Monday, September 27, 2010

Good Morning

Arrived "home" from London yesterday around 8:30p. Tripped like a madwoman with my hostel backpack enroute to the bus stop. A few scrapes and some bruised dignity later, I made it back to the Student village w/one of my roomates.. that's when the craziness began. aka: Freshers Week. Lots and Lots of (legal) freshman at college for the first time away from mummy and daddy. What do you get? beer, beer, beer, party, party, loudness, beer, and fun. That's pretty much it. Our house was actually empty when we got here, but the kitchen has a new lovely display of beer bottles in most shapes and sizes. I haven't met any of the 7 new roomates we have yet. But get this... 6 of them... are boys.

...

mmhmm. this will be new. (to say the least)
I hope they're all nice to get along with. Someone vandled my dora whiteboard and squiggled permanent marker all over my door.. That wasn't cool.

However, to dwell on more pleasant occassions, LONDON was fantastic! Sadie Jane & I conquered it in one blessed sunny day. (Saturday) We saw so much, i.e: The Tower of London, Big Ben, Shakespeare's Globe (exterior only), Tate Modern, London Bridge, Piccadily Circus, Tralfager Square, The Peter Pan Statue!, Buckingham Palace (long story there), The London Eye, Camden Markets (land of the punks) and a ton more. I have to go catch a bus in a few minutes, so that's all for now. But just wanted to keep up this blog thing. I have SO many pictures to put up.. it's ridiculous. So you guys know what I'll be doing these next 2 days besides signing up for classes, writing my essay, packing for Italy, and other etcetera aspects of normal day life :)

Cheers for now!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Walking about a true European City

So.. super quick blurb before I literally collapse onto my bed. I just finished moving in to mi nueva casa for the next 3 months. (Hendrefolean Student Village) So, I now have a wonderful (and thankfully big) kitchen to cook in. 2 new lovely American roommates, and 7 more to arrive this weekend. ...Yes. (7) and there's only 2 showers. ..and a bath tub? which I don't understand.. But the point is: I have a new address. I'll try and post some pics soon.

In more riveting news, we got to explore the city of Bath, England today!! It was so beautiful. I kept walking around saying to myself, "I am in Bath, England.. Bath, ENGLAND!" eating gelato, thrift store shopping, and seeing the Roman baths. It was fantastic. :) I will definitely attempt to post pics for you guys before Friday; aka.....LONDON!! haha, I'm so stoked. But I seriously need sleep. So Buenos Noches, and cheers to all of my loved ones back home. (that means you, stella) >

p.s. Happy 1st day of Fall!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Lost my chance to party with cute British guys..

lol. Ok, so story time with Katie :) This just happened, like 10 minutes ago. Alright, so I'm in my room with the door open trying to air it out. (because it smells like a dead gopher) I'm also one of only a few girls who are actually home, as everyone else went out partying for a gal's birthday. And I'm the only one w/my door open, just sitting in here "studying" (meaning, mostly on facebook.) When all of a sudden, I hear 2 British male voices... coming from the end of our hallway. Saying, "knock knock. anyone here?" So, I get up from my chair and walk over to my door. It's important to note that I'm on the corner room, so basically, I just stick out my head around the corner like a turtle to see what's up. (I think I look liked a Who from Whoville, if that helps your visual interpretation..) and I'm like "hi" and they're like "hello" (but with cute british accents) And so they're like, "where is everybody? We were looking to party." (They're the med students from the 9th floor, btw. I've seen them, especially the tall cute one, but never spoken to them before.) So with my head still poking out, I'm like, "umm well.. they all went out partying already. so nobody's here. But they should be back soon, I think they have a lot of booze left in the kitchen, so they'll probably be partying later if you come back.." And they took all this in, but looked very disappointed and not quite sure what to do.. And I just smile and stand there with my little head poking out. Like a true nerd. lol. And then they're like, "what are you doing?" And I say "I'm kind of studying.. lol" And they take that in with more disappointed looks. And they said, "why are you studying?" And I was like "oh, well.. I'm kind of just "studying" meaning I'm just chilling on facebook and such." (really charming them with my American boringness, right? haha) So they replied, "Well we're on the 9th floor if you want to come party with us." And I just smiled and said "ok, thank you." and wished them a good night. :) I mean, a few more words were exchanged and it wasn't like a dismissal or anything. They kind of stood there talking to me for about 5 minutes.. But, I mean.. come on. what normal girl does that??? lol. Invited by 2 adorable med student British chaps to come party.. and I just poke my head around the corner, smiling, but giving no implication that I would want to go out and party with them, even after being invited. (I think that might have been a first for them) But honestly, I wouldn't have known what to do! Especially by myself. I would have been a wallflower asking for water and saying, "hey, let's play parcheezi." lol. And they were way too cute. And I am definitely not at my cutest in my jeans and longsleeved shirt. So no.. I didn't go party with the Brits tonight. But I thought this was a very funny story. Probably more so when told in person. But if you know me well, I figured you would enjoy it :) Maybe I'll learn to party later this term. But til then, off to more "studying" I go! haha. cheers!

