York and the Like

Maybe it's me but I feel like at all of the clubs here they start off playing great American dance songs and then slowly work the techno in... it's befuddling. Really. I know that I've mentioned it before, but there's literally a rave every night. Last night, there was a Mardi Gras party, naturally. Today is Fat Tuesday, so you know, you gotta prepare. I honestly don't know how people can take the incessant partying. Maybe I'm just weak, but that crap is just exhausting. Whatever happened to just sitting around and talking perhaps over a simple meal? I went out, though, because it was Monday and I didn't have class until 3 pm today. It's fun to witness the British in their costumes, and they dress up every single night. Lindsay, Genna, and our new buddy, Kelly from Texas, performed "One More Time" by Britney Spears on the karaoke stage. It was a blast. I'm not gonna lie, though, I was feeling it last night. Kelly and I walked back to Tapton together and my body was hurting... haven't felt that way since visiting Kate, Kyle and Jordan in Philly. Any sudden movements would have put me in a bad situation... I blame it on the coupon for a free shot of Southern Comfort. All in all, it was a pretty fun night. I came home and ate a crapload of chocolate cake because I wanted to.

Sunday (I'm working back in time here) was pretty lax. I slept over Lindsay's because it was late and woke up early, so I decided to call my high school buddy, Sara-Jade to meet her for church. We ended up going to this church really close to Tapton, so I was pumped about that. I can roll out of bed on Sunday mornings and roll right into church from now on. The church was good- very family oriented, and more of a moderate contemporary appeal to it. I mean, I go to Elevation, so anything is only moderately contemporary compared to that, but it was good and close, so I'm thinking it will stick. After church, Sara insisted on buying me lunch and then taking it to her house to eat. We went to the grocery store near Tapton, which I also didn't realize existed, and got some baguettes, meat, tomatoes, lettuce, and a delicious raspberry cake roll. We went back to her perfectly English townhome to make lunch and I got to meet her 3 British roommates. Sara prepared me some Cadbury hot chocolate and I was sitting there with 3 other British girls over mugs of piping hot drinks and cake talking and gossiping. It was the first time I truly felt like I was a part of England. It was like a precious tea party that you have with your stuffed animals at 4 and 5 years old, but with real people. After that, I hit up the gym and proceeded to the comedy club that takes place on Sunday nights at Bar One (bar at the Student Union). It was pretty funny, but not the best I've ever seen. Besides the fact that we were sitting on top of each other, I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Saturday was York :). I got up pretty early to shower and get my camera ready for a day of fun-filled, snap-happy moments. It was about an hour's bus-ride. They, aka the leaders from the student union who organized the trip, gave us a simple map and a list of local sites to visit, but we were totally free to do all the exploring we wanted. The 6 of us girls began our journey together, naturally, and proceeded into the city walls. Pre-downtown, we saw some really amazing places, such as this mill. I thought this was gorgeous.



Once we were "officially" within the city walls we realized that there was a big international market going on. Tons of great food and nifty gifties to be had. It was overwhelmingly beautiful. I could have spent 3 hours lingering at all of the booths- we probably spent a good hour and a half doing just that too. My favorite was the Italian desserts, even though I didn't get any of them, lol. I really wanted to, but instead, I continued to stare in hopes that free food would fall into my mouth.

Looks fabulous, I know.

The candy mountain booth was positively amazing as well. I got some fudge, but the fudge was better at a hidden fudge shop that Alex and I found later in the day. Basically, we spent the better part of the morning toward the local Saturday festivities. We walked along random side streets and peered into various shops to get post cards and stuff and take cute pics. Then, we started to get really hungry, so Genna, Lindsay, Chelsea, and Mon-Mon decided to go get burgers, while Alex and I decided we wanted a taste of Germany. I got a German sausage burger, which was pretty friggin good. But, due to the fact that Alex and I suffer from a horrible cell phone plan, we couldn't call or text anyone to let them know where we were at, so we were waiting for them to contact us. Thus, we explored on our own. This is where the real journey started. We wandered around trying to find the Viking Festival, which is the whole reason we went to York this weekend. On our way to the park to take part in more Viking festivities, I almost hit a pack of them...

Freaking Hilarious. They were totally serious too and wouldn't move off the path. This was literally how close they were to me. I snapped the picture than jumped to the side of the road.

