2 Days

Whoa. Already?!

I turned in all my papers today...I hope everything turns out okay. Turning things in is very confusing and complicated here. We don't just turn things into our professors during lecture/seminar. They send us on this wild goose chase to find what is called the "mixing bay" and we are supposed to dump our work into this plastic box labeled "Third Year" or whatever year you're in.

As an international student, things work differently for me (only God knows why) and I was told by my creative writing tutor that I have to turn in my portfolio to the guy in the English department in charge of international students. That, and grading works differently here. Ugh. Such a headache. So much stress.

Tonight, I'm staying in because I gots no moneys. I think I'll barely have enough for tomorrow and until I get to the airport. Yay! That includes taxi/train (haven't decided yet), hotel, and food.

I have been packing and throwing things out like a crazy person. My large suitcase weighs about 42 lbs. I hate this part of travelling...I always get so stressed out. I wish there was some way to skip the security, the packing, the waiting, and the sitting and somehow just teleport myself home.

Le sigh...

Cheers! :)

4 Days

I am freaking out.

I am excited to go home, but now, the realization that I will actually have to leave this place to get there has finally hit me, and I don't want to face it.



This song pretty much sums up how I feel right now. I think it's perfect.

I will miss this place so much. I promise to come back. Times infinity.

Today, I woke up and there was some stress involving printing...end of term is like the apocalypse. Seriously. I went to Pendle college's computer lab to print my poetry, but all the computers were taken. I walked over to the Learning Zone and it wouldn't let me log in to the computer. I finally ended up trying the library, and I had to go searching for an open computer (didn't take me long, but still) and I finally -- finally -- managed to print out what I needed in time for class.

My creative writing tutor said some really nice things to me today. She specifically asked me to stay after class to talk about things. She told me I'm a natural writer, and that when I wrote my short story about Korea, she thought it was beautiful. She told me I'm good with descriptions, space, and that I have issues with tense, which I thought was funny. And she told me she has problems with tense too. It was really nice to directly hear from someone say these things to me. Especially someone who actually knows a thing or two about writing.

I got kind of bored today and since I always freak about packing, I decided to start a little early. I packed most of my things away, and I have my outfits set for the rest of this week. I did some laundry, and I now have to plan out how I'm going to pack in the rest of my stuff as the week goes on...it's funny because I actually feel like I'm bringing less back. That never happens. But maybe it'll change once I get to Manchester.

I made a list of the things I must do when I come home:

1. Actually meet up with the friends that I said I would meet up with.
2. Eat Chipotle.
3. Hang out at Target.
4. Get out my guitar. I miss her.
5. Bake.
6. Write letters to Lancaster.
7. Shop. I miss the Mall of America!
8. Organize my photos, print them out, and make a photo book through Snapfish.
9. Work out.
10. Watch holiday related movies. (The Holiday, The Last Holiday, Love Actually, Elf, Miracle on 34th Street, The Polar Express, Edward Scissorhands, Night Before Christmas, Just Friends, etc.)
11. Watch Bollywood films.
12. Catch up on my K-Dramas and K-Pop.
13. Read.
14. Karaoke.
15. Piano.
16. Get a haircut.
17. Have an amazing time with Carolyn and her family on New Years Eve in Buffalo, NY!

That's all I've got so far. I feel a little less sad now, than I was before. There's a lot to look forward to this winter break! I need to quit thinking I'll never be able to come back, because I already promised I would. These next few days will be a bit emotional for me, which is weird because I'm not usually outwardly emotional. I have a feeling I may shed some tears, because I actually almost felt like crying today.

I have a big place in my heart for Lancaster, because I think I've changed a lot and grown up a lot these past few months. But at the same time, I'm still the same. This experience will forever be a great milestone in my life, something unforgettable.

Cheers! :)

9 Days

This weekend I will be disappearing for a while to work on finishing up my final papers.  Just got to edit and flesh things out.  Then I'll be free for the rest of the week! :D

I am super excited to go home.  I know I keep saying that, but I just don't know how to express it any other way.  It's funny that despite being an English major, I forget my words sometimes.

Today, I had my full day of classes, but I slept in through my first one.  Haha.  After classes, I went to the Christmas Market with Carolyn and Meghan.  It was sooo cold.  I know I really shouldn't be complaining, I just have a passionate displeasure toward not being able to feel my toes.  They went on a ride.  It was what looked like the Kite-Eating Tree, and it was free but I didn't want to go on.  I was crabby because of the cold.  So I stayed back and took photos.  I also bought some fudge and a cupcake.  And then when the girls and I got back to the flat, we made cookies.  Well, a cookie.  It was kind of like a big cookie cake.