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Hark. Noah, We have a Flood!

Have you guys ever had a pipe burst? Ya know, in the bathroom or in the kitchen, and h20 is just spilling out everywhere? Yeah, it's not great. So last night, at 12am when a shower pipe burst in the loo around the corner from my room, it wasn't great. Especially when the maintenance guys showed up.. an hour after we called to only do nothing as they were waiting for the emergency plumber. (apparently ppl don't know how to turn off water here) (I missed you Dad) So there we are, the 3 girls actually home at 12:30-1 on our wing, watching the water spill out onto the carpeted hallway. pooling into puddles. and the watermark slowly creeping it's way towards our rooms like a cheezy horror movie. (I was personally reminded of the grudge, but w/this being agua) Long story condensed -- I went to bed around 2 to the sound of Niagra Falls and no plumber yet on the scene. Woke up to 1/2 of my room being soaked. Which is quite impressive actually, the fact that it rounded the corner like that. But it's not that fun. I don't like squishy carpet.. At least we're moving to the village in a couple days. I don't think the constant odor of musty carpet would be something I'd like to endure every day.

So that was the excitement of last night. I don't have my photos on the comp. yet, so I'm stealing my friend Julia's to show you what it looked like.



To discuss more beautiful aspects of our trip, my awesome group of 4 went back to the Gower Peninsula yesterday! It was GORGEOUS. Seriously, here's some photos to give you an idea. But I think you had to really be there to take in its true beauty.







That's just a sample. I put a bunch more up on facebook :)

So that was basically my weekend. Not much school accomplished unfortunately.. I did discover the amazing food combination of nutella and pretzel sticks, though. That was pretty huge. I might just live off of that these next few months. (not kidding) lol.

I'd like to report that I love hearing from all of you guys. But, to be perfectly frank, I am not homesick yet. I think I may have prepared myself too well reading that culture shock handbook and what to expect. I mean, I love Savannah and all of my friends and the downtown scene, and my cat. But this right here, what I'm doing in Wales -- studying. living. and experiencing life in a different environment.. I love it. I'm sure the homesickness will come eventually, but until then I say carpe diem. Love God always. Remember that He is what matters in this life. I know I've let myself slack in that mindset, especially in liberal Britain/Wales. But I'm aware of it and am going to try and remedy that. And then I say carpe diem again! haha, aventura es mi segundo nombre, and I'm excited for the promise of tomorrow... and for free breakfast!!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Sunny Skies

Hey everybody! So I'm going to try and sort through my fuzzy brain and recall the events that have transpired here the last few days. I've still got that annoying cold, so I haven't felt up to blogging so much. But here's the lowdown -- yesterday was field trip day! Always exciting, whether we're elementary school kids or college students. We explored an old Welsh mining location I guess you would call it, called Big Pit. We wore cool hats w/lights on them & got to go 450 feet below the earth! How many have you can say you've done that, eh? :) We learned a lot and then we drank hot chocolate. I did buy a few postcards, now I just need to find the bloomin post office.. Hopefully I'll get some sent out soon though. We went to a quaint little cultural village called St. Fagan's next. Beautiful grounds, with a wicked neat castle. (my dream home, btw)

here's a pic.. Because what's better than visual representation?



I think it's safe to say that we all had a fun time exploring the grounds. If anything, everyone put up pics on facebook last night.




I finally got to see some sheep closer than from inside the window of a bus! That was a highlight for me :)



So that was yesterday. Some of us decided to veto dinner in favor of beer and dessert at 7 down at the Pub on the Pond. That's right... beer. haha, I am such an inexperienced person when it comes to that liquid. But I did have one. My 1st one. A Strongbow Cider.. and it was actually not that bad. I only got a 1/2 pint though, as I wasn't sure if I would like it. a "baby beer" as Cara called it. lol. It was also so weird not being carded! Like, at all. I expected him to at least say something.. A very different country Wales is. They can't make pie to save their life here. I'm serious. That apple pie I got was a sad excuse for a pastry. I'll have to pull out my American cooking skills come Thanksgiving. I'm already pretty excited about that holiday, btw. I think all of us Americans are.. the Welsh better prepare themselves!

