Anna's Adventures Abroad

Beach...finally!

2007-06-12T17:21:00.000-06:00

Click here to see pictures from my weekend trip to Manuel Antonio...one of Costa Rica's beautiful beaches on the Pacific

El Volcán Arenal

2007-06-03T21:31:00.000-06:00

This weekend our group went on an excursion to The Fortuna Waterfall and a volcano named Arenal. We had an amazing time! Becky and I already have plans to come back sometime.

we took a dip in there too. it was cold!

this is what we saw when we pulled up to the hotel:

here's the view from our hotel room (don't be jealous now...)

The next day (Sunday) we went on a hike to get closer to the volcano-- as close as you can safely go, anyway.

¡Monos! (monkeys)... not in a zoo

Look closely... there are little ants carrying leaves :)

a flower that only lives for a day... ¡qué triste!

our tour guide told us about some of the medicinal plants in the rain forest

Arenal

here's a video of the volcano spewing! if we were close enough it would look more like lava...

amazing view!

Tori, Tristan, Cassie, me & Becky eating lunch at the "Lava Lounge" after a long weekend

Come fly with me...

2007-05-29T11:27:00.000-06:00

This past weekend we went on an excursion to Monteverde, a cloud forest, (a specific kind of rain forest). We went on a zip line canopy tour of the rain forest. Basically we were strapped into harnesses and hooked to a pulley which takes you across cables across the rain forest. It was pretty awesome.

click here (below) to see the video!

The next day we took a hike in the rain forest.

Becky & me taking a break on the trail

this weekend: Arenal, a live volcano, and La Fortuna waterfall

¡Estoy en Costa Rica!

2007-05-22T14:23:00.000-06:00

Hola amigos, regreso para contarles de mis aventuras extranjeras.

I arrived in San José Saturday night. Which means I have only been here 3 days, which seems unbelievable. We already started classes yesterday-- talk about hitting the ground running. The next five weeks, my classes are Advanced Grammar and Advanced Oral & Written Expression.

May begins the rainy season in Costa Rica (it's winter here), which means there's lots of rain. It usually doesn't start raining till the afternoon, but when it rains, it pours. You can imagine that it's pretty humid. Not too hot though.

Our host family is great. They are very personable and helpful. Marixa and Guido have 4 children: Marcela, Guido (Guido hijo as Marixa calls him), Silvia y Pedro. There is also a German exchange student who lives there, his name is Alex and he has been there for 10 months already. The house is really nice. I'll put pictures up later....

hasta luego

this place

2006-06-09T15:42:00.000-06:00

One week, folks.

7 days left in Europe
4 days in England
3 in Cheltenham

Aaaahhhhhhh!!!

(not to mention, only 3 more days of being a teenager. hmm...)

So lately I have been thinking about how much I am going to miss this place. All the little things that I know I'm going to miss as soon as I go home. The things that are normal now that I don't think twice about, but I'm going to think 'I wish I would have taken a picture of that...' or 'I should have bought a couple more Cadbury bars...' or 'I would have liked to visit Gloucester Cathedral once more'. But I suppose if we are always thinking of things we should have or could have done, we don't end up doing anything. I always want to make the most of things, (I suppose opportunism is a gene...) and not miss out or take things for granted-- but there's only so much you can know and do and take advantage of (especially on a budget).

So, I have come to the conclusion that as long as there is moving on, there will be a sense of loss. The more places I travel, the more people I meet & befriend, the more things I see and do-- the more there is to miss. When I'm here I miss home. But when I go home I will miss Cheltenham. Ahhh I can't win! I guess that's just part of growing up. Maybe it's taken me this long to figure it out...

Anyway.
Today Steph & I went to Tewkesbury. It's a nice little town. And the best part... we found an old book shop. English majors + old used bookshop = kids in a candy store. We must have been in there at least an hour browsing the shelves. Some of them were from the 1700's. So fascinating! So, of course, we couldn't leave empty handed. So I picked up a 50p copy of Dickens' Oliver Twist and a 1932 edition of Northanger Abbey & Persuasion by Jane Austen. Steph also brought home some Dickens & Austen and a couple others. What a great find! Probably ranks pretty high on my list of England memories.

Later on, I ventured out to the 'big Tesco' which is a little further away. I haven't been in a supermarket that big in a long time. I kinda felt like a deer in the headlights. But-- I found the biggest Cadbury bar ever. I've never seen so much chocolate in one piece! Oh Cadbury, I will miss you.

Tomorrow I am going to meet my family for a picnic and see them all once more before going home. :)

The World Cup started today. There are lots of England flags and stickers and banners and football jerseys and everything you could imagine... out and around town. Storefronts, pubfronts, cars, you name it. The first big England game is tomorrow. So it could get pretty crazy around here the next few days. Those Brits like their football ;)

have a good weekend, all. And I will be seeing some of you NEXT weekend!

love from lovely Cheltenham

you can tell you're an American-who's-been-living-in-Britain-awhile when...

2006-06-02T02:26:00.000-06:00

hearing the word 'America' means a lot of different things than it used to.
you stop doing exchange rate... oh, long ago.
you think in £
you look right first, then left when crossing the street.
you just expect to get hit by a car.
roundabouts are a way of life.
you call it football, because that's what it is.
you're in better shape from walking so much, and probably eating healthier, too.
you've almost forgotten what junk food is.
your ears perk when you hear an unfamiliar American voice.
you don't feel like everyone is trying to sell you something.
you get late-night fast food cravings... and you know there's nothing you can do about it. then they start to go away.
Hershey's chocolate will never taste the same, thanks to Cadbury.
but you miss Reese's!
you get used to the funny keyboards in the computer lab.
London doesn't seem like such a big deal after all (well, at least not as much of a big deal).
you actually miss Ramen (or your friends do).
you begin to identify things that are distinctly American.
the words 'traveling', 'color', 'favorite' and 'organize' look funny.
you start adding u's to words that don't have them... even in British English
you can say "cheers" to the bus driver... and it's okay :)
you say "sorry" instead of "excuse me" when you bump into people.
you call it a 'cash machine' instead of an 'ATM' and a 'toilet' instead of 'bathroom'.
you stop noticing British accents, in fact you can even distinguish one British accent from another.
you can pick out tourists, or Americans (or American tourists) just by looking at them.
You are embarassed by the American tourists (and roll your eyes when they say Birmingham when talking to Brits...ugh.)
you realise that you CAN survive without your cell phone.
you know your umbrella at a personal level.
you stop checking the weather forecast because you know it will rain at some point in the day.
you enjoy the luxury of clean and efficient public transportation.
when people ask you what America is like, you actually have to think about it.
you know what 'top up', 'mind the gap', 'you alright?', 'zed' and 'quid' mean.
you are the proud holder of a Tesco Clubcard, and maybe even a Matalan card.
you know what cider really is.
you know blackcurrant.
you understand, maybe even agree, when they say, "America has no history."
you're under 21, and it's funny to think that drinking alcohol is illegal.
you know what the locals think of Tony Blair, and you kind of (kind of) understand the political cartoons in the newspaper.
seeing a tall man is a rare and notable occurrence-- he must be a foreigner.
you see travel adverts for vacations in New York and you think, 'Who would want to go there?' (ok so maybe I've never been there... but, still.)
you are running out of money. and you're mad at the dollar for not going very far, and mad at the pound for being so expensive.
you are just beginning to realise (realize?) what it means to be American.