I Skyped with my baby sister for 2 1/2 hours.  Seriously, I didn't think I'd miss her this much!  And before that we were chatting on Facebook for nearly 2 hours.  I guess the bonds of sisterhood really are unbreakable.

I think I'll end up staying up late again.  It's no surprise really.  I don't know why I even bother sleeping.  Ha.  Kidding.

An update will come again soon.  It's good for me to slow down and think about things.  I feel weird now that I only have 9 days left in this beautiful country.

Cheers! :)

Rawr.

So frustrating. I have to write two poems by Saturday, and I have no clue what to write. Sometimes, I really hate having to take a creative writing class, because you can't force inspiration. Usually, I write about something that's been on my mind, but that hasn't really changed since my last poem. I might just take the easy way out and submit one of my old ones, even though they suck. I had no idea what I was doing. I still don't know what I'm doing, but at least now I can write about someone else.

I'm so excited! I have one week left here. I have just been dying to go home. I love Lancaster and the few friends that I made here, but I'm ready to start a new chapter of my life.

I know it sounds strange, but I feel like going back home is going to be a completely new adventure. I think a lot will have changed. In good ways. It's going back to something old, but feeling like it's all brand new. I'm really excited!

This Christmas, I hoping to celebrate with family, and maybe go on a retreat with the college group from the 28th to the 30th. Then I have a flight to catch to Buffalo, NY at noon on the 31st. I'll be back on the 4th to move in to a new place on campus.

Speaking of which, that new place is currently non-existent. I'm still searching. I've heard back from one person, and there's a chance someone else may already be signing for it. There aren't a lot of places available for girls, and I'm considering seeing if any of the guys that have posted would mind living with a girl. Here's to hoping things work out!

Cheers! :)

And the countdown begins...

It's Monday now, but for my sake, I'm going to pretend it's still Sunday.

I now have 2 weeks left here, and I'm scared. Mostly, because I feel like I haven't learned anything here, and I'm scared about going back, finishing my degree, and figuring out my life. Seriously, what comes next? I mean, I know what I'm going to be doing come September...but I don't know what to do between graduating and then. I guess I'll figure it out when I get back.

I have a lot of mixed feelings. Mostly, I regret not making more English friends, but I think this problem was harder to avoid. My situation was so temporary, and I lived with people who were in their final year of uni. Which only makes me more grateful to have met my friends Meghan and Carolyn.

They have really been there for me on my roughest days here...even when I didn't know them well enough for them to be.

It's going to be a little scary coming back home and not having them around all the time. Luckily, I've booked a flight to Buffalo for New Years to be with Carolyn and her family. I'm hoping that will help with the transition...more travelling. Haha. :)

It's definitely going to be hard to get back to being stationary. This past year, I will have spend 5 weeks in Korea, 11 weeks in the UK (Lancaster, Liverpool, York, Edinburgh, London, Manchester) and soon, 4 days in Buffalo, NY. Although I guess Buffalo won't really count as part of this past year. Hehe.

I'm going to have to take some drastic measure to get work done before I leave. I don't really understand why it's been so hard for me...the assignments certainly aren't difficult, and I don't feel overwhelmed with work. I think it's been the amount of time I've had to do whatever I wanted. And I just didn't want to do work. That, and I'm always on facebook or skype, trying to keep in touch with people from back home, and the people who are not at home, but also away in other parts of the world.

I know I'll get everything done, it's just hard to begin. I'm just going to have to suck it up now and do it. Home can wait. It will be there on the 18th when I get back.

On the other hand, I did feel like I was more productive today than most other Sundays. I got a lot of things on my to-do list checked off, which shows progress!

It is now 2am, and I am going to attempt to finish up this paper so I can work on the next one.

Cheers! :)

Survey

For my online class through the U of M, I had this assignment reflecting on my time here in the UK, and also thinking into the future about re-entering into the US.  I thought it was really helpful, and maybe interesting for others to read.

1.     In what ways have I changed?

Studying abroad has me in a lot of different ways.  Before coming here, I had always felt like I was still just a child, despite being of adult age.  Even though I could be independent, I think I was still relying a lot on other people, particularly my parents.  I have become more autonomous and self-reliant.  Being away from friends and family, I have a lot more self-confidence in doing things by myself.  I have gotten better at being able to make decisions and execute them.