We ended up walking along the city walls for a little while before finally finding the park. We got a crapload of pictures here and it was my favorite part of York I think. Here are some pretty photos of the park:

Gotta say, this is my favorite picture of us so far, Alex.

We then followed the park walls around to the waterway beyond and followed that down to the other side of the city where we stumbled upon the Great Wall of York. I'm not sure what the real name is, but that's what I called it anyway.

We took some pics off of the wall and then headed back down towards the Yorkminster Abbey, which was gorgeous, but we didn't feel like paying to get inside plus we're going to see the Westminster Abbey this weekend.

By this time, our feet were hurting and so we decided to find a café and rest awhile. Alex got vegetable soup that was quite creamy and had very little veggies, and I got a hot chocolate and a biscuit thing, of course. It turned out to be a crappy café, but at least we got to rest for a few moments. Then, being Alex and Lindsay, we decided to do our part in stabilizing the economy by browsing through the stores lining the streets. I ended up buying a nice dress and a cute flannel shirt for 24 lbs., so I was quite pleased. After that, the sun started setting and it was getting pretty chilly in good ol' Yorkshire, so we began to lose some steam. We shopped around for a little while longer than headed back to the bus, which took half an hour to get there. Alex and I napped from our exhaustion, and then got Nibbles pizza... our favorite. Lindsay, Alex and I went to meet up with some peeps, aka Kohan and Eric and a few others, at Bar One for drinks and socializing. We moved on to Players from there which is a bar off-campus with no cover charge. Little did I know that I would be witnessing phenomenal break dancers and be standing in awe of perfectly sculpted men. I couldn't dance, which was a first. I was stunned motionless. Joe would have loved it. The bar closed at 12:30, so Alex, the homies, and the other people we were with proceeded to a club called Embrace, but Lindsay and I had had enough, so we walked back to her room. Good times.

I think you're up to date now. More to come... London on Friday!!! Cheers and buenas noches!

My Mum Misses Me

My mum sent me a skype message today asking why my blog was delinquent, so I decided I'd write just a little to fill you in on the last few days. More will come tomorrow after I return from York where I will be attending a Viking Festival... chyeahh. Also, next weekend the girls and I are going to LONDON!!! Hostel and bus are officially booked!

Anywho, nothing major has happened over the past few days. I finally got my gym membership and have worked out 4 times since I got it on Monday, so I'd say I'm doing pretty well. I can't really survive without a gym, even if I am walking my arse off every day. I have missed the cardio blast enabling my endorphins. My leg muscles are getting pretty toned, but that's just from the steep inclines I hike, not the gym. The perk to living on the peak of a mountain. However, I applied to transfer residence halls today. It was not something I had considered until the girls (aka Kappa Alpha Awesome) convinced me to today while we planned our Spring Break travels-because I do like Tapton and I like my room setup (despite its archaic nature)- but they're forcing me to pack all of my crap and move out EVERYTHING before Spring Break, then expecting me to unpack EVERYTHING again after we return 3 weeks later. So, I agreed that would be annoying and I'd give it a go... no pun intended. Furthermore, though I could branch out and befriend more tenants of the likes of Tapton Hall, I'm only here between the hours of 12:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. when I actually sleep here that is, so I haven't really had the opportunity. C'est la vie. Tap's really not that bad though and I don't mind the walks, but it's probably not the safest thing. I can see Mindy now clenching her fists and grinding her teeth at the thought of me walking by myself at night.

Yesterday, Chelsea, Genna, Monique, and I all went Trampolining. It was an activity planned by the Student Union's GIVE IT A GO campaign. We gave it a go and we will never go again. We thought it would be more like that crazy tramp stuff where you're strapped in and do flips and stuff... NO. It was a trampolining team. An actual club. We showed up in our layman's clothes, our good ol' American bluejeans, and I believe the fear on our faces was obvious when we arrived at the gym because one of the coaches said, "Don't look so afraid." His name was "Evil Coach LJ." No joke. Umm, so yeah, we thought this would be frivolous and fun, but really it was a club where they taught you the basics and then progressed you to flips and aerials and crazy acrobatics. I looked at Monique and was like, "do they expect me to do that by the end of tonight? because i'll walk out." Then, they made you pair off and go do conditioning training. WTF?! Mon-Mon and I did a dang push-up rotation game and then she chucked medicine balls at me while I was balancing on one of those physical therapy things. It was interesting to say the least. Definitely not your typical trampoline-backyard fun. But, it was kinda neat watching the people do their flips and I made "Evil Coach" laugh a ton, so I'd say that part was worth it.

