Goodbye Europe, Hello Chicago!!

6/14 Brussels & Travel London (26th day)


Woke up around 7:30 had breakfast, went to EU commission broke for lunch, ate at a great little restaurant, probably the best meal I have had so far (besides Hard rock Cafe) and it was only 8.20 including drink. After that we had the EU parliament visit and came back after and had to get ready for the taxi (picks me up at 6:45pm). I took a shower and packed, then hung out a little with the group and said my goodbyes, everyone was really nice and I got lots of hugs. I really feel fortunate to have met some of these people. The taxi was really convenient. The flight to London was short only like 1 hour and that is with a slight delay in landing, I am now in Heathrow waiting for my flight, I am at Starbucks typing my journals up it is about 1am and I cant check in for my flight until 5:00am so I have a few hour to kill…I hope the time goes fast.

6/15 London to Rockford, IL – Back Home!!

I am very excited to be home! I had an amazing trip but Dorothy had it right when she said “There is No place like home!”

Probably my fav night of whole trip!

6/13 Brussels (25th day)

Up around 7:30 am to get breakfast, After question and answer session we went back to hostel, I was very scared because know one told about 11-3 lock out, my laptop was left out in my room so I was afraid it would be stolen, lied to get into room, McDonalds for lunch and dinner, I freaked out about the ketchup. I asked for a ketchup packet for my fries and they said they didn’t have any. I was like “How can you not have ketchup?” And the dude said (no joke) “It’s Tuesday…we are always out by Tuesday.” I was like, “Well that is some pan planning then!” I am a business major for a reason. Oh but get this then he said “We will have some tomorrow.” I was like OMG WTF??? I mean what am I suppose to come back tomorrow for it? So I asked for a squirt of the ketchup they put on the burgers. They said no. Ahhhhh! I eventually got my ketchup but oh my god they probably did not like this American AT ALL! FYI: they also charge 40p for a packet.


I decided to go salsa dancing with Mike, Mike, Matt, Lauren, Amy, and Katie. There were free lessons in the Latin district but the Brazil football game was on so the Latin district was crazy. I had a few Strongbows and a pint of Stella…I introduced everyone to drunk Anne (literally), I realized me and Lauren click really well (on the last day…it figures), I told Matt that he was my favorite guy on the trip, maybe one of the nicest and coolest guys I have ever met, we had a ton of fun there were drums and lots of people, on the way home we stopped into a deserted bar to use the bathrooms and I used the men’s bathroom because there was only one stall in the girls and Lauren and Amy were in there. I went in with Mike Edwards he was at the urinal and I went into the stall, when I came out Mike told me to hurry and wash my hands (no soap or towels of coarse) I guess Lauren had ripped the stall door off the wall because she couldn’t figure out how to get out, she totally busted it! Mike called her a Rhino…lol He told us girls not to speak to anyone and walk out…I walked out w/him because I was too drunk and my feet were killing me, when we got back everyone was at the bar and patio at the hostel I walked up to the group and said “Who missed Anne?” Everyone raised their hands it was really funny, I got to use Jenny J phone so that I could call Zak. I told him I wanted a hug Gorilla style (Allison and Jenny got a kick out of that). Everyone told Lauren she was the Hulk and asked if she was hulkified or angry after the bathroom story. I was locked out of the room so I was going to sleep with Amelia and that room but I was able to wake Teresa bell up so I could get the key. This was one of the best nights of the trip (and my last with the group)…sad I passed out around 2am.

Bruges and Brussels

6/11 Bruges (23rd day)


After breakfast we headed into Bruges for the boat tour. We walked around Bruges and then decided to climb the bell tower stairs (366 steps…ouch). Matt, Mike, Mike, Lauren, Kim, Amy, and I rented bikes for 1 hour. It turned out to be the most fun we had all day. Matt and Mike V. rented the two seater…which was really funny to watch. Went to the bar for an hour or so, beer tour, back to same bar, back to hostel at 8pm w/o dinner, chilled, some played poker, shower, bed.

6/12 Brussels (24th day)

Breakfast, beach, everyone burned, beach was beautiful, lots of tiny spiders, lunch at the beach, wish there was a designated swimming area, back on bus by 2 (got to the beach around 11:30), two hours to Brussels, bus driver cant find hostel, hostel sucks compared to Bruges (we all miss Bruges), I took shower…which sucks before we walked around, dinner at Brussels grill, a little pricy but good, back to hostel to chill, went to sleep after watching half of Fun with Dick and Jane with Jenny Jones and Alison.

P.S. Can you tell I am getting sick of blogging every day? I want to remember all of this but it can be really tedious.

Welcome to Belgium

I woke up at 5:30 so as you can probably tell from the end of last nights entry that I am very tired. I had my final morning of corn flakes and a bagel (this is what we had EVERY single morning at the host family as well as in London). It was a little weird to say goodbye to Daphne and Robert. They have both been so great to us girls and it is a little sad to leave. When you think about it there is a very big chance that I will never see them again. My bag is so heavy; Robert had to carry it downstairs. I am going to have to do something about that or it will cost me a fortune to get my stuff back to the states.