2.     In what ways might my friends and family have changed?

I don’t think they will have changed as people, but things that have happened will have changed the dynamics of the relationship.  My parents have always been rather close-minded, but I think with me studying abroad and growing as a person, that gap will have gotten wider.  Even when I was home, I had always felt like I had a better understanding of the world than my parents because living in a small town doesn’t offer a lot of chances to think critically about the world.  After my experience here in the UK, I feel like I’m actually a part of something bigger than just my life back at home.  I feel more like a “global citizen.”

3.     How would I like my family and friends to treat me when I return home?

I would really like it if they were excited to hear about all my stories and what I learned.  I want them to be excited to hear about the things I did and saw while I was in the UK.  I also would like for them to be patient with me, because I think they will find that I’ve become even more critical than I was before about the United States.

4.     What am I looking forward to the most? The least?

I am most looking forward to being around my friends and family.  I am excited to go back to eating my mother’s cooking, being at home, and seeing my friends in Minneapolis.  Being away has given me a newfound appreciation for Minneapolis.  There are a lot of things I miss about being in the city, particularly the convenience of everything.

I’m least looking forward to not hearing British accents every day and discussing English culture with my UK friends.  It’s fun to talk about the differences in culture and being with others that have a very different cultural perspective.  I am also least looking forward to the bitter Minnesota winter and not being able to see the English landscape every day.

5.     What are the lessons I have learned that I never want to forget?

I have learned to be more accepting of people.  People in the UK are more homogeneous than what I am used to.  They have a strong sense of what is “English,” and it took a little while for me to get used to, although I love it now!  I think the US stresses being unique and having your own sense of self.  In the UK, people are unique, but at the same time, there’s a sense of solidarity there in being English.  And even though I considered myself a very good listener before my study abroad experience, I think I’ve gotten even better at taking the time to hear people’s different point of views.

6.     What are some skills I have learned?

I have learned to manage my time better between being social, focusing on school work, and travelling.  I have also learned to adapt to a new environment and understand the cultural differences.  I have also learned how to communicate despite these cultural differences through listening and observing in new environments.

7.     Some say that re-entry shock is more challenging than initial culture shock. What are some things I might do to make the transition easier?

I think it would help if I tried to seek out others who have had study abroad experiences.  And it might also be helpful for me to stay in touch with the friends I made while in the UK.  But I think talking it out with someone would probably be the most helpful to me.

8.     What have been the important things about this study abroad experience that I want to share with family and friends?

I’d really like to show them pictures of my travels around the UK, and tell them about how differently education works in the UK.  Going to school here has had a big impact on me, because it works so differently here.  I think I would also share my frustrations, but also talk about the fun times I had with the friends I made.

9.     What do I want to do with the experiences I’ve had?

I would really like to speak to others about the positive effects the experience had on me.  One of my neighbors from home who is a substitute teacher asked me before I left if would be interested in talking to some younger students about my trip after I come back.  I am really looking forward to do more things like that, and giving insight to others about life outside the United States.  I want to share the perspectives that people in the UK have about people in the US.

Cheers! :)

London

I am blogging from a coffee shop in London. :)

Carolyn and I arrived here at about 11am.  She ran to catch a taxi to the Excel to see Top Gear Live.

Now I'm just waiting for my phone to charge before I leave to catch a taxi to get to the Natural History Museum.  It's taking soooo looonnnggg.  Grr...

Funny story -- There was a huuuuuge line at the Euston station for maps and whatever, and I decided to be cool and just wing it.  That was a bad idea.  Basically, I wandered around for about an hour into some sketchy part of the city before I decided to get back to where all the people were and sit at a coffee shop to charge my phone.  (Stupid phone.  The battery dies so quickly...)

I've already been to so many museums while studying in the UK, but they never get old.  They are always so much fun for me!  I guess I'll just always be a geek.

On a different note, I'm really excited to be in a city big enough for me to get lost in!  Every other place I've visited here so far has been fairly easy to figure out.  It's nice being somewhere HUGE.  I guess I'll always be a city girl, too.

Week 7.

Already?!

Time has been slipping away from me far too quickly.  It's depressing thinking about the day I'll have to leave this gorgeous country.  I hate my experience here felt so temporary -- I wish I could have stayed for a year.  But alas, I must graduate and enter the 'real world.'  Scary.

It's Carolyn's birthday today and I decorated her door with tissue paper so that she would have to break through it when she woke up in the morning.  It was a great success!  She loved it.  Many hugs followed.