Other than that, there's not much going on here except my 2 1/2 days of class, which is amazing by the way. One class on Tuesday night, 2 Wednesday morning, and 5 on Thursday. I'm not really sure how/where to do my Irish Writing homework, but I hope to figure it out in the near future. It's kind of funny, though. My classes are so different than they are at UNC. Everyone told me how independent the study would be, but students here really do nothing unless it pertains to the one essay they have to write for the class... so basically UNI is 10-11 weeks of fun and then 2 weeks of research per semester. I think I could get used to this.

On another note, I am amused by how people view me here... distinctly different from the person my friends think I am back home. Monique looks at me and says, "I can just see you thinking about how you'll word this in your blog." Today, somebody asked me if I wrote for the UNC Communist paper. Hahaha... I'm like why does everyone think I'm some kind of journalist? They think I'm some insane writer, which is totally ridiculous. I love writing, but I would never consider myself a writer. It's just really weird how I have this totally new self-established identity here... For once, it's nice to have no strings attached... the only person who really knows me, and knows who I am at home, is Alex. It's probably how most study abroad students feel, but it is a nice change of pace. Here, I'm just another soul searcher here in the UK. In fact, British people have told me on several occasions that they think it is so brave of me to leave home and spend the semester here. Then, they go on to say that they admire my courage. I'm not joking. It's hilarious because I don't feel brave at all, it's just another dream come true to me... I've craved an opportunity to see the world through my own eyes and not live vicariously through everyone elses adventures. Another thing I love about the British is that they love and cherish university students. They really do... students aren't expected to tip here and we get discounts at retail stores. It's pretty sweet. Though in reality, school is pretty much a cake walk so far and people go out every night, British people still want their students to get the most out of life and truly enjoy the experience whilst at Uni. I wish America was that way... no love for the haters. Bust your butt and never do squat only to get a C. We're just a bunch of misunderstood half-adults who are trying to figure themselves out, so a little understand would be nice sometimes. I also love that so many things have become clearer since I arrived. So many schemas and stereotypes that I thought existed have proven wrong. Like Europeans hate Americans. LIES. Most people love us and they are just as curious about us as we are them! I'm not explaining it correctly, but you have to see it for yourself to really understand it. Sometimes I just sit around and marvel at what's happening around me. I could literally sit there and listen to people and never say a word and be totally content. More often than not, I'm caught off guard and realize that I am actually in England and that I've been here for almost 3 weeks. It freaks me out. I'm like, "holy crap! I'm here!" I have no strings attached, and that is a remarkably liberating feeling.

Though I have limited experience, I recommend a study abroad-like experience to everyone. Not to sound poetic, but my vision was so skewed before, and now that this huge veil has lifted, I'm so ridiculously curious about everything. I feel like I could just wander aimlessly forever and still get to where I need to go. Become a nomad or whatever. Who knows. I'm just in this stage where I've realized that we constantly see the bad and the ugly on the news, and we get caught up in all that drama (by we I mean everyone who has an opinion), but meanwhile, we miss all the good and the beautiful that the world has to offer... that God created the world to be. Even though I complain about getting lost, in hindsight it's good to feel just intimidated enough to find your own way. You trip, you stumble, and more often than not you twist your ankle (dad, I did it 3 times in the last 2 days), but you always pick your feet up in the end. I could rant forever about this, but it's what I needed.

It's funny because my mom told me during my "last meal" in the states, which consisted of hamburgers and fries, that I never do anything the normal or right way and because of it she had great faith in me. It's the biggest praise I think I have received in the past year. Over the past few months, I have been so freaking plagued as to why I could never do anything right, or why I always felt like I was letting people down. What was so wrong with me that people would continually nag me for being things that I couldn't change about myself. Now I know that I am restless when most everyone else is content to sit; I want to do more and see more, which to some, appears as being ungrateful, but when in fact is not. This is who I am: a person who is discontent to take somebody else's word for it. People lie and they say things to make themselves look better when they're annoyed with how somebody else is living their life-- that I learned from Much Ado About Nothing, which I just read 2 days ago. Most are content to settle, and I will never nor would I ever knock that lifestyle. But, my whole life I have wanted and asked for things that people can't always give me because I am a sponge and desire to soak up every last bit of everything I can... maybe it's the Irish in me. I have learned this about myself... in 3 weeks I have discovered more about myself than I have in my whole life. So what if I have ridiculously high and often unreasonable expectations? I'd rather live that way than think that I didn't do enough at the end of my life. I'm not a settler. I'm an antsy girl with dreams. And I can't be somebody I wasn't created to be.