I scored a great seat on bus. I ended up in the very last row (which stretched across the whole width of the bus) and shared it with Ashley. I was able to sleep almost the whole time. I just spread out. Ashley even followed Bernie and Luke’s suite and lay in the aisle to try to sleep so then I had 5 seats instead of 2 ½ to myself. We stopped after about two hours at a rest stop. They gave us 20 minutes (too long) so everyone had to stand outside of the bus for what seemed like forever. Everyone was tired and cranky (myself included).

It was kind of cool to ride the Chunnel to France (we had to pass through on the way to Belgium). We were able to get off the coach while in the Chunnel so like 8 of us played UNO in the open area in our train car. They told us we would be stopping in France for lunch but we didn’t. We ate lunch in Belgium. The rest of the bus ride to the hostel in Bruges was ok. After we got there and settled in, we (Ashley and I) decided to walk around so that I could find another bag to buy (for my luggage situation). I was able to find one at this little store called Tara Inc. It only cost me €12.5 and it is exactly what I need. Ashley decided to grab dinner before we headed back and Pizza Hut seemed like a safe bet. I wasn’t able to finish my personal pan for some reason so when Amber and Caitlin came in I handed it off it them. Amber seemed very grateful...lol.

When we got back there was a bunch of people hanging in our room so we ended up playing UNO again. Most of the other people were drinking and hanging out downstairs. I can’t imagine drinking every night like some of these people do. Not only could I not handle that much alcohol but the expense I am sure is outrageous. The teacher yelled at them around 11:30 for being load (which they were being but…well no comment). I finished up the day with a warm shower and I was in bed by 1:00am.

Wales and goodbyes

I woke up today and Amy was still asleep I think that is a first for the trip since she is always the one to wake me up. I had breakfast and got cleaned up to go to Cardiff with Teresa Bell. A lot of people are hanging around Bristol today but I feel like making the most of this last day. I met Teresa at 9:00am on the corner of Redland and Cranbrook. We took the bus to the train station. The train to Wales was only £8.10 for a roundtrip ticket (pretty good deal).


When we got to Cardiff we decided to do the castle first. We took the tour of the main house which was really cool. The house was built around 1880 by a wealthy family and I have never seen such extravagance. This family had every detail covered in this house. Their dinner table had a small hole in the center so that a grape vine gould be put up through it and they could pick fresh grapes to have with their wine. It is take kind of thing that makes you go WOW. We also walked up the castle itself and took some pictures; there is still a working mote around it.

After the castle we went to the Hard Rock for lunch. I ended up buying another shot class so now I have two from Hard Rock (one from London and one from Cardiff). By now it was about 1:30pm so we decided to just walk around a little before we headed back to Bristol. The train was back by 3:45 and I was at my host house by 4pm. I still have half the day left. It is the last night with the host family so we all stayed in and had dinner. We took pictures and said our goodbyes. Amy and I met up with Teresa to walk to the smile (convenient store) to get stuff for Bus tomorrow. I was on the computer until 2:00am typing journals and playing on the internet. I really need to pack now…asleep at 3:00am.

Last day of class in Bristol

Today was our last day of class. I am going to miss the school and seeing everyone in class everyday. Time has really one by fast. I have had a really good time though. The presentations went well. Bob flubbed up a little but recovered at the end. We did not win the Champaign. I really don’t like it so I was ok with that. After class Matt came over to upload his pictures and stayed to chat. He is a really nice guy. Another life lesson I have learned on this trip is that the people who appear nice can be assholes and the people who originally seem stuck up or bitchy will surprise you. It really is true though. When I met GIRL (names have been changed to protect the annoying) in the airport I had a really good feeling about her and now I can’t stand her and Matt I thought was a stereotypical frat boy and he is probably the nicest guy on this trip.


After Matt left we got ready to head out and headed down for dinner. We ended up at Lloyds again and I didn’t stay long because I planed on getting up early and heading for Cardiff. I need my energy for the travel. I will also spend most of the day packing and spending time with the host family. Well I better go to bed it is already 1:30am.

Concord, Blue Glass, and Karaoke

6/6 Bristol (18th day)

Class was ok today although I was really tired. After lunch I woke up more and then we headed for the Concord. It used to cost $11,000 round trip from London to New York but the trip only took 3 ½ hour instead of 8. I really enjoyed the tour. Sitting in the front seats was kind of cool. Prince Charles used to sit in the seat that I sat in. I really didn’t do much the rest of the day. I typed up some more journals and went to bed around midnight.


6/7 Bristol (19th day)

Today was the second to last day of class and we went to the Bristol Blue glass place. I spent way too much money. I did get this really cool figure thingy…I know nice explanation…but I can’t think of a better one. It cost me £30. It was really interesting to see them make the glass into different items. We discussed some business issues such as shipments of packaging equipment but mostly we shopped. After we got back to UWE we all spent at least 2 hours in our groups preparing for the presentations.

I decided not to go out for the night so when I got home I just relaxed but then Ashley and Amy talked me into going to the Yates bar to Karaoke. It was so much fun…one of the best nights I have had here in Bristol. I sang Spice Girls Wannabe with Amy, Kim, Jenny Jones, and Lauren. I took video. It is so funny. Matt S and Mike V sang Build me up Buttercup. Matt sounded just like him when he screamed “WHY don’t you build me up?” and all Mike did was dance. It was such a good time and I am so glad I decided to go out.