She and Meghan decided to go to Manchester to a book signing...and I am just too exhausted to go.  I think I need some alone time.  So I decided to opt out.  Plus, I need to watch my spending...my funds have been dwindling, and I need to save some of it for London this coming weekend!

Tonight, I think I'll stay in with a book and perhaps go to the Learning Zone by myself.  I like it there because I'm used to coffee shops where there are other people doing work, and it's kind of the same thing.  But not really.  They don't have coffee.  They do, however, have printing.  Which coffee shops don't have.  Now I'm going off on a tangent...

Tomorrow I will be going into town to grab some groceries and Carolyn will be making Thanksgiving dinner!  I am going to make an attempt to assist her because it's a big job.  Hopefully, we will also find everything we need to have a successful Thanksgiving in England.

Cheers! :)

Semantics

Carolyn just wrote up this post about the linguistic and cultural difference between us and the Brits. I thought it was genius! These are absolutely vital to know. :)

"1. The peace sign we make at home with two fingers like a “V.” I’m pretty sure at one point or another someone said that’s the international sign of peace.  Well, I guess it shows how “peaceful” English people are because here it’s the same as flipping some one off! I still sometimes do it when I’m leaving out of habit and Greg yells at me.  Oi veh.  The first time he told me that I thought he was yanking my chain, but no.  It really is the same as telling someone to F$$$ off.

2. “You alright?” Now, as a typical American girl, I was rather perplexed when a few shopkeepers and people would say this to me.  Do I look upset or something??? No no no, it’s there version of saying “Hey. How are you?”  If you say to an English person “What’s up?” or something like that, then it’s the same as if you asked me “You alright?”  I’m still getting used to it.  You’re supposed to respond to “You alright?” with “Alright?” …yeah I don’t get it either.  I still have 4 weeks to get it down though!

3.  When you’re ordering a burger, the lettuce, tomato and onion (and whatever else) is called “salad.”  So when I go to Wibbly Wobbly for a yummy lamb burger they’ll ask me if I want any sauce (ketchup, mayo, etc.) and then any salad (tomato, onion, pickles, etc.)

4. Chips = french fries and Crisps = potato chips  BUT they do call curly fries “curly fries.”  I asked someone once why they don’t call them curly chips and they said “That just sounds stupid.”

5. Cheese toastie = grilled cheese.  Jen and I have gotten a lot of crap for calling it a grilled cheese since we usually make it in a frying pan rather on a grill.  We also get yelled at for not using the toastie maker.

6.  They don’t eat a lot of Peanut Butter over here and it’s no wonder why! The PB here is awful! It’s not as creamy and peanut-y tasting.  They also don’t have extra crunchy :-P  My flatmate Jude said that he has never actually had  a PB&J sandwich! :-O That is my mission before I leave.

7.  Speaking of PB&J, don’t call it jelly, call it jam.   Jelly over here is the same as Jell-o at home, and they don’t have “jell-o” over here.  

8.  Don’t make any reference to pants unless you’re among friends…it means underwear.  I’ve heard several stories about American students saying they are cold and should have put pants on while out and about.  This statement was quickly followed by strange stares from everyone that heard them say that.

Hmmm that’s all I can think of now.  

~Carolyn"

From Carolyn's blog

Liverpool

BLOG, IT HAS BEEN TOO LONG. *hugs*

Starting the day off right with tea and croissant!

I apologize. Last time I tried to update, though, blogger was acting up and wasn't saving my stuff. Here is my stuff on Liverpool and York.

Liverpool was gorgeous. I really loved it. I think I am definitely going to try to plan a visit back, especially to see the International Slavery Museum.

It was sunny and lovely.

First thing I went into was this comic book store.  Yeah, I know. What can I say? I'm a bit of a geek. I was drooling over this special edition collection of Death Note.

Then, Carolyn and I made our way to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King. It looked like a spaceship. Not hard to find at all.

There was also a park near this abandoned church.  They had all these tombstone markers everywhere. Kinda creepy, but really cool. And there was a great path to take a stroll and enjoy. I don't think Carolyn and I even spoke a word to each other as we walked through. It was very serene.

And this was the church. They were playing classical music as well. Made my heart smile.

Here's the info

We went and walked along the Albert Dock and had lunch.

Albert Dock

I've noticed that service in the UK is really slow...we waited a while for our food, but it was worth it. Everything was delicious! I had some kind of leek soup with mushroom risotto.

After lunch, we went down to the Maritime Museum and saw lots of cool, old things. But I won't bore you with the pictures. I feel like museums are more fun to actually go to, not see pictures of. Anyhow, we went through the shopping district and I bought One Day because it's British and I wanted to read it before watching the movie.