Just another day in Cheltenham

2006-05-26T13:43:00.000-06:00

I am taking a break from writing one of the 3 essays I have yet to finish by Saturday. They are, however, the last three papers I will have to write this semester. Funny to think I've only written 3 other ones this semester. I really hope that when I get back to Wheaton I won't be completely shocked by a regular workload.

Oh, and good news-- I passed my geomorphology test :)
passed. good thing my grades don't 'count'...

This past week has been pretty uneventful. Doing work, or trying to. Sunday, however was a pretty good day. Steph & I went to the early service at Trinity and then I went out for Sunday roast with some people. Sunday carvery: roast dinner with lots of veggies including 3 kinds of potatoes, and Yorkshire pudding of course. Probably one of the more satisfying meals I've had since coming here (which I can probably count on one hand).

Then we went to the French Market on the Promenade... which would have been more enjoyable if it wasn't raining, but I suppose that would be expecting a little too much of England. Just had to make sure I didn't take someone out with my umbrella whilst browsing the croissants...

It was fun, though. I bought some nectarines, and Molly bought a baguette-- it made us even more excited to go to Paris!

I have come to looove open markets :)

(Well I guess it was more of a French/ Swiss market.)

The last few weeks of the semester are pretty much planned out. This Sunday, BCA is taking us to Cardiff, Wales again, but this time to see a football match. Cheltenham town football club has made it to the finals-- I haven't been following it really, but the match is at Millennium Stadium so that's kind of a big deal.

Monday is another 'Bank Holiday' here in the UK, coincidentally on Memorial Day. I'll probably go down to the watch the Cheese Rolling races here in Gloucestershire (I hear it's on ESPN, too) to watch a bunch of people roll down a steep hill chasing a 7-lb. cheese. hah.

Wednesday I'll venture into London yet again. I'm going to see Mel Brooks' musical, The Producers, which will fulfill my interest in seeing a West End show.

Sometime before I leave I will probably see my family once more. A couple other trips to Oxford and Stratford-Upon-Avon might be in there somewhere too, but we'll see.

And in three weeks I'll be packing up... how am I going to get everything home? How am I going to get myself home is the real question.

Today at my last lecture of the semester, I was talking to a couple British girls and they asked if I was wanting to go back. It's hard to answer, really, because I miss a lot of things (and people) about home, but it's also intimidating to think about, because it means adjusting all over again. Talk about a catch-22. Life here has become so normal. We'll see how reverse culture shock goes...
there's so much more I could say, but it probably wouldn't make much sense, and I don't even know where to start.

ciao for now

p.s. stay tuned for another good list... it's a long one but worth it I hope :)

more pictures

2006-05-24T17:49:00.000-06:00

Stonehenge and Bath pictures here

2006-05-23T17:06:00.000-06:00

I'm going to Paris :)

on my birthday.

June 13-15.

taking a Eurostar train via the channel tunnel, aka 'the Chunnel'.

for Edinburgh pictures, click here

3 papers, 2 exams, 1 group project and 24 days till HOME

2006-05-15T16:34:00.000-06:00

Let's see, what is Anna up to these days...

One month till I pack up and leave. Wow. One month ago I was in Rome.

Wednesday, May 17, will mark the 100th day of living in the UK! It's also exactly one month from the day I leave.

Now, to the answer of the question 'Are you looking forward to going home?' to that I would answer a hearty 'yes'. Lately I've been really itching to go home. Just some of the things that have been wearing on me about being here are wearing some more. There are people here I will miss a lot. There are things about life here that will never be the same for me again. But home is home, and that's all there is to it.

This past weekend I travelled to Tonbridge to visit my family again. My cousin Susanna & her baby are going to America today to visit my grandma and my family in MI & OH, and she is kindly bringing some of my things back with her. Which is a huge help, because I don't think I would have been able to get it all back without having to ship boxes home!

So I got to spend some time with them, see my adorable little cousin who is getting so big! :)

The downside of the weekend was that it took me 6 hours to get back to Cheltenham. Normally it should only take 4; I have to take a train into London, take the tube into Paddington station and then another train back to Cheltenham. But apparently the train had a broken window, and so it was delayed 45 minutes while they replaced it. No big deal...
Then, we stopped at Reading, which we originally weren't supposed to stop at... and then the train manager announces that we will be stuck there for a while because there's been an accident up ahead, possibly a fatality, and that the railway in this area has been blocked off and we will be stopped at Reading for an indefinite length of time. ugh.
okay. whatever. so I go back to reading Washington Square.

More announcements follow, saying that there was indeed a fatality and someone was hit by a train. there have been buses provided for those customers whom are travelling to Swindon. (that doesn't help me at all). And he says that if anyone wants to go back to Paddington and continue their journey tomorrow they can do that.

still doesn't help me. might as well just stay on. but at this point I'm starting to wonder how long it's really going to take...

an hour...

hour & 1/2....

and we start moving, but he says he's not sure if we'll get stopped again or if we're just moving to make room for other trains that have been queuing up behind us.

ok, so I haven't mentioned that, while we were stopped at Reading, a group of four young blokes have joined us.

So we start moving and he starts complaining... not seriously, the kind of complaining like, "I'm just complaining sarcastically to get attention"

He says, 'Why couldn't the person get hit by a train tomorrow or yesterday, instead of the day I'm on the train' and his friends chuckle.

and then the woman behind me is talking on her mobile,
'why does this f-ing always happen to me when I travel...'

and there's a kid across from the loud kid talking with his girlfriend about how it's the end of the world.... you get the idea.

a bit later the loud kid starts up again, saying how he wants his money back and blah blah blah... I paid £20 and it's taking me this long... blah blah...

I'm fuming. Not only because I can't sleep and I can't read, but because I don't understand. A PERSON got hit by a train and DIED. get over it, people. your life will go on. unless, of course, the wrath of God strikes. (and I wouldn't blame him for that)

ANYWAY....
I got back to Cheltenham 2 hours later than I planned. Just like everyone else on the train.
And I was up for a couple hours later before turning in for the night. I was exhausted... no Sunday afternoon nap. I know, tragic.
Thus, I overslept my alarm this morning and missed my 10:15 Psych lecture. oops. (now for all of you who say, 'Anna? oversleep? naw...' I'll have you know that this is the only time I've overslept for something since I first got here... when I slept 15 hrs the first night. so there.)

In other news, I didn't get to meet up with my roommate last week :(
we just couldn't get in touch and it didn't work out. But they sang at St. Paul's Cathedral! (where Princess Di & Charles were married; Winston churchill's funeral, etc)

Tomorrow I leave for Scotland! Another 6-hr journey, up to Edinburgh. But thankfully it's a direct train so I won't be standing around any stations waiting for delayed trains this time. I'll be staying with Gretchen for 2 nights, and I come back on Thursday night. Friday my playwriting script needs to be done.... oh dear.