Rome...I just cant believe I'm here!

After breakfast at the Bistro we went to the Pantheon and did some shopping. We really wanted to see the Sistine Chapel but the line was about 4-5 hours long (no joke). The biggest event of the day was the Coliseum. It was so overwhelmingly amazing inside. We had a tour so we were told all kinds of neat stories about how things were back then it always makes me wonder if they really know all the little details really happen or if they are embellishing to make the tour better??? Oh well it was fun just the same.


We checked out of the hostel about 2 and headed for the Metro and then for the bus to take us to the airport. Our flight was actually on time so I got home around 7:30 or so. It was nice to get away from Teresa because she was driving me CRAZY. Not in an I hate you way just in a being confined with you for 3 full days kind of way. I am used to being with Amy since we already room together so she did not bother me. It was also nice to see Ashley. She went to Dublin so Amy and I were able to chat with her for a while about what we all did over the weekend. It was fun.

A Birthday in Italy

We had breakfast at the house and than called a taxi to take us to the Leaning Tower. It was so cool. Probably the coolest thing I have seen so far. You know that whole WOW factor that you get….I got it when I walked up to this thing. I have been seeing that thing in textbooks and in the media since I was a kid and now to be standing in front of it!?! Crazy! After taking the tour we did a little shopping. Then we took the bus to the train station and headed to Rome.


It was kind of funny but I actually kind of forgot it was my birthday. I was just sitting on the bench next to Amy and Teresa and I was like, “What day is it?” Amy was like, “I think it’s the 4th.” SO I laughed and said, “Well then it’s my birthday.” We all thought that was pretty funny. I mean who forgets their birthday but I guess being in Italy kind of overshadows it. Did I mention that I LOVE this country?

When we got to Rome (3 hour train ride) we decided to check into out hotel 1st. Then we took the Metro to Vatican City. This was really cool. I am not catholic but I found this very interesting. There is so much history. We also walked up to these famous steps…I forget what they are called but there was an engagement commercial filmed on them in which a man has his wife’s parents there for his proposal (2nd wedding). I thought it was cool. After that we got some dinner and headed back to the hotel to go to bed because Monday was going to be our BIG day. We need to fit in as much as we can before we have to set off to the airport.

Italy is my one true love!

I woke up this morning with a big grin because I am in ITALY!!! Amy, Teresa, and I have been here since last night and I am very excited to see Venice. We left the hotel around 8am and headed for the bus stop to take us into Venice (downtown). I totally wiped out on the way to the stop and scraped my knee up pretty bad. I was bleeding and everything. I felt like a dork. Look at the bright side I am leaving a piece of me here! I know I know….that just gross. Lol When we got to the bus stop but we were not sure when the next one came and than we watched as it passed us by. I really don’t understand why it didn’t stop but another one came around and stopped about 20 minutes later.

When we got to the city we walked around for a while. It really does feel like you are walking around on a floating city because there are no roads and there is water everywhere. Teresa wanted to just walk around and shop but Amy and I told her that we did not fly to Italy just to shop. So we went to the Basilica and the Heart. The pigeons were out of control. Amy and I fed them. They will jump up on your arms and eat right out of your hand if you get down on your knees. We fed them corn that we bought for €1. After the Basilica we went to lunch at a little pizza café. I had a two pizza slice meal which came with a coke and an ice cream. It was no ordinary ice cream though, it was gelato. It was AMAZING!! After lunch we did a little shopping and found the Rialto Bridge. It is a bridge with shops on it and to be honest it was a little overrated…but still cool to say we went to.

We decided to head to Pisa which meant a train ride to Florence and then a train to Pisa. The trains took a total of 4 hours and when we got there we had no idea of where we were going. So we took the bus and ended up walking in a complete circle before we found the bed and breakfast we were staying in. The language barrier is crazy in Pisa, it really wasn’t a factor in Venice. We had dinner at a little restaurant and I want to order a coke. But the menu was in Italian (of course) so I just looked up the workd for soda and pointed to the Coca-Cola logo. The waiter looked at me like I was crazy and even repeated it to me. After he brought me my drink I understood why. I ordered a liter of Coke. To make it extra classy I drank it out of a wine glass (because it was the only glass provided and I was not about to chug the liter bottle). The restaurant was playing American music but no one spoke English….I don’t get it. Anyways we called it an early night and headed back to the B&B for bed.

Scary flight but amazing Italy

I woke up at 8am this morning so I only got 4hrs of sleep last night. Too much partying for me. I am really tired. I still have not packed for Italy (as of 10am). The bus leaves to take us to the airport at 2:30pm. The lecture is not to interesting to me today and the 4hrs of sleep is not helping matters. After class there was a barbeque in the octagon on campus so we all decided to take advantage of the free lunch. It wasn’t like our American BBQ but hey what do you expect? After that we went home so that I could pack and we could leave for the bus to the airport.