We still had time to kill, so we took some pictures by George's Hall.

George's Hall

That pretty much concludes our day in Liverpool. Sorry for all the lack of updates. Procrastination has gotten the best of me. And I also apologize for the brevity of this update. But I'm sure everyone will be glad after reading my long ones. I'll to update again with the trip to York later this evening!

The train station -- taken as we were leaving

Cheers! :)

Post-Liverpool

It is late and I have been wasting time doing nothing...again.  Actually, that isn't true.  I've been working on my short stories. :)

But I have been behind in my updates, which I know I'm just going to regret, so I will try my best to sit down every night and write.  I've even got a post-it note on my desk to remind me.  No excuses.

I hope all is well where everyone else is.  Hold tight, there will be a better update (with pictures!) coming soon.

Cheers! :)

Occupied

It's been a long while since my last real post.  I've been busy.

School is going well. I really enjoy all my classes. Except my seminar for Gender and Women's Studies is still a waste of time. The tutor just makes everything more confusing...and she doesn't really answer our questions. Oh, well. It's okay because the lectures are good.

The highlight of this week was going into town on Wednesday with Carolyn, and buying some presents for my sister. I also got my hair done, which I desperately needed. Why is going to a salon always so therapeutic?! I've been homesick, and it was just heaven. Some conversation and a good head massage.

Funny story. Last night, I went to throw my trash out, and I ended up throwing both my trash and my keys in the dumpster. A lot of cursing ensued.

I also went to a party in a flat next door last night, but it turned out to be a bit awkward since none of us really knew each other. I stayed for a little while, but ended up coming back to the flat and hanging out there. Later, Jude came back to show me and Carolyn his special spot on campus. :)

Tonight is Bonfire Night in the UK, and I'm excited! I'm going into town tonight to participate in all the festivities. They have guided walks, storytelling, arts and crafts and lantern making workshop, and music. Plus, fireworks. Yeaaaaah.

On Sunday, I will be taking a daytrip to Liverpool with Carolyn. Huzzah! I will finally spend some time outside of Lancaster.

This means, I must do work now. But there will be many pictures following this weekend.

Cheers! :)

Adjustment

It wasn't a very eventful week, which is why there is a lack of update.  I've mostly just been going to class and doing a lot of reading for it.

On Thursday, though, Carolyn's parents came to visit her and took me out for dinner at the hotel they were staying at.  They were really sweet!  It was nice and the food was yummy.  I had fish and chips for the first time.

I stayed up to finish reading Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde and to talk to Janet.  I don't think I fell asleep until at least 4:30am.  I had to get up at 8:30am to get ready for my class at 10am.  And I had lectures and seminars all day.

I really do not like how some things are run here.  During my Gender and Women's Studies' seminar (discussion), we were told to bring in something that showed class and gender, be it an advertisement, newspaper article, or a book or movie.  I chose The Help.  We were going around sharing and commenting.  I really enjoyed this discussion, but when it got around to the girl sitting next to me, she cut me off and skipped my turn.  Now, I understand that she is running the class, but students should have some say in what they would like to discuss.  I think it was rude that she cut me off and skipped my turn when I put the time, thought, and effort in the assignment.  And besides that, we simply moved on, ignored the activity altogether and started to just talk about what she wanted.  It felt like she didn't care about our opinions, she just wanted us to know hers.  Why would she have us do this task if she didn't want us to have an in depth discussion about it?

Anyway, I was pretty upset over the whole ordeal.  And frankly, a little disappointed.  I don't feel like I learned anything.  It was honestly just a waste of time.

I finally managed to download the 18th episode of City Hunter.  I plan on making a cheese toastie and eating it in bed with some tea while watching City Hunter.  Yay!  It's the weekend.

Cheers! :)

EPIC FAIL XD

Thursday (Oct. 20)

I made 닭죽 (Chicken Porridge) for the first time and it turned out pretty delicious.  Carolyn said it was really good!  I was pretty proud of myself.

She and I spent a while in the kitchen (why does Korean food always take so much longer to make?), with her playing music and us singing along.

Carolyn, Cíara and I made an attempt to finish watching Tangled.  I think we ended up finishing this time.  It took nearly 4 nights because internet here is terrible.

There was one night we also watched the Princess Bride.  I fell in love all over again.  I love that movie.

Friday (Oct. 21)

I had class aaallllll day.

I came back from class to get my mail and I got my letter from Justin!  It made me very happy.  I am currently working on sending something awesome back.  I ended up decorating with the things he sent me.