Lately I've been looking into Eurostar tickets to Paris. We'll see what happens...

6-7 May - another great weekend

2006-05-08T15:47:00.000-06:00

On Saturday, BCA took us on a little field trip around the area in England called "the Cotswolds". Cheltenham is actually in the Cotswolds, but we went around to some of the smaller surrounding villages. These villages are characterised by their honey-coloured stone buildings, and "wool churches," as these towns were once an important centre of the wool trading industry. Driving through the area you see lots of sheep grazing in the hills. (Click here to read more about the Cotswolds.) You also see a lot of thatched-roof cottages.

It's a beautiful area, very picturesque and peaceful. The classic "English Countryside".
We stopped at Stow-on-the-Wold, Bibury and Cirencester, but we also drove through Winchcombe, Burford and Broadway.

It rained for a little while so we didn't end up stopping at Burton-
on-the-
Water. But many of these places are so close, like 10-20 minutes away, so to hop on a bus and visit another day would not be a huge task. Though some of the smaller towns are harder to reach by public transportation.

The Cotswolds is also a big tourist attraction, and we are getting into the tourist season now, so it gets busy on the weekends.

You see a lot of antique shops, too. In Stow-on-the-Wold we went into a shop that was selling grandfather clocks-- for thousands of pounds. I think the most expensive one we saw was going for £19,000!

(to see more photos of the Cotswolds, click here)

Sunday, Steph and I took the National Express coach into London bright and early to visit some of London's literary sights. We went to John Keats' home, where he wrote "Ode to a Nightingale" (brought me back to the days of freshman year British lit... Dr. Ryken would be so proud of me :)

Keats' home is in Hampstead, in London but not in the heart of the city. It's a very nice little borough, very residential and quiet compared to the city centre.

From there, we took the tube back into the city and found where Charles Dickens used to live. It is now a museum filled with manuscripts, portraits, furniture and possessions of Dickens'.

After that, we set off for Shakespeare's Globe Theatre on the Thames, where we had tickets for the evening performance of Coriolanus. The original Globe unfortunately burnt down a long time ago, but the current theatre is supposed to replicate the Shakespearean experience. Steph and I bought standing tickets (aka 'groundlings'), which means, yes, we stood for the whole three hours -- but we were very close to the actors and literally right in the middle of the play! (I know I got spit on during some of those passionate soliloquys; all part of the experience, right?) Sometimes they walk around in the "crowd" that the groundling audience provides. There was a time where Steph had to move way out of the way because the main actor had jumped off the stage into the crowd! (The main actor... who has been in movies and the TV show Empire last year)

It was an amazing performance -- probably the best perfomed stage play I've ever seen. I wasn't crazy about the play itself (it's very political) but I loved it because they did such a quality job. Shakespeare would have been proud :)

Oh, one more thing-- Steph and I kept thinking that one of the actors looked familiar, and we decided he reminded us of the butler, Geoffrey, from the TV show Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Later we found out that it was really him! crazy. London just keeps getting better and better!

more literary London here

£

2006-05-08T13:49:00.000-06:00

£1 coins

What is the origin of the pound sign (£)?

This sign is simply a capital letter L, written in old-fashioned roundhand, with one or two crossbars to show that it is being used as a symbol or abbreviation. The L stands for the Latin word libra, the name of a Roman unit of weight, which also gave rise to the abbreviation lb for a pound as a measure of weight, and to the French word livre. (www.askoxford.com)

and... I'll have you know that the exchange rate is not my friend these days... 1 USD = 0.538404 GBP which means that I really do have to double all the price tags now. :P
Before, I would tell myself -- well it's really not quite double -- but so much for that! of course I had to choose the most expensive country to study abroad...

2 May - wheaties : : me : : geomorphology

2006-05-02T16:58:00.000-06:00

I'm going to Scotland!

I just finished buying my train tickets for when I go visit Gretchen (my former Wheaton suitemate) in Edinburgh, two weeks from today!

Also, Wheaton's Women's Chorale is touring Europe starting next week and they're stopping in London, which means I might get to meet up with my roommate Sarah, too. :) All kinds of Wheaton folk around these days. I'm super excited. I miss Wheaton (and Wheaties the most!) and waiting till fall to see anyone would be just painful.

Today I had a test in my "Earth Surface Processes & Landforms" module (yeah let's just call it geology from now on). Michelle, another BCA student, is in the class, too, and I'm sure glad I'm not the only one. Not only did the tutor point us out in front of the whole class at the beginning of the semester, but we're the only non-science majors, too. People kind of gave us funny looks when we told them that our majors were writing & social work. Then they ask why we're taking an enviromental science module... and it's kind of hard to explain the whole "liberal arts" curriculum and the idea of "gen eds". Because here you just take modules for your major or joint major.
All that to say, the course is geared toward geology majors... and it seems like a lot the students already know background stuff from A-levels or previous courses (even though this is just a level 1). Some of the stuff is pretty straightforward, but when it comes to memorising terms like tephra and pahoehoe and ablation and drumlin; and reading hydrographs and drawing diagrams of dunes... ohh doesn't that sound like fun?
I think I did alright on the test, though-- alright as in I think I passed. You only need a 40% to pass, and my grades don't count toward my GPA at Wheaton, so I'm not too concerned. But these days I worry that I'm not concerned enough! The system is so different that it has been easy for me to lose focus, unfortunately. Not different in the sense that I can't adjust, but that my academic habits are a little out of whack... I mean how often does your grade depend solely upon 1 paper and 1 exam back in the states?

There are 4 weeks left of lectures, then the next two weeks are reserved for exam scheduling, though I only have 2. So most of my modules (3/5) will be finished by the end of the month. It seems crazy to think that if I was back at Wheaton I would be finished by the end of this week! But it's also hard to believe the semester is winding down here, too. When you only have one lecture (per module) a week, it seems to go faster, I think.

Yes, there are a lot of things that I have come to appreciate even more about going to Wheaton. I always kind of wondered how I would like attending a secular college back home because there are times where Wheaton becomes overwhelming, too. But I guess now I have a better idea. I like it here; I love England-- but I would be much happier of the alcohol thing wasn't such a big deal. I'm getting sick of hearing about who was drunk when and where and about this party and that party and who did what with whom...
I guess that's just not my idea of fun. not at all, really.

That's why I would much rather go places like London and Edinburgh, and did I mention London?

By the way, I've posted half of my pictures from Spring Break-- Italy & Germany; Austria & Czech to come. Go ahead, take a peek!

and since I know you can't wait to Google all those fascinating geology terms, I will be generous enough to offer you this picture of "pahoehoe" lava. it flows in rope-like patterns unlike "aa" lava which appears blocky on the surface. (at least I know I got that answer right!)

mid-semester musings

2006-04-28T09:42:00.000-06:00

As of today, I have 50 days left here in the UK.

Then I will be packing my bags (well hopefully they'll be packed by day 49, but you all know me...) saying goodbyes (which I have come to hate by now) to my family and friends here, and flying back home.

Wow, talk about mixed feelings.

