby, Emory, & Tara are the best for giving me such beautiful pictures to hang up! I am no interior designer, but I did my best :) I also worked on coloring pictures for all my little ones - only a couple more to go!

However, getting to talk to friends & family from home is what really made my day! I loved chatting with Mom & Bri on facebook (though it wasn't nearly as awesome as talking to Mom, Dad, & Alex on the phone last night & actually hearing their voices!) & video chatting with Scott both on skype & yahoo was excellent! It was so refreshing to see his face & hear his voice. We also had a lot of fun playing chess, doodling, & sending different little emoticons & audibles back & forth. It really made me miss him so much more! He is the best, & I love him to death. I cannot wait until my family gets skype so I can talk to them more too.

However, what probably was the absolute highlight of my day, was the wonderful, amazing video that May & her wonderful children made for me on facebook. It literally made me tear up I was so happy to see their little faces, their dancing, & to hear them say that they love & miss me. Most definitely the sweetest thing that has been done for me yet! Here is a link, if you'd like to watch it :) Maya, Shelby, & Parker are the most amazing kids in the world!

Today has been a good day, & I am excited to go exploring in Norwich again tomorrow! Goodnight, & all my love to everyone <3

Moving in...

I finished getting all moved into the dorm today, which was lovely. Before orientation this morning, I ran into the flat to put all my perishables into the fridge, & what did I see? Alcohol! Beer! Wine! Oh my! I definitely am in a different country! The orientation events were fine, just a lot of review of basic things, & then I got fully registered for my classes that start on Monday :) Only two other international students are in my school of Education, & both of them are from Australia & are studying PE teaching, so it was interesting meeting them!

After orientation I ran back to the room, organised the room (pictures below), sat down, & relaxed for a while. I took a little nap, & accidentally missed the game night for international students but it was okay because... I met some of my flatmates! I met our resident tutor, two of the girls, & one of the boys. I was a little surprised that boys & girls live in the same flat here, & even more surprised that they can live in the same room at times. They were all really interesting & nice & we sat in the kitchen & chatted for about two hours! One girl even offered to take me shopping in Norwich. Hopefully I will be able to make friends with the people here & have a nice time :)

Off to watch a movie (most likely Easy A, yet again) & go to bed, now! Sorry this post was a little less humorous than the last!

All of my love to all of you.

PS - my first cooking attempt was a horribly failure, as can be seen to the left...

I'm here!

So, I did it. I made it to my temporary, new home in one piece, and only 3 & a half hours later than schedule.

My trip started off with my Mom & Scott dropping me off at the airport, a quick stop for gum & silly bands (Moms, be expecting these to be coming to your youngins in the mail), & a lovely half an hour delay to Charlotte due to weather. & as a result of the lovely delay, I found myself (out of the kindness of my heart) allowing the other passengers on the plane to exit first so they could make their connections, & ultimately getting lost. I stopped at the customer service desk, stood in line behind a bunch of very angry people, & finally a relatively nice lady pointed me in the right direction (I wasn’t even in the right concourse…)

Ah, & here is where the real adventure started. My flight from Charlotte to London Gatwick. I got some food, bought my very first (& most likely, very last) cheap/trashy/poorly written romance novel, & took myself a seat at my gate & waited patiently for my flight. I had read half of the Scent of Jasmine by the time we boarded the plane, only a few minutes late, & I had finished the thing by the time the plane took off.

Okay, so that is much less dramatic & impressive than it seems. I got very bored with the antics of “Southern Belle yet still capable of lassoing a bucking bronco” Cay & her secretly ruggedly handsome, jasmine scented, accused murderer boyfriend (can’t even remember his name twelve hours later, if that says anything about the quality of this novel) & skipped the entire middle of the book to read the last few chapters & reflect on what a waste of my time the novel was – next time, I’m sticking with something with a little more substance. The House at Pooh Corner, for example.

Regardless, I still had time to finish the book, do a crossword or two, & take an hour & a half long nap before the plane took off. Why you ask? Because we sat in the plane for a good three hours after the initial departure time, waiting for them to clean ice off of it. Personally, I am a huge fan of making sure that we don’t crash & die, but my fellow passengers were restless & grouchy, so it was a bit of a rough take off when we finally did.

The rest of my flight was relatively uneventful. I colored some beautiful pictures of Rapunzel & Woody, did a few crossword puzzles, dominated at a word search, failed dismally at a logic puzzle, & watched Easy A. Twice. By the way, that movie is genius. Then upon landing, the paramedics rushed on to the plane searching for the sick passenger.

Oh, wait. Did I skip something?

Yes, we did in fact have ourselves a sick passenger on the eight hour flight from Charlotte to Gatwick. I was first alerted of this when an announcement interrupted my first viewing of Easy A. The announcement went something like this: “If there is a doctor, physician, or nurse on board, please report to the back of the aircraft immediately.” Oh. Well. That’s reassuring. Then, about four hours later (most likely during my second viewing of Easy A), I was interrupted by another announcement. “If there is a physician, a doctor, anyone on this plane, please report to the back of the aircraft immediately.” Well. That’s a little foreboding, isn’t it?

Suddenly, I was taken back to the House episode (I would dramatically quote the number, season, & title here if I could remember) in which House himself was called to the back, er, first class section of the aircraft… What was the problem then? Oh yes… A supposed outbreak of some very foreign, very contagious, very deadly disease. That’s very reassuring… Wait, just kidding! It’s just a silly scuba diver with the bends!

Fortunately, no one on this aircraft passed on their illness (imaginary or otherwise), or caused the plane to be dropped several thousand feet due to nitrogen bubbles expanding in their bloodstream.

Finally, we landed. & it was wonderful! I looked out the window. I saw the overcast skies and the rain soaked ground. & do you know what the first thought that entered my mind was? “This place is beautiful. I think I am going to be happy here.” I think that’s a good sign. & then I went through my photo album for the seventh time today, & looked at all of my beautiful friends, family, & little kiddos, & missed you all, but was still so excited to be here. I think that’s a good sign too.

I went through customs. It took forever. I got my bags (& carried all four of them by myself, heck yes). I hugged my aunt. I hugged my grandma. I got in the car. I clung to the door in terror & stomped on the imaginary passenger break many a time as we went through roundabout after roundabout at 90 miles per hour. I emailed my family. I drank some hot chocolate. I went to sleep. I woke up & drank some tea to try to become a proper British person. And here I am, writing you lovely people, a lovely blog.

I love you. I miss you. I am sorry this is so long. & if you read it, I hope you enjoyed it.

All my love,

Rachel

3 days!

Ahhhhhhh, I can't believe that I am actually leaving in three days! I have so much stuff to get done before then, it is ridiculous. I think my brain might explode. At some point, I may want to stop procrastinating... Here is my to-do list so far!

1. Do laundry
2. Get together carry on bags - coloring books, crayons, movies, reading... yes, I am a five year old
3. Finish up my photo album of pictures of friends & family
4. See my friends one or two more times!
5. Get officially checked out of the dorm
6. Try out for dance team
7. Get a hair cut
8. PACK!

That's the first time I've gone through & actually looked at all the things I need to do... It is a little more stressful than I remembered! I'm starting to get really nervous every time I think about leaving, but I know that is will be a great experience & that I will learn so much & (hopefully) make lots of new friends. I just hope I don't miss everyone at home too much...