Check in at Bristol was smooth sailing. We ran into some of our group at the airport. The people going to Scotland had a flight about an hour before ours. It felt like forever when we were waiting in the airport for our flight to Italy. The flight has been delayed for almost 2 hours. We have been here since 3pm and it is now 6.30pm. So our plane left finally at 7:15pm (it was supposed to leave at 5:10). I also forgot my Xanax at the house and I really hate to fly so it was not good. There was some rally bad turbulence which freaked me out even more. Overall…a very bad flight to Italy. I mean the whole experience should have been filmed. The turbulence started and I started gripping the seat and praying (no joke it was that bad) and then the seatbelt sign came on and the flight attendant stood at the front of the plan and said “The captain has illuminated the seatbelt sign because we are experiencing a little bit of Tuuuuuuurbulance.” That is when the whole plane dropped (I literally flew up in my seat) and the flight attendant fell into the lap of the people in the first row. I almost cried I was so scared. This is why I take Xananx. God I hate flying!!! Once we got to Venice Italy we took a cab to the Titan Inn and it was amazing! This hotel might as well have been an apartment. We had two rooms with a balcony and I little kitchen. I freaking love this place!

World Trading and the Club

Same old same old as far as class and lunch go. The second half of the day we played the World Trading Game. Our group thought that we were doing well, until the other groups started announcing their money totals. We came in 4th place out of 6. We tried sabotaging other groups. The funny thing is that the only teams that we beat were the ones that we sabotaged. So we just needed to focus on the other groups as well…lol. My team consisted of Amy, Ashley, Bob, and Caitlyn. We had to make shapes and sell them to the bank but we could only use what was given to us unless we traded or bought from other groups.


After class I went shopping with some of the girls and then Amy and I came home. We all went out tonight and had a few too many…but it was really fun. The place was really busy but it was nice to get to kick back with the group.I think the club we went to was called Oceana or something.

Do you need a Bath?

I woke up this morning with a strange red patch on both of my ankles and my legs were a little swollen. My socks were tight and left a ring because of this. Daphne seems to think that bugs in the grass at Berkley got me and I was just having a reaction. I am a little freaked out but I will try to just wait it out. I hope it goes away soon. After class today we went to Bath. This is where all the old Roman Baths are (hence the name). It reminded me a lot of Greece. I will see much more in Italy but this was still impressive and cool. After the tour of the baths we walked around Bath for about an hour. We had some really good ice cream at this little side street place. The bus ride to and from Bath sucked because we were turning and stopping a lot (it upset my stomach). Amy, Ashley, and I were home by 7pm. We met up with a bunch of the group at hobgoblin and I was home and in bed by around 1:00am.

Berkley Castle and strange cheese fries

I woke up late. Class starts at 10 and I wasn’t up until 8. We have to catch the 9:26 bus to school everyday so I only had an hour before I had to leave for UWE. Today we talked about international business and globalization. It was kind of boring. Lunch was a basket of fries. It cost me £2.60 because I added cheese. The cheese was different…I expected a side of melted cheese but I got un-melted shredded cheese on my fries. It was ok but I wish I would have know that before hand. It’s just another thing that is done differently over here.


At 1:15 we caught a coach to Berkley Castle. It was really cool. It was built in the 12th century. We were allowed to take pictures of the castle which was nice because a lot of places won’t let you take pictures. We heard how a King was murdered at the castle. I forgot which one. Anyways he was a homosexual and he was playing favorites between his barons and there were people who were not too pleased by this. So one night they took him from his bed and in order to kill him without leaving a mark (evidence) on his body they used a bull horn to hold his bum open and stuck a red hot poker up his bum and burned his insides. This didn’t kill him quick enough so they smothered him to finish him off. Crazy huh?

After the tour I found my family code of arms at the gift shop and bought the post card that explained it. I also found my best friend Nicole’s so I picked that one up too. I talked to Paul about Belgium and how I should get to London on the 15th. I think I am going to buy a plane ticket. It just seems like the easiest way. I also found out that we have to feed ourselves while in Belgium (which sucks). I still need to make some last minute plans for Italy. Lots to do! I decided to sit home and type up some journals tonight while Ashley, Amy, Robert, and Audrey went out and I am headed to bed now (1:30am).

Back to Bristol!

Happy Birthday Amy! It is our final day in London and our bus leaves at 4 so we have to try to get as much in as possible. We have to meet back at the hostel at 2:30 to collect our bags from the closet (£1.5 to store each bag for the day at the hostel) and head to the bus station. To start we are going to Westminster Abby to beat the lines. Westminster was very cool. I thought it was amazing. I was much more impressed by the architecture, the history, and the statues rather than the art, but I still loved it. The Abby was located just across the street from Parliament and so when it was bombed in the 2nd world war everyone was amazed that the only damage done from the fallout was a small ole in a window about twice the size of my palm. They keep a gray colored glass piece there to remember. After that we went to the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace at around 11:30am. I will admit that I found that a little boring but at least I can say I saw it. After that we headed to Harrods to see the store and the strip of shops. Princess Diana was engaged to the owner’s son so she was a frequent shopper at Harrods. There is a special memorial in the store for her and Dody. We walked around the store for a bit and I saw a Chanel purse that had a price of £1,325 which is like $2,600.