In other news.. I just decided I am going to go see Imogen Heap while she is here touring in the UK. I was going to go to her London show, but "oh unfortunately" (sarcasm) I will be in Amsterdam that weekend. So rats, right? But noo. No, fortune is with me.. and she is also playing in Cardiff on the 10th! And Cardiff is only 1 hour from Swansea. So heck to the yes. I will have my concert!! For I'm still mourning my Flaming Lips concert I missed due to a re-scheduling conflict..




Ok, I'm done for now. I've got to go look up train tickets and book hostels for London next weekend!! So excited :) I hope all is well back home! God Bless.

-- katie

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Sick in Swansea..

Day 5, and I'm sick. :/ Thankfully it's not a stomach bug or anything. Just an obnoxious head cold and swollen throat. with sniffeling on the side.. I blame my vitamin c deficiency. However, I did bring Tylenol extra strength (praise the Lord!) So I should be up and dandy in a day or so. The weather here is wet with a side of windy. I enjoyed my breakfast this morning. poached eggs, hashbrowns, (OJ), and this odd shaped pear. A bunch of the girls on my floor discovered the kitchen that we thought didn't exist last night. So that became the party room. I'm on the complete opposite end of the hall, which was fantastic, because I went to bed at 10:30. Go Grandma. that's me. That, and I felt like a zombie re-born w/o all that flesh eating side effect. Gross, I know. Don't think about it. Last night was good, fun exploring with Julia, Samantha, and Kristi. I'm going to get a UK phone today, because sadly I can't figure out the phone Kendra gave me. That way I'll at least have some way of getting in touch with a friend here if I get separated.

I'm going to watch Big Bang Theory now, as class isn't for 2 hours.
I think I need a dose of Sheldon w/my tylenol. lol. ---Cheers for now.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Wales Day 3



Hi everyone! So tonight my group's pubbing adventure turned into a "clubbing" adventure. We went to the social heart of Swansea called Wind street. (pronounced like "wine" with a "d") And let me just say that the Welsh are crazy! The entire Street was packed! With people in club clothes, costumes, and this horrible inflatable doll. Which, I ran away from.. But the club Revolution we went to was pretty stellar. Definitely an experience. And my 1st drink ever was a Little Miss Sunshine! haha. (I think the name may have sold me) It was very good, I won't lie. Kind of tasted like OJ.. and lemonade.. but with vodka. I only got one, and totally had my wits about me, though I think I yelled at the guy with the doll once.. but other than that I was totally good. So no worries mom and other mom's :) It had a dance floor and the 4 us of got to dance! which was fun. I made the most of it, casually rocking out to their techno music and Ke$ha. (lol) I did had this giant satchel on me with all of our coats. I figured it'd be something to beat people away if the need arose. But I don't think I'll bring it with me next time. Also, I definitely didn't come prepared with clubbing clothes.. But that's ok. Because I don't think I'll go more than on the weekends. I don't need to have my money dwindle away on alcohol. I still need to see Big Ben! and the leaning tower of Pisa.. and Stone Henge.. and you get the idea :)



So yeah, check one up for Day 3 in Wales! It's been, as the Americans say, very awesome. A group of us went to the cute little fishing village of Mumbles earlier today. Yes, it's called Mumbles. How quaint is that? It was adorable. And I saw my first castle! Pics are going up tonight on facebook. Unless my lovely friends actually get ON SKYPE.. *hint hint* .. haha. I'll try and post some here as well too.
Other than that, I don't have much to report. I found a church to go tomorrow with a sweet girl named Samantha. So seeing as how it's 1am my time.. I should probably hit the hay relatively soon. So more updates soon.

miss/love you all. cheers for now!

Friday, September 10, 2010

I made it!

..to Swansea! Only had to survive 2 flights, one heck of a layover in DC, a 4 hour coach ride, and a short taxi. It was quite the trip. Very little sleep was had, but I do have good stories. :) I'll try and post them soon. I'm about to head to the Pre-Sessional Orientation. However, I wanted to let all my friends and loved ones back home know that if they are ever curious how I'm doing, just check this blog. This is where I'll keep updating the tale of my European adventures. First thing btw, beans on toast.. and fried toast.. yeah.. they're not that great. Thanks goodness they have fruit here. That's all I'm going to say. Love/miss you all! cheers for now.