Friday night was actually really lame.  Carolyn and I went to the library because I needed to print things and she had books to pick up.  I am so excited to have things printed out!  Yay!

I could sense Carolyn probably needed some alone time...so I went to go bug Shaun to play F1. I have no idea how long we played.  We ended up watching The King's Speech, which I love, and messing around on Google Maps.  And talking to Kirsten on Skype.

I don't think I went to bed until at least 4am.  I just miss that girl so much!  And I don't like not being able to talk to her every day.  I miss our intellectual conversations on life and people and the way she says my name...Hehe.  Just kidding. :-P

But I really do miss all my friends and my family.  I was a little homesick on Thursday.

Saturday (Oct. 22)

Carolyn and I were supposed to go to Sheffield today and it didn't work out.  We got up, and there weren't even any buses that went out early enough to catch our train.  Ridiculous.  We had a little misadventure taking a different train to Preston, buying some breakfast and magazines, and coming back to Lancaster to sleep and do work.  Carolyn had to text Zhen for the times to get back on the next train.  We will be sending in our billion tickets to try and get a refund.

This makes me incredibly happy right now

Life isn't perfect.  It's full of imperfections and that's what makes it interesting. :)



Cheers! :)

Feeling This

Sunday (Oct. 16)

After coming back to the flat, I watched some Friends with Carolyn (surprise, surprise).  We stayed up quite late...I think we had too much energy after spending time working in the library.  We were up until 2am making food.  And I guess that night was the night to talk to everyone because I think I skyped with nearly my entire friends circle plus family.

Monday (Oct. 17)

Despite staying up late the night before, I managed to get up early!  I got up at around 7:30am.  I got back from one lecture at around noon, and just hung out in my flatmate, Shaun's, room watching Extreme Couponing and Hoarders.  I miss TV...

Carolyn, Cíara, and I had a movie night watching Friends and Tangled.  It's too bad we didn't get to finish, though, because it took forever to buffer.  Internet here is really annoying, but I guess it's better than not having it at all.

We also made late night food and had girl talk again.

Tuesday (Oct. 18)

I got back from classes Tuesday feeling pretty good.  I had my creative writing class, and I think it went really well.  People that read my piece told me they really liked it.  Although, I suppose I can't really imagine someone coming into class and telling another person they didn't like their piece of writing.

We went through an exercise where we took the clichéd, "It was a dark and stormy night."  My tutor told us to write two more lines to create a lead, or hook, to grab the reader.  Mine was something like this:

It was a dark and stormy night.  I looked at my sister, and I knew she understood the damage that had just been done.  As I rose from the body, I dropped the gun and turned into the kitchen to watch the blood from my hands.

I must have done a pretty good job because she said that my lead could probably end with just the first sentence.  Maybe, I'm a better writer than I thought I was. :)

This guy in my class invited me back to his flat to have some tea.  It was very English.  We also spent some time in Waterstone talking about books.  He lent me his copy of Jane Eyre because I have yet to read it.  Ah!  I have so much to read.

Carolyn, Zhen, and I also booked tickets to go see some real football!  We're going to see the Arsenal vs. Wigan game on December 3rd.

Cíara took me and Carolyn out with some of her friends to a club called Revolutions.  It was a reaaally good night.  We played a drinking game with cards called Vendetta.  Basically, you put down a card and choose someone to drink for the number of seconds corresponding with the card.  If someone else around the table has the same number card, they can save that chosen person and pick someone else to drink.  I ended up drinking my entire bottle of wine again.  Hee.

Wednesday (Oct. 19)

I had no class today!  Whoohoo!

I stayed in recovering from the night before...I actually wasn't that bad. Maybe a little dehydrated.

I should probably have done some work today, but I'm such a naughty procrastinatorrrr.  I just don't want to.  Especially on a day off.  This is my problem.  I only end up doing work on days where I have to be productive by going to class or working.  Still, I've been a bit out of my mind here.  I think I'm still getting used to being here, because I've been stupid and forgetful lately.  Tomorrow is a new day!  I need to wake up from this sleep!

I'm gonna do work today, and watch Pirates of the Caribbean with Carolyn.  And can I just say that I miss Korea even more than I miss home?  I was going through some of my pictures with her, and I could feel my heart aching like I was missing a long, lost lover.

This entry will updated with some photos from the night before later.

Cheers! :)

Le Week-end

Friday (Oct. 14)

I had classes alllll day.  I remember just being really frustrated at getting lectured all day.  It was pretty depressing.