It started out as Amy, Ashley, Allison, and I but Amy dipped out after Westminster to do her own thing so it was just the 3 of us for the rest of the time. After the shopping we stopped for lunch at McDonalds before headed back to the hostel for our bags. When we arrived at the bus station I was freaked out because Mike had bought another ticket to Bristol. He asked me to buy him one last week and I reminded him 3 times that he owed me £17 but he had the nerve to say he didn’t know who or if anyone had bought his ticket. He tried to sell back his ticket but they wouldn’t let him. I told him that I was sorry but I needed that money. He promised to give it to me tomorrow. Lets hope he does! I feel bad but it was not my fault that he is absent minded. The bus ride wasn’t too bad. I was able to sleep for almost half of it. It was only a 2 hour ride and then we took a local bus back to Zetland.

We were home by around 6:45pm. At dinner we had gifts from the family. It was a little coin purse with a sequin British flag on it. It was very sweet. We also got cards (Amy and I for our birthdays and Ashley just because). Amy wanted to go out for her birthday and we were not sure what everyone else was doing so Ashley, Amy, Robert and I went to Bishops to have a pint. Ashley and Amy had 4 so they were funny to watch. I didn’t drink much. It was fun. We played pool and hung out. We got home around 11:45 and went to bed around 1:30am.

Me, Daniel, and Jack the Ripper!

I was woken up this morning by Katie snoring. She sounded like a cross between a kazoo and a lion. This was at like 6:30am and I was not a happy camper. Shannon, Katie, and Jenny were out until after 4 in the morning so they had not been asleep long. I tried to take a video of the whole situation because it was one of those things that you just have to hear to truely appreciate to horror of the sound she was making. lol

Teresa B., Lauren, Allison, Ashley, Amy and I went to Camden Market to do some shopping. It was a lot of fun. There were a lot of cute stuff and some great deals. I bought some really cool pictures to frame when I get home. I plan on giving some away but I like them so much…it will be hard to give them up.

I had to leave the group around 11:00am so that I could meet Daniel at Paddington station at noon. I having been planning to meet up with him in London for about a month and it was a little scary because he doesn’t have a phone that I can call him on so if we missed each other there was nothing we could do about it. I really started to panic after about 45 minutes. I started calling everyone at home to see if I could get his brother Steve’s home phone number. See Steve is one of my best friends and his brother Daniel is stationed over hear. I figured, Daniel and I could be each others little taste of home. He finally got there at around 1:10pm. I was so glad to see him (he had some rain troubles) if we wouldn’t have found each other I would have been alone all day. And being on my own all day in London did not sound like a good use of my day. Plus scary! lol

Daniel and I went to Big Ben and walked across the Millennium Bridge. We took pictures by Westminster Abby. We went to lunch at a little pub near the Abby called The Silver Cross. We both got burgers and a soda but it took almost 45 minutes for him to get his burger and when it came it was wrong so we got free refills (they are not normally free over here....weird) and had to wait longer for his correct burger. It tasted ok despite the service issues. Luckly over here you dont tip so HA take that bad service! In your face lol!

After we ate we headed to the London Eye. I offered to go up in it again if he wanted to but he decided the line was too long. Daniel and I took the tube to Piccadilly Circus which was cool. It is kind of like a very small scale Times Square. I saw my first pay toilet (.20p) at the mall. We went to T.G.I. Fridays and snuck in to use the bathroom for free. After walking around for a while we hopped back on the tube and headed to the the London Bridge as well as Tower Bridge and walked around Tower Hill. You know you remember that song London Bridge is falling down? Well I kind of expected some grand bridge since the song was so famous but it is just a ordinary bridge with a little plague nearby explaining its history. It was a little anticlimatic if you ask me.

 

We had to take a break after that because our feet hurt. All this walking is a killer.  I was really nice to see Daniel, he really did reminded me of home. Kind of quenched my homesickness for a while. At this point it was about time for the Jack the Ripper tour so we headed over to that. It was really close to Tower Hill so we didn’t have to walk far. The tour was really neat. The area is still called Whitechapel and we walked around and were told about the murders and all the suspects and evidence. The guide was one of the guides from Tower Hill who I had spoken to yesterday so I was pretty confident that he knew wht he was talking about. The tour was really long though. It took about 2 ½ hours. We even had to leave early so that Daniel could make his 10:00pm train. I felt bad leaving because you are suppose to pay after the tour if you liked it and I did but we HAD to leave. It was only £5 so I guess it isn’t that big of a deal but still I felt bad. (Funny thing I saw on the tour was a place called Snatch that sold Adult Food…..anyone else confused??? lol).

After saying goodbye to Daniel I headed back to the hostel to see what everyone else had been up to that day and to find out what was going out for the night. Everyone was going to go out but when we got the bar it was closed. I am not used to place closing so early. We all just came back and went to bed. I tried to get food first b/c I hadn’t eaten since lunch but everything was closed so I had a coke for dinner and was asleep around 2am.

Feeling a little under the weather...

To be honest I wasn’t feeling to well today. I can’t figure out why. I guess the schedule is starting to get to me. Late nights and non stop agendas may be the death of me. Oh well...I did a lot of walking around today and saw a lot of the sites. It was mostly the things that I saw yesterday only today I had a little more time to take it all in.  I think because I wasn’t feeling well the best part of my day was when we (Amy, Teresa B., and I) went to see X3. It was really good. I mean what Hugh Jackman movie isn't? Right? I am going to bed at a fairly reasonable time because tomorrow will be a big day for me. I was meeting Daniel at noon at Paddington Station. We dont really have a major plan, just whatever comes to mind! Good night!