Part A of me is eager to get back to life as I know it, to home, to Mike, to my friends, to summer and to "normal". I haven't really been homesick this semester, like, not wanting to be here. Of course I've missed people; and little things like FOOD and driving and TV and not having to bag my own groceries (let's face it). And Wheaton. It will be good to be back at Wheaton. As much as I procrastinate, it's never been worse than now, and at UoG the workload is only about 1/10th of what I'd probably have at Wheaton!

now, Part B says that I am settled here now and things are getting to be "normal". Normal meaning for the semester-- knowing that I'm only here temporarily. But there's something comfortable about routine, predictability and establishing "usual" - like knowing what kind of laundry detergent to get at Wilkinson; knowing which aisles to visit whilst grocery shopping at Tesco; looking the right direction when crossing the street... everyday things that are not so much of an exploratory task these days. Not to say that I've figured everything out, or that it's not fun anymore, but I think most of us American *foreign exchange* students can say that we can pretty much get around now. (especially since we speak the same language-- after our adventures in Europe!)

There's always that little thought in (I guess it would be Part B) the back of my mind that wonders what it would be like if I did stay in England and if my adjustment to a new country was for a more permanent residency. I wonder how it would be different, or how far I really am in the "adjustment" phase? Just a thought. (Don't worry Mom & Dad, I'm coming home) :)

Part B also reminds me about going back to the States and how the whole reverse adjustment process will be. I'm curious to see how many things I will notice that I haven't before. To see what will strike me as odd, obnoxious, surprising, luxurious, obscene, pleasant-- things I never would have given a second thought before my 4 1/2-month hiatus. Almost like visiting the US as a foreign country. But Part B is a little worried about missing things from life in England that won't be the same once I return home. And I have no idea what it will be like to come back; processing and reflecting and all that good (but complicated) stuff. And Part B is also concerned that the home Part A imagines/remembers might not be the same as it really is.

Am I making this way too complicated? Could be. Yet the whole immersion experience is so gradual and subtle that I think I won't fully realise how much I've learned until it's over. But the only way to find out is to wait and see! Until then, I'm going to enjoy the last few weeks here in Cheltenham and welcome the spring!

Salzburg, Austria

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

2006-04-25T03:21:00.000-06:00

by Dr. Seuss

Congratulations!

Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!


You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own.  And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

Pisa, Italy

You'll look up and down streets.  Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.

It's opener there
in the wide open air.

Florence, Italy


Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen,
don't worry.  Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.

OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.

woke up EARLY to watch the sunrise in Florence


You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don't
Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to say so
but, sadly, it's true
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.

You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you'll be in a Slump.

And when you're in a Slump,
you're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted.  But mostly they're darked.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out?  Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?

the Mediterranean!









And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

NO!
That's not for you!

the Colosseum, Rome


Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping,
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored.  there are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame!  You'll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City


Except when they don't.
Because, sometimes, they won't.

I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.

And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

But on you will go
though the weather be foul
On you will go
though your enemies prowl
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.

atop Mt. Vesuvius, Naples, Italy


On and on you will hike
and I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.

You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

munchin' on a pretzel in Munich, Germany

















And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

                                   Salzburg, Austria



So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!

Prague, Czech Republic

home at last!

2006-04-22T12:53:00.000-06:00

well, sort of. Cheltenham home. but boy it sure feels like home!

from the abounding number of comments I can tell that you all missed me sooooooo much. And hopefully I still have fans out there somewhere... yes you random xanga stalkers who read and never leave comments, that's you. I expect a little give and take here. I get complaints about not updating, but how am I supposed to believe anyone actually reads this? (christina excluded... thanks trist:)

anyway....
I am finally back in England from an AMAZING spring break. The whole thing, Ireland, Italy, a little taste of Eastern Europe-- it was fantastic! And today, Steph and I, being the good little English majors that we are, went to Stratford-upon-Avon to celebrate Shakespeare's 442nd birthday & pay homage to our favourite playwright. (actually I think we realised how many Shakespeare plays we really don't particularly care for) We went into his birthplace, saw his grave, and saw a little performing in the park next to the river Avon. The town was buzzing because of the festival, and the weather was gorgeous! The only thing that could have made it better was seeing a play at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. But that's for another day. :)

10 days of backpacking in Europe was just enough for me, I think. I was getting pretty tired by the end of it. (and running out of clean clothes.) But thankfully everything went terrifically well-- we made all our trains and got to every place we planned to go with only minor complications... and didn't really have any safety issues. It was evident to me on several occasions that God was taking care of us! Thanks for all your prayers.

I will try to get my pictures us ASAP. There are only 700 or so to sort through... :)

in the meantime I need to do some much-needed laundry; I've been avoiding my backpack since I got home!

hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

♥ love from rainy Cheltenham

Pasqua... Roma... magnifico!

2006-04-16T13:06:00.000-06:00

Happy Easter from Rome!
We made it from Florence on Saturday afternoon and tonight is my last night in Rome. So far everything is going great! Leslie and I met up with 3 others and so we have a nice big group for a few days. Tomorrow morning we are setting off for Naples and Pompeii and then getting on a long night train up to Munich! (just me & Leslie)
Today we saw lots of Roman ruins, including the Colosseum. We kind of did our own walking tour and got to see a lot of sights we wanted to get to.
The weather was gorgeous today, and camping in Roma has been much warmer than Firenze. Its amazing how much warmer it really is even though we are really not that much further south.
Having a blast in Italy!
ciao

Buon giorno!

2006-04-13T11:44:00.000-06:00

I am at an internet cafe in Florence right now.

heres a quick update of what I have been up to the past 2 days:

theres so much to tell but Ill just say that I finally was able to find Leslie in the airport, it was a little scary there for a minute but we met up in the airport alright. After I flew in, we went into the city of Pisa and saw the leaning tower. then we went to Florence.
we found our hostel, errr campsite finally after a few hours of wandering around Florence (in a big circle might I add.) We are staying at a campsite which is actually pretty nice. we stayed there last night and are staying 2 more nights before we head off to Rome. Saw a beautiful tuscan sunset last night, and we have a great view from our camping site so we woke up early to watch the sunrise. (and then we went back to bed to sleep for a while)
Camping hasnt been too bad and not to mention its super cheap but the only thing is that its really cold. Sooo today I had to buy a sleeping bag which i didnt want to have to fork out the money for but I have 4 more nights of camping and last night it was kind of painful (it got down to 40 degrees!)
so far my impressions are that Italy is beautiful, its everything you expect and then some. I guess if anything I would say that its a very "romantic" place.
I tried to upload a picture but i dont know how to do it on this computer sorry :(
the language barrier has been interesting but not too much of a challenge. a lot of people speak english. and the number of Americans you run into here is really kind of annoying.
well thats all I really have time for right now, but Ill hopefully write again later!

love from Firenze

1 Apr. - And we're off!

2006-03-31T19:01:00.000-07:00

It's Easter Break!