After sitting in class all day, I had far too much energy in my body.  I just wanted to playyyy.  So I went and learned some guitar from Shaun.  It took me a looong time and I think it was a fail, because I probably couldn't play it again if anyone asked.

I had to work on my creative writing piece too.  I still hadn't a clue what I was going to write about.  It ended up being about me, drawing inspiration from the movie The Proposal. Yeah, don't ask. It's pretty terrible.

Carolyn had to watch a movie for her class (Indiana Jones!), so I basically sat in her room all evening working on my creative writing/watching Indiana Jones.  We had some girl talk in between. :)

Somewhere in there we played some Corridor Jousting.  Take a look below!



I don't remember exactly what happened after that, but I played Shaun's Formula 1 game for quite some time...longer than I expected.  But I got better!  I kept at it, and Cíara was telling me she was impressed with my patience.  I went from 2:05 to 2:00 to 1:55 to 1:43...I was so proud of myself!

More girl talk...

Then sitting around, chatting in Greg's room, playing more Formula 1 in Shaun's, playing guitar and singing...then, everyone went to bed while Carolyn and I stayed up to do laundry.  At 4am.  It was brilliant and stupid, all at once.  While we waited for our laundry, we watched the Formula 1 race in South Korea. :)

Saturday (Oct. 15)

Because I ended up falling asleep at around 6:30am, just before the sun came up, I slept in and woke up at 1pm.  I did some work (finishing up my story and writing up my Global Identity response).  I later got some food with Carolyn at the Chinese restaurant we went to on our first day here.  I had the sweet and sour chicken with fried rice.  Mm...

Then we played board games.  Cluedo and Trivial Pursuit.  I suck at games.

Girl talk!

Sunday (Oct. 16)

I woke up early to wash up and get ready for the day, but it was so cold, I crawled right back into bed.  I ended up falling asleep.  (Surprise surprise)

I met up with Carolyn and Cíara at the library to get some reading/studying done.  We made quite a bit of progress.  I'm pretty satisfied. :)

I don't know what I'm going to do now.  Guess I'll just curl up with a book.  Something will likely happen, and I'll have to update again.

It's a bit rainy here today.  I hope yours was sunnier. <3

Cheers! :)

Hooky

Sorry I've been skipping out on writing!  It's late now and I really should get to bed.  But I'll have a new, exciting entry tomorrow! :)

Night Drive

I don't miss home, but I do miss the people I left behind.  My sister and I talked for a while and ended up going to sleep at around 3am.  Thus, I woke up at around 10:30am today.  I was lounging around the flat for a while before going to my Creative Writing lecture at 1pm.  It consisted mostly of house keeping things.  The professor had pink hair.  It was awesome.  And she went over a lot of things that we shouldn't write about.  Which makes it harder for me to figure out what my piece is going to be on, and it's due Saturday.  Oh, boy...

After class, I attempted to write while sitting in Carolyn's room watching an Indiana Jones movie.  What's with Lancaster and watching movies for classes?  Not that I'm complaining.  Just curious.  We had grilled cheese for lunch (sooo yummy...it's our shared comfort food now), and then we went on an evening drive with Cíara to test out her tires.

The 3 of us drove into town to check out some other parts to take pictures. We were such tourists.  I took a bunch of pictures!  I adore the fact that it is so quaint here.  It was nice to get some fresh air.

When we got back, I went to the re-scheduled movie screening for my class.  Lucky me, it's only a 2 minute walk from my flat.

After my movie, I ran into Carolyn on her way back. I have perfect timing! We tried doing work again from where we left off, but ended up getting hungry and making tea (how English!).  I also had ramen.  And Jude was in the kitchen, so we sat around eating and talking for some time.

Writing this creative writing piece is much harder than I expected it to be.  I'm a little nervous about putting it up for critique. Ah!

I gotta go to bed soon to get up before the fire alarm goes off at 9:10am.

Cheers! :)

Ring the Alarm

Looking back now, yesterday was quite eventful.  I was thinking about it and yesterday feels like ages ago!

I had just 2 classes yesterday.  A Gender and Women's Studies lecture at 1pm, and then a Creative Writing seminar (discussion) at 3pm.  I felt a little guilty for being so tired during my first class.  I started to do that thing where you catch yourself drifting off and wake yourself up.  I don't even now if my notes are legible...I'm too scared to check.