London here I come!!!

We had to be at the bus at 9am to head to London for the weekend. We made it just in time. The bus ride to London wasn’t so bad I was able to see Windsor Castle which is where the queen lives. They fly a flag whenever she is at home and the flag was flying this morning. We passed a lot of cool building on the way to Parliament. I didn’t really know until this trip that Parliament was in the same building as Big Ben. We had an hour before the tour to walk around London so me and Amy spit off and did our own thing. We walked around to see the London Eye and cross the Millennium Bridge. We got some really good pictures. Before we knew it it was time to head back to Big Ben for the tour.

The tour was cool. We were able to see the House of Lords as well as the House of Commons. Some interesting tid-bits: the queen is not allowed into the House of Commons. She has to have someone retrieve them whenever she needs to address them. Also the members of House of Commons have a special line they are not allowed to cross when then come into the House of Lords. We were not allowed to take any pictures which sucked but oh well. After the tour we grabbed our stuff and headed to the hostel. The Smart Hyde Park Inn was not too far but it took like 45minutes to check in. I was also not too pleased with our rooms. After we got there we see sites. Lauren, Allison, Amy, Teresa, Ashley, and I ventured out to go up in the London Eye. The wait wasn’t too bad. It takes about a half hour to go all the way around though but you can see all of London. After that we walked to the Hard Rock Café. There was an hour wait which sucked because I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. Once we got to the table it took about an hour to get our food because they were only using one kitchen for two floors. Once the food came it was so good. I was so tired alone with everyone else so we went back and went to bed.

Bus issues and the Bristol cathedral

Ashley and Amy went to school early so that they could use the computer lab. I ended up getting up at 12:00 which was a problem because I had to be to school (UWE) at 1:00pm. I was lucky to get to the bus in time for the 12:26 bus but it didn’t come. Katie and Jenny were sitting there too so I was glad I wasn’t going to be the only one late. Then when the bus came a few minutes before 1 I felt even better when I saw that Dr. Hunter was on the bus as well. I mean who can yell at you when the teacher is late too. I turned out that the bus had never made it to any of the last stops so everyone had been sitting at their stop for a while.

In class we discussed the government which was not very interesting to me but it was nice to know since we are going to parliament tomorrow. After class Ashley, Amy and I went to the centre and ventured to the Bristol cathedral. It was so beautiful. We walked around outside for a bit. Then we decided to go home for dinner. While waiting for the bus back to Zetland we saw two buses wedge themselves together. The y both thought they could fit past each other and obviously they were wrong. After dinner Amy and I went with Daphne to play badminton at a church. She plays every Thursday. It was really fun. There was an old man that Amy thought was making fun of my serving so she laughed when he served but the funny thing was that he looked at her funny and later she realized that he always did it that way. She felt bad for making fun of the old man. I thought it was hilarious especially when he gave her the evil look. We got home around 11pm and began packing for London I can’t believe I got everything into one bag. Time for bed, it’s already 1:45am.

Class and the theatre

Today we had more culture class. We watched an interesting video about a teacher that tried to teach children about racism by segregating by eye color Blue eyes vs. Brown eyes. It was very interesting to see how these kids reacted when told they were better/worse then their blue/brown eyed friends. After class I went home with Amy to get ready for the night. We were suppose to meet up with Caitlin, Amber, Kevin, and Ashley at the centre at 2pm but there was no way we were going to make that because when we got to the bus I realized that I had forgotten my bus pass at home so we had to walk all the way back. I know I suck! We didn’t get to the centre until 3pm and by then they had gone shopping without us. So Amy and I headed over to Subway to get drink and a snack (picture of me enjoying said drink and snack to the left) before the tour of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre.

Everyone met at the theatre at 4pm for the tour. It was fun! I was asked to demonstrate the wind and rain sound effect makers. I miss being in the theatre (high school) so it was neat to be back stage again. The theatre is almost 240 years old (end of May). After the tour the whole group went to Zero Degrees for dinner. Everyone got a beer and a personal pizza. Paul bought the whole meal since we were unable to eat with our host families. The total was over £350 which is like $700 to us. Mike V. had a seafood pizza and he sat across from me so I was kind of freaked out with his dead crawdad in front of me. I mean just look at that thing. Could you eat with that thing staring back at you? I think not. After dinner we went back to the theatre to see the Taming of the Shrew. I didn’t really like it too much. I thought that the interpretation of how Katrena was “tamed” was very bad. She just gave up all he viewpoints (the sun is the moon if her husband says it is). I liked the 10 Things I Hate About You version…lol. I almost forgot my brolly at the theatre. I had to have someone let me back in to the room after they locked it up so that I could get it.

Almost everyone went out to the Chicago café after the play and Teresa B wanted to go home so I decided to go home as well so that she would have to go home lone and I live really close to her. I was glad that I went because it gave me a good chance to call my friends and family without any distractions. Ashley came home before Amy and I chatted with her until Amy got home around 2am. I am going to bed now…its about 3am.