HUGE Easter egg at the Cadbury Factory

Today Lydia and I take off to Ireland for 4 days, where we will see Galway and Dublin. When we return, we'll stay with my cousin Miriam who lives closer to London, and we'll probably make a few trips into that glorious city :) I love it! (Click here to see my post about my Feb. visit to London)

After that, I'm heading back to Cheltenham for a little while before I set off for the continent! Flying into Pisa, and exploring Florence and Pisa; then down to Rome for 2 nights; followed by Naples for the day. The plan is to take the overnight train from Naples to Munich, spend the day in Munich and rail it over to Salzburg (the hills are alive...), stay a night there, go to Vienna the next day and another night train up to Prague. I'm flying out of Prague on the 21st and the next day I plan to visit Stratford-upon-Avon where it's Shakespeare's birthday festival (if I'm not completely exhausted by then).

I'm soooooo excited (and a little nervous) to visit all these places, I just hope it all goes well. Please pray for safe and successful travels. Whatever happens it will sure be an adventure! :)

p.s. next week will mark the half-way point in my semester. Wow! So many things I want to do, and so little time! The world is too big.

17 March - St. Patty's Day, Cheltenham style

2006-03-17T17:34:00.000-07:00

here's just a snapshot of my 2006 St. Patrick's Day experience. craziness.

a 3-legged dog named Jack, wearing a green sweater
a guy peeing on the streetcorner
2 bagpipers piping outside the entrance of a night club
a man (wearing a suitcoat), hitchhiking
a mob of people waiting for taxis
a girl dressed up in a black garbage bag
2 white limousines
an old man dancing an irish jig
a pregnant woman playing the fiddle
a drunk Irishman named Colin who wanted to hold my hand
a dozen or more pubs packed with people
pint after pint after pint of Guinness!

Steph and I went to the Irish Oak here in Cheltenham; they had live music and it was a lot of fun! though people kept asking us why we didn't look happy. probably because we were the only 2 people there not getting drunk...
It's funny because a lot of Irishmen are here for the week for the races. Makes for a more authentic St. Patrick's Day, I guess. After all, Ireland is only 200 miles away! that's about as far as the drive from Sparta to Chicago. craziness.

here's the Irish Oak on the inside:

and the band, about as authentic as they come (as close as we got to experiencing Ireland). They said they would be playing till 5 or 6 in the morning!

me & Steph. I know I don't look very happy in this picture but we had a great night! the music was fabulous, everyone was joinging in, singing, dancing, clapping, toe tapping...it was a fun atmosphere. :)
Click here to hear the music from a video clip I took from my camera! (unfortunately you have to sign up for a snapfish account to see it)

My only regret is that I have no picture of Jack. He will forever hold a special place in our hearts. here's to you, Jack.
Happy St. Patrick's day.

Royalty in Cheltenham

2006-03-17T17:28:00.000-07:00

Well... here's the dashing couple, in the flesh. Camilla looks quite festive. See that booklet she's holding?
I have one of those! :)
(photo courtesy of getty images & bbc.co.uk)

16 March - A day at the races

2006-03-16T13:33:00.001-07:00

What a day!

I just got back from the horse races here in Cheltenham. The town has been buzzing all week since it's "race week"-- the week of the Cheltenham Gold Cup Festival. The electric atmosphere is contagious, even walking through town to go to lecture, and at night all the pubs and clubs are packed full (mostly of rich middle-aged men). A big group of students went "pub-crawling" (aka bar-hopping) last night, and a lot of the girls were saying how they spent hardly anything all night because creepy old Irishmen bought all their drinks.

So, I've been looking forward to going all week, not only because that's where the excitement is (the festival draws national & international attention), but also because I've never been to a horse race before!

Some of the British students work at the races. It's good money, and I'm sure it's exciting. But we lowly Americans aren't allowed to work here; you have to get a special visa before entering the country in order to do that.

Tomorrow (Friday) is the big day, where the Gold Cup will actually be awarded, by none other than Camilla Parker Bowles. Prince Charles and Camilla will be in Cheltenham tomorrow! The future king of England, in lil' ole Cheltenham. who knew?
I would love to go back tomorrow, but as you can imagine, tickets are quite expensive. We weren't even sure if we would get in today, but we -- Leslie, Jamie, Christen, Stephanie, Jake and I (all BCA students) -- managed to find some (scalped) tickets on our way in for £10 each.

Leslie & Jamie, happy to have tickets.
It turns out that we missed the first race,
but we were just glad to be there!

Before we even got close to the race track, we saw the horses being walked out from the stable.

All I can say is, sooo much beer. I can't imagine how much money they make off beer alone.

We went into the betting office first, since we had time before the next race started. We managed to cram our way in, trying not to get beer spilled on us. Everyone in the betting office was either looking at their little guidebooks or newspapers or filling out their little cards.
(There were greyhound races too, but we only saw the horses.)
The betting office was so crowded! And full of men. We girls were definitely outnumbered. Another thing I noticed was that a lot of the men at the races dress up. I was surprised by how many of them were wearing full suits, ties, etc. But then again I guess this isn't your average American racecourse. Not quite the Nascar crowd. Some of them drop a lot of money on these bets.

The Gold Cup (tomorrow) prize is £350,000. If that means nothing to you, double it and that is roughly the USD equivalent. All that money at stake for one race... that lasts only a few minutes. The horse does all the work, and who gets the money? The jockey. Today I saw on the big screen that they took the saddle off the horse and it was steaming, it was so cold outside. The first (actually the second) race we just watched, and decided to place bets on the next one. So, we made our way over to the betting office again. There were betting tills outside too, but we preferred to brave the crowd than stand outside in the cold! Most of us just placed £5 bets, on different horses. Except for Jake, who had multiple bets going. Jake had a sizeable amount of cash with him, and on the way to the racecourse he was talking about spending it all today (with hopes of winning, of course) but thankfully that didn't happen. He bet more than the rest of us but he did win £50 by the end of the day. Christen won some money, too.

Christen, Jamie & me with our betting tickets. My first "real" bet!

My horse, number 7, "Emotional Moment" didn't have the best odds... I think 23/1 or something like that. Not very good. But you never know, right? I had no idea what I was doing... or where to even start. I think he was Irish. Most of them were Irish, French, or British, and there were a few Americans. I don't even know where my horse placed, since everything is crazy at the end of the race. Everyone is cheering and they go so fast and the announcer is talking so fast (and in a British accent) and the crowds are mumbling and grunting either out of joy or disappointment. And everyone makes their way over to the betting tills to either collect their money or bet on the next race, or both. And 45 minutes later the next race starts, and the whole thing over again.

We stayed for the 4:00 race, so we saw 3 races. There was another after that but it was way too cold! snowy and windy and freezing.

Even though it was cold, it was a great day! We were all so excited to be a part of the local festivities. This will definitely be one of my favorite Cheltenham memories!

Click here to see more pictures from the races.

the little things.

2006-03-02T17:53:00.000-07:00

For those of you who were wondering, here's what British currency looks like. The notes are different sizes.

I bet it will be weird going back to work at the bank when I get home... I'm already getting used to handling these instead!

and here's a socket (not to be confused with an outlet). when the red is showing on the switch, that's when the power is on. so when you want to turn something off you just have to flip the little switch, instead of unplugging it (how clever!)