Over and out. Grace and peace to all.

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He's Just Not That Into You

A thought came to me yesterday, Valentine's Day that is, that I shared with a few others... Why would anyone want to waste their time on a cheap love affair when you can buy it on eBay?

... It's something I'll never understand, and it was inspired by the movie, "He's Just Not That Into You." Genna, Monique, Linz, Chels, and I all went to see it Friday afternoon when we peaced out of the campus and went to the mall at Meadowhall. Supposedly it is the 3rd biggest mall in the UK, or something to that effect. I thought it was America. In fact, we walked in, looked around for a minute and then when our eyes adjusted to the endless rows of glorious shops within which we could blow money, we shouted, "AMERICA!" It was fabulous. Their food court was awesome and they had a really sweet movie theatER where you could pay an extra pound for leather seats; total movie ticket price came to 5 pounds 70, which I thought wasn't too different from the US. It would have been 4 pounds 70 if Monique hadn't decided to go all out on luxury seating... hahahaha. Exploiting you again, aren't I? It's my life mission. We shopped around and I bought a pair of boots and a sweater I have to return because there's a hole in the pit, which was depressing. So, anyway, everyone should go and see that movie... men and women alike. It shows how the other side thinks about relationships and dating. It was reiterated again and again that if a guy actually liked you, he'd find a way to be with you, and I thought it such a simple concept that it aboslutely ridiculous that we'd never known it before. We, and by "we" I mean females, suffer from analysis paralysis. We blow things out of proportion and try to determine the "hidden meanings" behind every action/word that comes out of a guy's mouth. We thrive on the drama because it's what makes the unknown so exciting, which is so true. But, that's what the movie was about and it ended in a good way, so, naturally, I loved it. And it got me to wonder why so many girls get so worked up about being alone on Valentine's Day. Maybe I'm crazy, but it's the getting worked up that leaves you let down at the end of the night... better to go in it as you would any other day, so that you're always satisfied in the end when your day turned out way better than you thought it would. But, it also made me disgusted with the way people ask each other out now... texting? Please. No, no. A little romance never hurt anybody.

Valentine's Day, aka yesterday, Chels, Monique, Genna, and I decided to partake in a little activity called "speed dating," which was again offered by the amazing Sheffield student union. None of us have ever done it before, and I can honestly say that I'm not sure I'll ever do it again, even though it was pretty cool. We just figured we'd get some good stories out of it, despite the fact that I thought I was going to throw up from nerves going into it. It was really simple actually. The girls were all given numbers (25 girls, 25 guys) and then were assigned a table. The guys had the short end of the stick and were the ones who had to move from table to table. I got really lucky with Rich, an Englishmen in case you're wondering, as my first "bachelor" and we hit it off right away. Conversation was not a problem. Pure ease and never a dull moment. He was followed by his friend Nick, who I also loved talking to, so I circled yes to both of them. After that, it was pretty down hill. There was a guy way over the age limit of 25 at 38, 4 straight from India MBA students, a guy from Afghanistan, and a guy from Syria who stuck out to me the most. Those conversations were a bit more challenging, especially when they forced me to guess where they were from. Genna said that someone called her a racist when she guessed wrong, hahahaha. 2 of the guys, Niko and Chris, we knew already because they're studying abroad from U. of Illinois and U. of Maryland respectively, so conversation was good with them too. Circled yes. Finally, I had another group of friggin weirdos and then the last two guys, who were also British, were pretty swell as well. I circled yes to them. Turns out that all 4 of us circled yes to the 4 British guys and the Americans, and they us. The 4 Brits were all really good friends, and obviously so are we, so we all sat around and talked forever. A lot of them were in love with America, which I found hysterical. Usually you hear that most English people dislike Americans, but some of them wanted to move to America for broadcasting and journalism. It made me proud to be an American. Later, Rich and I were comparing British and American accents. Then, I exploited Monique again by telling Rich that she had the most hilarious accent of us all. The words that come out of her mouth are so outrageous that they are pure liquid honey... I'm not kidding. I have to stick my head between my knees half the time to keep from falling over in laughter. I love you, Monique. So, all in all, I think it was worth it just to have the experience and check it off the bucket list, if you will. I think I'm more experienced now since I've been there, done that and technically dated 25 guys on Valentine's Day. Hahahaha. Making friends with British guys made the experience absolutely worth it in the end.