Campus Tour and my first international movie experience...

Today we had our campus tour. The campus doesn’t seem to big but it was a little confusing to get around after we were turned loose for lunch. Katie, Teresa, and I had lunch at a little café on campus. The fries (called chips in Europe) are not salted over here. I am going to loose my mind. Also, there is a pub on campus. So you can have a beer in between classes. Crazy huh?! The gift shop was not quite what I expected. It was small and there was a shortage of UWE merchandise. I guess it is not like ISU were everyone must own at least 4 University hoodies… Today after lunch we had a lecture on culture and acceptance. Some of the exercises were cool. We were given characteristics of other cultures and then asked to interact with each other. It was kind of hard not to laugh during the exercise. Another exercise involved us grouping off and deciphering Arabic Math problems. This was harder than I thought but once you caught on, it got easier. The most difficult part was seeing a number that we use in English like 0 and having it mean a different number to them and ∙ being zero.

I went home after school. A lot of people went shopping but I needed to get ready for the movie (DaVinci Code) and have dinner. Oh and we had cheesecake at dinner it was so good. It was quite expensive £5.50 for one ticket and £2.60 for a coke (no ice). They don’t really use ice over here either. The previews were really long (25 minutes) and then unlike in the U.S. after the previews they closed the curtains and turned the lights back on so that people could go buy concessions. So even though the movie was suppose to start at 8:45pm it started closer to 9:20pm. I don’t get it??? The movie was really good. Afterward Amber, Caitlin, Dan, Kevin and I walked home. The theatre was close to the centre so we decided we would walk home and it was kind of a long walk. I would never do it again either because we walked through the ghetto of Bristol. It was a little scary. I was very glad that Kevin and Dan were there because it really wasn’t a comfortable situation.

We were on our way to meet the group at Hobgoblin but when we got there it was closed so we all decided to just head home. Then by sheer coincidence we ran into the group at another pub on the way. I was glad because that meant I had someone to walk home with. Amy, Ashley, and I went home shortly after I got to the pub. It was a little after midnight. Even tough we had an early class me and Amy stayed up an talked until 2am. Needles to say I will be tired tomorrow.

Bus Tour and out first day at UWE

We had a bus tour today, of Bristol. We saw the SS Great Brittan as well as the Clifton Suspension Bridge. There were some interesting stories about the bridge that we were told by the tour guide. The first one involved a women that jumped in a suicide attempt and lived because her dress acted like an umbrella and slowed her decent. Another man decided to kill himself as well as his two young daughters after he was left by his wife. He threw the children off 1st but they were so young and they didn’t know what was going on so their bodies were really relaxed. The impact didn’t kill them and a fishing boat came by and picked them both up…the man did die. I thought that these two stories were kind of neat. We went to the school where we had a buffet (it was nasty) and we got a chance to use the internet and buy phone cards. Oh and UWE gave us shirts that are like boys 9-11 size. Chris put one on and it looked so ridicules…lol.


After class we helped Teresa book her flight to Italy with us then came home around 6pm. Ashley had headed home earlier then me and Amy. We had Spaghetti and Carbonara it was pretty good. We also had chocolate chip muffins. Robert got my laptop to work as well as my wireless internet. Ashley, Amy and I decided to go get some ice-cream and watch a movie tonight. A girls night in!! We watched Just Like Heaven. Now we are getting ready for bed. Good times!

First official day in Bristol....

I was probably asleep around 9:30pm and I slept until 11:00am this morning. I had a lot of catching up to do. Today we were dropped off at the Bristol museum for the walking tour with Dr. Hunter at 2:00pm. This was really the first time we were all meeting up since our meeting in prep for coming over here. I dont really count the zombie like state we were in yesterday as us getting together. People who have gone that long without sleep have no business communicating with anyone (or maybe thats just me) lol. Anyways, you can see a pic of most of the group to the left as we deal with the fickle rainy England weather and comence our tour.  We saw the 1st Methodist Chapel in the world (1739). It was called the John Wesley’s Chapel. Then we went to the Motte and Blaise Castle in Bristol and it was built in 1088. Then we saw the acorn with a water thingy around it which, despite my description was quite cool looking. I even thought it was worth a photo opt. (see dashing photo to the right) lol. Then we saw a church that was bombed by the Nazis. It had a memorial plaque by it. We continued our walk and saw the Llandoger Trow which was a bar that Black Beard had a pint in. Then we went to the Queen’s square. It had a statue of the King in the middle (See photo bellow) which I didn’t really understand…lol. I mean it's the Queen's square so why does that dude get a statue?? oh well I wont get into to a political debate over it hahaha.

After that we went to an area with a river (lots of boats) and saw the bar we are going to tonight (Lloyds). We also passed a place called the Chicago Café. We all thought that that was funny. Then we got lunch (I didn’t eat) at a pub along the way. It was on Park St. across from the museum where we started our tour. They had a deal on burger and beer for £2.99. I was getting a headache from caffeine withdrawal so I had to get a drink but I wish I would have gotten a burger as well. After that the group split off and we walked home. We are meeting up at 8 to head back to the bar (Lloyds) so bye for now.

Cue elevator music as I dance the night away in transition to the remainder of this entry!