The other day when I went into town, I brought home a mini-rose plant. So now I live with my very own English rose! She sits on my window sill and keeps me company :)

25-26 Feb. - London-town

2006-03-02T14:30:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I just spent the weekend in London, the home of the 2012 Olympics and one of the worlds biggest and "one of the world's four primary global cities" in company with New York, Tokyo and Paris. The home of Shakespeare, the Royal Family, the Beatles, and the birthplace of so much more... some of which I will mention later on.

Molly, Stephanie and I left bright and early on Saturday morning and walked to the Cheltenham bus station to board our National Express Coach. Three hours later we pulled into the coach station. We were a little disoriented when we walked out of the station and it took a while (and a few wrong turns) to get us going the right way... whichever way that was. We didn't have any specific plans for the day (other than wanting to see EVERYTHING), but we needed to find our hostel and check in.
But there were a few things that happened to impede our path, like a big building where the ruling monarch lives (or something like that), a mini-parade, a huge park, a white marble arch and a lot of big red buses. (not to mention confusing street signs)
First stop: Buckingham Palace.

Apparently the queen wasn't there that day. We later learned that if she's there, there will be another flag underneath the national flag atop the palace. Only one flag today. We didn't get the chance to see the changing of the guard, either... later we found out that we probably would have seen it if we stayed longer. But it was cold!

I have actually seen the palace before-- inside and out! On my first trip to England, almost 12 years ago, we went on a tour. Buckingham Palace is only open to the public during August and September. From there, we managed to find our way to Hyde Park; our hostel was just north of there.

on the way, we passed this on the street. I don't know what it is, or who they are, but they're women and they stopped traffic and that was worth seeing in itself.

So, we stumbled through Hyde Park (which, might I add, is a little more than a walk in the park. It's beautiful, but it is huuuuggeee). While stopped on the edge of the park, all three of us examining our maps, a man with a boy stopped by us and said "Do you need directions?" It was an American voice! We said we were pretty sure where we were going since we just needed to get through the park (or, I said it, I guess I spoke for everyone...) but it was very nice of him to ask. Either he overheard us talking, or we really looked like Americans, which is more likely. We had a few other "American spottings" over the weekend, some welcome and others not so welcome. Sometimes you hate to claim the same home country as some people...
Eventually we found the road where our hostel was supposed to be.... and then stopped for lunch at a little pub called "The Swan." All three of us ordered hamburgers.
The Swan was probably the first place where I realized how international the city really is. Maybe that would seem obvious. But hearing all the different languages at that pub was just a taste of the culture I would savor throughout my time in London (as short as it may be).

A few more blocks down Bayswater Road and we finally reached our hostel. We checked in, received our linens and climbed the stairs to our room. It seemed pretty decent... even if it was my first stay in a hostel.
We were exhausted already! Between waking up early and walking around all day, and having full stomachs we were all ready for a nap!
So we made our beds and relaxed for a bit (or as much as you can relax in a hostel, anyway). We examined a couple tour bus flyers we picked up on the way. The night before we left for London, we asked British-American advisor & liazon Andy (see below) what our best strategy would be to get the most from our weekend, and he suggested the tour bus.

We opted for the bus that stopped nearest to our hostel. And oh boy were we full fledged tourists on that beast.

The top deck has a nice view, great for picture-taking and getting an overall feel for the city-- the wind blowing through your hair... I bet it's nice in the summer. But not in 30-degree weather! (that's Farenheit.) It was a very cold weekend. Cold and windy. Kind of felt like Chicago.

We were bundled up all weekend. But the sun was out here and there, and it didn't rain. Two days in London without rain; I guess I can't complain.

At the end of the weekend we decided that the tour bus was a good idea. Our ticket was good for 48 hours from the time we bought it, and we could hop on and off at any of the stops whenever we wanted. Pretty convenient. It hit most of the London hot-spots (except Shakespeare's Globe, much to my dismay) and even had a historical narrative via headphones. So we got to learn a lot about the history of places we might have otherwise overlooked. For instance, the church where poet Robert Browning was married; the church where Oscar Wilde was married; the famous Baker Street (Sherlock Holmes anyone?); Abbey Road (Beatles' recording studio); and one of our personal favorites, the church whose steeple inspired the tiered wedding cake!

my address

2006-02-24T18:21:00.000-07:00

If you want to write me, I'd be happy to receive mail... email me at annakbanana13@hotmail.com and I'll send you my mailing address. I also have a (616) phone number where you can reach me without having to pay international rates.

p.s. I'm spending the weekend in LONDON!

22 Feb. - quick catch-up

2006-02-24T18:20:00.000-07:00

So it's Wednesday night and here I am with my cup of peppermint tea, thinking how catch-up sounds like ketchup, and how its like gold here. If it's even provided, most places you have to pay for it. You can buy it in the supermarkets and stuff, but in terms of being available as a condiment, well, good luck, ketchup lovers. Don't plan on coming to Europe anytime soon. (Usually it's called 'tomato sauce' and it tastes different... its thicker or something.) Thankfully Molly had a bottle from Tesco on hand so we could have it with our fish & chips tonight.

Fish & Chips... whew. I'm still full. We went to a take-away (take-out) place on Bath Road, which is about a 20-minute walk from where we live. But apparently this place was good & cheap, and a few of us were feeling like we were missing part of the whole British experience without having eaten a meal of fish & chips.

Jake, Stephanie, Molly, Greg (all American BCA students) with our fish & chips. Notice the bottle of ketchup in the middle of the table...

Jake has been to this place before, and he warned us about the big portions, but when we got back and unwrapped our meals...

here's Molly in shock. what did I get myself into?

Molly & I are not big fish people. It's one of those things you just have to do; besides, anything battered & fried can taste good.
Yeah, we didn't finish our meals. I think the grease will be coating my stomach walls for a few days.

Well, you might be wondering... how is the food over there? I've heard it's not so good.
here's my take on the food so far:

pies & pasties are pretty popular. steak pies, pork pies, mince meat, lamb, you name it. you can find a nice variety in the fridge section at Tesco, and they are sometimes buy-one-get-one free. you can tell how I've been doing my grocery shopping.
since we are responsible for our own meals here, my meals have mainly consisted of normal "college student" cuisine. pizza, frozen stuff, pasta... you get the idea.
there isn't a cafeteria like the colleges back home. most students don't live on campus; actually only "first-year" students do. so that means no meal plan where you can just go in and get your card swiped. the cafe here, called the "refectory", is about it. we have some credit on our ID cards to use at the refectory but it's only enough for about 1 meal/day we are here. some of the BCA students have already written off the refectory, calling it "panini hell." they have cold subs (baguettes), a limited salad bar, various hot meals (the other day I had lamb & guinness stew, it was interesting) and paninis paninis paninis. cheddar &amp; tomato, bacon & brie, pepperoni & mozarella, ham & cheese, coronation chicken... the panini possibilities are endless. sounds good, I'm sure, and they were at first. but ugh. I am on a nearly 1 1/2 week panini hiatus and I think I might be able to get one tomorrow and actually enjoy it.
Indian food is pretty popular, too; I might have mentioned that in an earlier post. it only sticks out to me when I see frozen chicken tikka meals & such in the TV-dinners section at the supermarket (I hang out in the freezer aisle a lot, ok? It's cheap.)
so far I've seen McDonald's, Burger King, Subway, KFC, and pizza hut here. My cousins were telling me that you see KFC knock-off's here too, with names like "Dallas Fried Chicken" or "Tennessee Fried Chicken". If you think about it, why would people here know the difference between Kentucky or Dallas or Tennessee?
I bet you have to pay for the ketchup packets there, too.