After we left the bar where speed dating was held, we proceeded to the Stoplight, or "Traffic Light" as the Brits call it, party at the Edge bar. Basically you wear green if you're single, yellow if it's complicated, and red if you're in a relationship. Not many people followed the rules, but that didn't surprise me. I got there and was immediately tackled by some random British guy who pulled me into his arms and presented me with a candy sweetheart sweet-tart that said, "Lovely Lips," and I busted out laughing. They have the best sense of humor. Then, I ran over to Lindsay, aka my extreme dancing partner to initiate our dance-off. We danced for a good 2-3 hours. Random guys kept trying to join our dance party, but the two of us are TRULY content to dance alone, so we became very annoyed, and thus, spent a majority of the night dodging creepers who thought they could keep up with our dance moves. Both of us simply prefer having space to ourselves to flail our arms and jump around without the presence of another body to occupy our bubble. Monique and Chelsea brought Lindsay a second Green Apple Vodka drink and she was like, "I DIDN'T ASK FOR THIS," but then proceeded to take a swig. My response was to say, "COMMUNITY!" which in hindsight, could have ended badly, but Lindsay liked the idea and handed me the bottle while screaming, "YEAH!" So, we passed the drink back and forth until Lindsay finally gave it to Kohan to finish once again... it was very Frat-tastic of him. His house mates have coined themselves the "Crewe Frat" after the Crewe residence hall because they have a genuine obsession with America, American fraternities and Solo Cups. The DJ was a sorry excuse for a man, unfortunately, because I asked him to play T.I. & Rihanna's "Live Your Life," and he said he didn't know it after having just played "Disturbia," and it was reflected in his song selection throughout the night.

Today was pretty laid back. Linds and I checked out our second church since being here, which lost its appeal during the steep climb back home... aka 30 minutes of pure hell. Needless to say, we might be trying another church next week. After that, Alex, Chels, Mon-Mon, Linds, Genna for a little while, and I all hung out in Monique's room while she stole some sweet tunes from my iTunes. She owes me about a $1000 U.S. now. Lol, jk. Then, I left and began my trec back home to good ol' Tapton when I ran into the Crewe Frat boys. Kohan was a gent and walked me back to Tapton. It was really nice to not walk alone late at night for once, plus it was even better when he admitted to an obsession with Americans, or was it American girls? I'm not sure. Hahaha. No worries, mate.

That's all for now. Mum told me to start cutting my blogs down, but it's become an addiction, so I keep typing away... but now, I go. All I have left to say is, Cram it up your Cram Hole, Le Fleur.

A Room with a View

This is the view from my bedroom window. Top that, Endcliffe.

Building in City Centre.

British School Boys chucking snowballs at random passersby during a break at school. Literally.

My Buds (L to R): Monique, Lindsay, Me, Carly, Chelsea, Genna, Kohan, Alexandra.

Now that my calves are sore and huge from all the steep uphill walking, I can finally sleep at night. I haven't "worked out" for real since Monday, Feb. 2, which is a long time for me. Chelsea and I are planning on joining a gym this weekend, but it's always so cold that we lack the motivation... and having to walk that far back from the gym in the cold has not yet been appealing. Guess what?! It rained today! And than it rained, hailed, and snowed all at once. It's amazing... and it's 70F in Chapel Hill and sunny, but this place is so amazing that the freezing weather can keep it coming. Mmm... I'd just like to make a random shout out to my mom for buying me this fabulous Natural JIF peanut butter before I left to cross the pond because it is the best PB I've ever had. Basically, I sit here and eat spoonfuls while on the computer. Then, I go walk 9 miles to Endcliffe Village where all my buds live, so I don't feel too bad about it.