I am back now and it is 2 in the morning. We met up with Matt, Mike, Katie, Shannon, Teresa, Jenny, Beth, Javier (Spain), Marlena (Italy), and Dan and caught the bus on Cheltenham Rd. to the city centre. We waited about 20 min (until 9:00pm) under the white umbrella thing by the fountain for the rest of the group. We then headed to Lloyds. We stayed there until about 11:30 then went to the Sports Café. While at Lloyds I had two pitchers of Lust (Smirnoff vodka, Anchor, & O.J.) which was so good. I also had a Geck and Lemonade which is suppose to be like Midori. The pitchers were £5.95 a piece and my drink was £2.99. It was a cool bar. The restrooms were on the third floor which was kind of a pain. At the Sports Café I had a shot and a long island for £5. It is so expensive here. The exchange rate is like $1.92 to one pound so I think I spent like $40 tonight…ouch.

Amy met up with some Irish rugby players who had just won a tournament. They were so funny especially Moses. You can see Amy, Ashley, Teresa, and I with some of the players in the picture to the left. Almost everyone played pool at the Sports Café. Those who didn’t sang and took crazy pictures all night. Shannon and Katie were really drunk and met up with some guys. We (Shannon, Katie, and the two guys) snuck into the VIP section. We were almost kicked out by Shannon worked her magic so we were able to stay.

We (Ashley, Amy, and I) left the bar with Matt S., Teresa and Mike E to catch a cab back to Zetland Rd. at around 1:30am. Bars closed at 2 so we decided to beat the rush. I really hope that Matt and Mike got home okay. They were both a little confused as to where we were when we got out of the cab. It was raining when we left the bar and it is still raining now. The weather here is really weird. It can be sunny then raining and then back to sunny in like 20 minutes time and this is everyday. Well me and Amy are sitting in our beds and I am tired now so goodbye for another day. Bus tour at 10:00am tomorrow.

Arrive in England and meet the host family!

I am in the London airport and very tired. I took some anti-anxiety medication for the plane and it didn’t put me to sleep but it did make my eyes heavy for the whole flight which was kind of annoying. I only slept for about an hour total. I watched Rumor Has It, as well as parts of Kingdom of Heaven, Cheaper by the Dozen, and Bourne Supremacy on the flight. I met Dr Hunter and Mike Edwards at the meeting place at about 7:15 am (my plane landed at around 6:30 am). Mike and I were the first to arrive this morning. Dr. Hunter has been in Germany for about 2 weeks teaching so he was waiting for our plane (and everyone else’s). It took about 4 hours after I got there for everyone to arrive. I had to get a coffee drink to help me stay awake and it still didn’t work well. I medicated myself heavily on the way here in an attempt to sleep through the long flight and I ended up passing out on the floor of the airport after I get here. Go figure. at least I wasn't alone I was passed out along with some other people while we waited for the whole group so I was not the only person who looked like a homeless person sleeping on the floor in a heap. We left for Bristol around noon by bus. It was a two hour bus ride which I slept all the way through. Again, why could I have slept more on the plane??? Grrrr! We did stop half way for a bite to eat. I had Burger King. It was a little reassuring to see that England had a Burger King. For those of you who do not know we that well I am a very picky eater and I am thoroughly worried about how I can survive for a month overseas.

I am rooming with Amy and Ashley in Bristol. We met our host mom at the Downs around 3:00 pm. We were an hour early which was nice. Our host mom is Daphne Addis (pictured second from left). Her husband is Jerry (pictured second from right) and her 29 year old son who lives here is Robert (far right). I forgot the other brother's name. Maybe it will come to me later. Everyone is really nice, not that I expected them to walk up and say, "Why hello there Anne. Can I show you to your crawl space you will be staying in. Oh and don't worry we will push your food under the door at 7pm and nightly beatings are at 8pm sharp." I know I have a strange sense of humor.

Ashley wanted the single room so Amy and I are rooming together. We have our own beds and I really neat window that opens out to the back yard and you can sit on the ledge and look out onto the yards (our room is on the 4th floor - see picture of Amy in the window to the right). Amy and I decided to explore a little despite how tired we were. Ashley opted not to go which was weird because it was technically her idea. Anyways…we got back around 7:00 pm (we had left around 5:00 pm). Amy and I took a quick hour long nap before supper. Dinner was surprisingly good. Once again this makes me sound snotty but like I said I am genuinely concerned about eating the food here. Chicken w/gravy, garlic potatoes, and veggies were served and clementines were given as a desert. It was at dinner that I found out that Audrey from France was also living with the Addis’s as an exchange student. Only she has been there since September and will be leaving this July sometime. She seems nice, not that we talked much, but that's probably more due to my zombie like state then either of our conversation skills.

Ashley fried her hair straighter so I am scared to plug in my stuff (especially my laptop). We thought about going out but decided that we wanted to sleep more so we were in bed by like 10:00 or 10:30 pm and I slept past 11:00 am. I really needed the catch-up.

Leaving the USA

I am on the plane. I have amazing seats (lots of room). I am the first row in the section so there is extra space between me and the wall in front of me. Things are looking up! The plane is delayed at the gate for an hour but it shouldn’t be too bad because they think the flight will be shorter. Well off I go.