********

In other news, I recently received word that my cousin Susanna had her baby!

here's my new cousin!

Belko (which means joy, happiness, hospitable in Fulani) John was born Tuesday the 21st and was 7lbs. 4oz. (I had a feeling it was a boy...) How exciting! : )

********

Well there's no way I'm going to be able to cover all the stuff I've done since my last post... but I do have a kind of funny story. It's definitely one of those culture-oops moments.

Last Saturday was the school disco, which means that everyone goes to the Student Union bar (the SU as we like to call it, or some say "sue"), dance, have some drinks, etc. You get the picture. Well, they (the students who go) also tend to go in costume.

Andy, a British student who lives in the building in front of mine, decided to go as the classic nerd. He just needed the finishing touches...
(Enter Andy into Merrowdown kitchen. Group of female American students are sitting around the table, just having finished dinner.)
ANDY: Does anyone have any braces?
GIRL 1: Yeah, the ones I keep in my back pocket...
(GIRLS laugh.)
GIRL 2: Why would we have braces?
GIRL 3: Oh, you mean like a retainer?
(GIRLS break into random sharing of orthodontic horror stories.)
ANDY: No one has like a belt or something I can hook on my pants? (draws imaginary line with hand from shoulder to waist)
GIRLS (in unison): Ohhhhh...
GIRL 2: You mean, like suspenders.
ANDY: Yeah, braces. We call them braces.
(GIRLS laugh hysterically.)

But thankfully Andy is used to our American-ness, and he and some of the other 'Brits' that live with us like to affectionately snicker when we talk about our movies, classes and make our miscellaneous mispronunciations.

They like us enough to hang around us, and I think Andy especially likes having all these American girls around...

here's Andy with some of the American girls (& 1 British)

Some of the girls helped him make some make-shift "braces" with brown packaging tape.

some of the GIRLS sitting in Merrowdown kitchen. (Jamie, Georgiana, me, Stephanie)

After dinner and after most people were off to the disco, Leslie, Molly, Stephanie & I decided to watch a movie.. err... film. But not until we acquiesced our chocolate craving. So we made a quick run to the convenience store at Texaco (yes, Texaco) across the street and bought some of the biggest swiss cake rolls you've ever seen!

Molly, me & Stephanie with our "choc' rolls"

Nothing like chocolate, friends & a good chick flick! It was a good ending to a great day (you'll have to click on the link of "pictures from my trip to Gloucester" on the right to see more! But I'll just leave you with this to make you want to check them out...)

Harry Potter was filmed here!

comments

2006-02-23T18:15:00.000-07:00

hey I just changed the settings so that now anyone can post comments, you don't have to have an account. Now I should get no excuses from my faithful readers for not leaving their 2 pence...

You know you're an American when...

2006-02-23T10:28:00.000-07:00

you're at the register at Tesco and you don't even think to bag your own groceries.
you're in class and when the tutor asks you about American history, you have no idea when the Declaration of Independence was signed. or what it says.
your concept of something being "old" is 100 years, give or take.
the only college dorm situation you've ever known is living with roommates. the concept of all campus housing consisting of single rooms boggles your mind.
when people hear you're from America, they're surprised when you say that you've never been to California, or Texas, as if it's in your own backyard.
you're sitting on a bus talking with your (American) friends and everyone else on the bus turns to look at the foreigners.
at dinner, your table is the loudest in the refectory.
you go to pay with your credit (or debit) card and you stick it in the card reader and the cashier says, "oh, it doesn't have a chip, does it."
you go to pay for a post card at the Millenium Stadium souvenir shop, and while digging through your coin purse for a 50p coin, the cashier says, "it's the big silver one."
you don't know what 'A-levels' are.
when discussing class with your friends, you keep saying "my professor- I mean, tutor--"
you have a hard time getting used to the fact that the SU (student union) bar --the place where students hang out and tend to get drunk on the weekends-- is right across the hall from where you go to your psych class.
you are 19 and you can legally drink alcohol, and that is abnormal.
you don't know much about the EU.
you can't bring yourself to say 'cheers' to the bus driver, because it sounds fake no matter what
the country you're staying in is approximately the size of your home state.
you don't know what 'black Friday' or 'rag week' is.
you pronounce 'Reading' like 'reeding', not 'reding'; 'Leicester' like (well, how would you say it?), not 'lester'
someone has to show you how to use the oven in the kitchen.
you love the fact that when you buy something, you pay what the price sticker says-- no sales tax!
you haven't seen an SUV in a while and you actually take note of this.
when you go to cross the street, out of habit you step on to the street-- just the edge-- to look for traffic, but you almost get run over. and the car doesn't slow down!
you think red telephone booths are so cute.
people look at you funny when you say you say you're "going to school", not university.
you crave chocolate or ice cream almost every day; fast food at least twice a week.
your program director has to tell your friends that: a) you have to flip the little switch next to the power outlet so the red is showing or nothing will work b) their hairdryers have been blowing out because the voltage is different here.
you call it an 'outlet' instead of a 'socket'
your fellow group member, while on the bus from the airport, sees a gas station and says, "oh look, they have BP here!"
you see the price sign at the gas station says "89.9" and you think that's cheap, but that's actually more expensive than back home.
you're sore in the morning from walking so much
7.95 seems like a decent price for a meal... and then you remember the exchange rate.

more to come...

13 Feb. - Classes Begin!

2006-02-13T16:00:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day that "Modules" met. Here, the classes, or modules, only meet once a week: generally 1 hr. lecture followed by 1 hr. seminar. I took the University shuttle this morning to Francis Close Hall (which I talked about on an earlier post). FCH is the site of the Humanities departments, so most of my modules meet there. My first class was Psychology 101. There are 2 other BCA students in that class with me. The tutor (professor) is an interesting fellow-- he has 10 piercings on his face (yes, I counted...)
I think Psych will be alright.
Afterwards, we had lunch in the refectory (cafeteria) and I had some free time before I went to a writing module. It's called "Changing Stories: Writing & Rewriting", which is basically taking a "famous" piece of literature or storyline and recasting it in your own way... which doesn't sound too appealing to me. I didn't really like the way it seemed to me. It's okay, though, because the way BCA sets it up, I'm not really registered in any modules yet. They just told us to attend whatever modules we might be interested in taking this week, and then by the end of the week we can be signed in.
Tomorrow I am going to "Earth Processes & Landforms" and either "Screenwriting I" or "Crafting Fictions". Friday I will go to "19th Cent. American Literature" and "Playwriting". The plan is to be registered for 5 modules.