Creative Writing is the one class I was really excited for!  I went and it was a smaller group of students.  The professor seems really nice too.  She hates American rom-coms just as much as I do!  Haha.  Although, I have to admit that I like watching them every once in a while.  I met some friends in that class. I think I've got most of their names down too.  I sat next to Tom who seemed pretty excited about me being American.  He said he could tell.  Hee.  He wanted to be Facebook friends, but I couldn't find him.

After class, I came back to do...absolutely nothing.  Honestly, I don't even know what I was doing in my room for the next few hours.  I just remember Greg coming to my door asking if I wanted to go to the Beer and Ale Society meeting with him.  Heck yes!  He and Shaun went first to meet up with Jack at County Bar (it's on the north side of campus), and Jude and I waited for Carolyn to get ready.

When we got there, there were a lot of people, but most of them were guys.  I think, now, I want to join just because of that fact.  Because ladies can drink too.

The flatmates + Jack started walking back because the society was moving their party to the Grad Bar (it's past Grizedale, on the far south side of campus).  Carolyn, Jude, and I decided we wanted to get work done at the library.  We were there reading for a while...maybe an hour and half?  But I started drifting off into sleep again.  I don't know how much of my reading I have actually retained, but I'll find out tonight!

The library was funny.  I was sitting in the reading room at a desk, when Jude turns around and tells me that there's going to be a loud alarm in about 3 minutes.  He tells me he just wanted to let me know, and not to freak out because it's loud and it can be scary the first time.  Haha.  So we didn't tell Carolyn and this loud voice comes out from the speakers letting the whole world know that the library was going to close in half an hour.  I had quite a good laugh.

Today, I slept in till 11:30am, got dressed, and went into town with Carolyn.  We went and did some shopping, and got groceries.  Ahhh...they have Topshop here and I nearly died.  I just wanted to buy everything.  There was this other store, River Island, that had a 10% discount for students.  Gah.  I wish I had a million pounds just to shop.  I ended up just buying a pair of earrings and a necklace from this store called Accessorize (and with the student discount, the necklace was basically free!), and then another pair of earrings at Claire's plus a ring.

We got back at around 5pm, so we spent a good part of the day out and about.  It was really nice! :)

Now, I'm in my room, everyone is quiet (studying, I think?), except outside I can hear all these people yelling at the bar.  Hehe.  It's fun.  I wish I could join them, but I should really work on my short story/creative writing piece and my assignment for my Global Identity class that I'm taking through the U.  Today was a nice day off, but tomorrow I only have 1 class (Creative Writing lecture) at 1pm, and then I have to go to the rescheduled showing of that movie, Adaptation, that we didn't get to see on Monday.  I wonder if the professor wanted me to take care of that?  I guess that means I have one more thing to do on my list of things to do tonight.  Busy, busy, busy...I hope everyone is well!

Oh, and for anyone reading this...you should comment!  It's nice hearing from you, and it's motivating for me if I have people who are actually interested in what's going on over here.  Anyone should be able to comment, even just anonymously.  So pass it along!

Cheers! :)

The View from the Afternoon

For the sake of keeping updated, I will begin where I left off yesterday afternoon.


After getting back to my room and attempting to do my reading, I decided there was really no point in trying to get it all done today if we weren't even going to discuss anything until Friday.  Besides that, I have quite a bit of free time between now and then.  So, I gave up and just sat around on Facebook until the time came for class.


It's a good thing I left the flat 20 minutes early, because I had a lot of difficulty trying to find my next class. I swear -- a smaller campus makes it harder to find things. Before the professor started the movie, she explained that by the end, she would need 2 volunteers to be in charge of checking out movies and playing them each week.  Guess who got the job?


Turns out, the movie quit on us 15 minutes in, and I got it working again.  There was one guy that made the first attempt, and then I went to help.  He gave up on me, and another guy came down to try to fix it.  He eventually went to find help, but by the time he came back with the professor, I had gotten it up and running again.  She pulled me aside, asked me what had happened, said she would put in a complaint, and told me that if I wanted, I got the job.


So now I have a job!  Haha. I told Carolyn and Cíara, and they seem to think it's awesome -- they were both encouraging it.


To celebrate and catch up with each other on things that happened over the weekend, the 3 of us went over to Cartmel's bar to grab dinner and drink Corona.  And I was buzzed before I finished. Then, when we got back, instead of doing the reading each of us had to do, we played games and watched Friends...and chatted some more.  I finally went to sleep at a reasonable hour (12:30am) and woke up early (7:30am)!


And now...I'm all caught up!  I sent out emails to family this morning, updated my blog, and now I have to get ready for the day.  I hope all is well with everyone else, wherever you are.

Cheers! :)