Today in the writing class, there was a short story the tutor wanted us to read aloud in class. So the paper was passed around the class and everyone read a portion. Naturally, I was the only non-Brit in the room. It was kind of intimidating to read in my very non-British, American voice, sticking out like a sore thumb. Not that I was ashamed, but I normally don't like to draw too much attention to myself... and there was no escaping the fact that their ears would perk up when they heard the change in droning reading voices. (you know how it is when a group of people take turns reading and you start to zone out because they all sound the same... and then someone with a very distinct voice reads and you snap out of it? yeah. like that.) Back home when I hear a British accent I think it's fascinating and I want to listen to it; but today it would have been nice to be reminded that there are people who talk like me! I'm sure the others thought nothing of it. But it's hard getting used to the fact that everywhere you go... whenever you open your mouth (sometimes you don't even have to)... people know you're a foreigner.
Nevertheless, it's good for me to be on the other side of the fence. After all, that's what I'm here for : )

11-12 Feb. - Weekend in Bournemouth

2006-02-12T19:00:00.000-07:00

I just got back from Bournemouth, where my cousin Susanna and her husband Boureima live. It's about 2.5 hours from Cheltenham , and they were kind enough to drive me all the way back home. Boureima especially is very hospitable, and insisted they drive me back instead of taking me to the train station.

I was down for the weekend to visit, and also to attend a baby shower that Susanna's sister Miriam organised as a surprise. It was quite interesting as baby showers are not as popular here in the UK as they are in the states. Many of the guests were friends of Susanna's and, as you can imagine, not familiar with this sort of thing, (some of them were saying 'I don't know how this whole American custom goes...') but overall everyone seemed to enjoy it. Miriam informed me that the British do something like a bridal shower, called "hen day," where all the bride's friends and such get together for the day and give her gifts and they all go out and do something... it sounds like a cross between our bachelorette parties and bridal showers. But the concept of a baby shower is quite foreign, and I think some of the ladies were surprised to see how many gifts Susanna ended up with. At the same time, I was thinking how I would have expected to see much more at a baby shower back home. But everyone was very generous and Susanna was very grateful (and surprised!)

here's Susanna, Miriam to her left, and in the corner is her friend Beth from London (who went to Bible College in Iowa)

L to R: Aunt Nancy, Ruth & Bryn, me, Susanna & Boureima

My cousin Bryn and Susanna's husband (Boureima) were also at the party--which is another thing you don't see in America-- and Boureima (who's from

Burkina Faso

, Africa) kept calling it a "Baby Bath". Miriam had called him a few days prior to tell him her plans so that he could keep it as a surprise for Susanna. When we arrived he informed us that he had cleaned the bath tub in preparation for "whatever this baby bath is". We all got a good laugh out of that. : ) He will be a good dad.

Boureima is the field director for Fulani Ministries in Burkina Faso. They plan to return in September, after the baby's born (which could be any day now). I'm excited to see my new cousin!

10 Feb. - Campus Orientation

2006-02-12T18:27:00.000-07:00

A small group of us (mostly those of us who live in Merrowdown and Eildon, the villa next door) hopped on the university buses to see the different campuses that compose the University of Gloucestershire. There are 4 (I think) campuses all together; 1 in Gloucester and the other 3 in Cheltenham. (Side note: I heard that Harry Potter was filmed at the Gloucester Cathedral! I have yet to see it). We only got to 2 of the campuses, though. The main idea was to get used to the busing system because most of us have classes at different campuses. It looks like a lot of my classes will be at Francis Close Hall:

the buildings are really beautiful.

and here's the inside of the chapel

nothing quite like Edman... or even Blanchard (back at Wheaton)!

9 Feb. - Settling into Cheltenham...

2006-02-12T18:03:00.000-07:00

This morning the directors met with us to inform us about choosing Modules (our classes) and how everything works at the University. Later, a few friends & I went into town to shop for some necessities... I bought some loo rolls (toilet paper), hangers, etc. Later on, our whole group met at a restaurant called Indian Brasserie. I'd never actually been to an Indian restaurant before, so it was interesting. It was pretty good, but I wasn't a huge fan.

It was a fun night. That was the last time we'll all be together for awhile! (there's a good part of the group I haven't even met yet...)

Below: Lisa (from Messiah College in PA-- most of the students are from Messiah), Stephanie (from Malone College in OH) and me (the lone Wheatie)

8 Feb. - Cymru

2006-02-12T17:11:00.000-07:00

Today we took a trip to Cardiff, Wales (Wales=Cymru in Welsh). It was mostly a touristy excursion. I'm sure we were quite a spectacle; forty American college students descending upon the streets of Wales' capital & largest city, at least half had cameras out and ready... I felt like I was wandering with a herd of cattle!

I bet you can't spot us...

Anyway, we visited Milennium Stadium first. It's a huge stadium (seats 74,500) used for 6 Nations Rugby (International Rugby organisation) and football (soccer) matches. It happens to be the largest stadium in the world with a retractable roof.

When we were waiting outside the stadium for our tour guide, we saw a group of guys tossing around a rugby ball. It turns out they were French Rugby players, and I'm not sure if they were from the French team or what, but who knows, maybe we saw some celebrities?

A few of the girls posed for pictures with them. This is Alex, she's one of the BCA group coordinators.

Rugby is pretty big in Wales. They close all main city streets in Cardiff on match days. We got to see the stadium inside & out, and even got to see where the queen would sit if she were at the game!

here's the view of the stadium from the inside. The trophy is just a replica, but that's where the real one would sit.

The post that looks like a football goal is the rugby post (it has a bar that connects the two but you can hardly see it in this picture)

After lunch in the city, we had a tour of Cardiff Castle. Here I am in front (of the oldest part) of the castle:

I climbed into the top window there and found a nice view of the city

(the clocktower of the castle is on the right; Millenium Stadium is just to the left)

more of Cardiff...

7 Feb. - Jetlag & Merrowdown Annexe D2

2006-02-12T16:36:00.000-07:00

Whew... where do I start. It has been a long three days, and I still haven't completely recovered from jet lag (even though I slept for over 15 hours Monday night!). It hasn't hit me yet that I'm here for the semester, that I'm actually here, that I won't be home for 4 months.

My home away from home... Merrowdown Annexe Flat D2. It's campus-owned but not on the main campus. It's nicely situated between town and the university campus, so either way is about a 15 minute walk. I was fortunate to get one of the Annexe rooms, which means I get my own bathroom! :)

here's my room:

I haven't finished unpacking yet. I've only taken one trip into town so far, where I bought some handwash, face cloths, air fresheners & scissors. I went to the register to purchase these items, and the cashier looked at me and said, "Are you 16?"
I, a bit surprised, hesitated and then, "yes..."
"Can I see some I.D?"
(I hand her my international student ID card.)
she looks it over. hands it back to me. "I have to ask, you know, because it's a sharp pointed object..."
"That's fine, I understand."
and sure enough, on the back of the package it says, "NOT FOR SALE TO PERSONS UNDER 16 YEARS OF AGE."
So there you have it. I could go to the pub across the street and buy a beer but I can't buy a pair of 49p scissors without getting carded