I have had all of my classes already; just have a few lectures and seminars tomorrow and one friday and then I'm done for the week. So far my favorite class is Irish Literature, hands down. I'm nearly positive that not even my beloved UNC offers a native Irish man to teach Irish Literature, so I feel pretty good about it. Not to mention that he's one of the few professors that actually treats you like a human being and not some apprentice to be bossed around. My "Development Economics" (there are so many better ways to phrase this module that it urks me, but I can't bring myself to argue with the original authors of our native language) professor decided to tell us today during our first class that there would be 3 lectures per week instead of 2. We originally had Wednesdays at 9:00 am, Thursdays at 12:00 pm on the schedule, but now we're adding a lecture on Thursday at 4:00 pm on top of the noon lecture... these are the kinds of things the Brits spring on you out of nowhere. I'm getting used to that though. They like to beat around the bush and tell you only half truths- c'est la vie. As far as Shakespeare and Renaissance Drama goes, I struggled to stay awake this afternoon, so needless to say, I didn't get too much out of it. Once I get into the swing of things, I'm sure it will be a little bit better. We have to read a play a week, which should be interesting to say the least. This whole "socratic" teaching system seems a lot better than the American system, but it could be even better if the Brits told you straight up what was expected of you instead of giving you a list of 9 "recommended literatures" instead of a textbook. What the frick does recommended literature mean anyway? Beating around the bush.

Enough with the academics... let's move to the goods. Shef students really know how to party. I swear you can find something to do every single night here and never ever be bored. Tonight I was invited to a party called "Roar" by two American guys (hahaha), but I declined due to my need for some downtime. I did, however, pay a visit to the Tapton Bar (bar in my hall) with Chelsea tonight and got a Snakebite, which was once again a never-ending pint. We shared some laughs and she really wanted to play pool with someone more skilled than myself (earth to Lindsay Saladino, the beginners pro). Also, today the Union offered a "Refreshers" shindig where all of the new Sheffield students get to go and learn about all of the club offerings. This student union far surpasses that of both CofC and UNC. I can't explain it to you... it just does. I'm signed up for a Volunteering Club (where I naturally found my sweet Sara-Jade), Cocktail Society, Cricket Team, Hip-Hop Dance, and a girl's Brownie leader (umm... Genna?). I think I'll be pretty busy. Other than that, the only real interesting adventures I have partaken in this week is a 4 or 5 mile walk to Hope City Church with Lindsay in the middle of the ghetto on Sunday morning. We thought it would take about 20-25 minutes, but no. I believe it was Sunday night that Genna, Chelsea, Monique, Linds and I sat in Kohan's room and complained for an hour about all of our misadventures thus far... we were hungry and depressed because Kohan wouldn't make us spaghetti w/ meatballs and pour us a glass of red wine. Kohan, is both a blog stalker and a jerk for not offering to give me his sleeping bag... just wait. We were just complaining about how things close so early around here. You see, we keep trying to meet up with each other for dinner and stuff, but always show up just a few minutes too late to the dining hall. Like 7 or so and BAM it's closed. It's a major bummer, but it's been quite the source of humor over the past week since the women are experiencing some significant weight loss and we can't always find a place to eat. Not to mention the fact that everytime we ask for directions from an Englishman, you have to ask at least 3 people before you get the right answer. The answer is always, "up the hill about 5 minutes," which after only 1 week of living here I know means, climbing a steep mountain for half an hour in the bitter, icy cold. Hence, the starvation. One night we went to Nibbles pizza and were given two boxes of free breadsticks on top of our order because we were so hungry. So far, I haven't had too too bad of experiences with British food. It's just very salty, so you're even more thirsty than your average American. Linds and I think that the two worst things about living in England are that we are always hungry and our thirst never goes away... it's unquenchable. I'm not kidding. I'm never taking free refills for granted again.

Yesterday, Chelsea was so kind as to give Linds and I manis and pedis. It was beautiful. Then, Kohan came over and we discussed the 3 things we'd like to do before dying. And also, Kohan was the object of Chelsea's 20 questions about what kind of woman he is looking for... hahahaha. I could delve deeper into that topic, but I'd need a copyright title first. On Monday night, Chelsea had me go sit on Lindsay's desk and then proceeded to sketch a picture of me. It's phenomenal. I have it on my wall, which you may think is vain, but I don't. I think I look so much like my mom in this picture that it's crazy. I truly see a resemblance between my mom in her twenties and me in this picture, so naturally, I cling to it. Coming attractions for this weekend include, speed dating with Chelsea, Monique, and Genna on Valentine's Day followed by a Stoplight party. Kohan advised against wearing a red top with green pants. I simply rolled my eyes and walked away. Tomorrow we have an International Students party at a Tequila Bar... hahahahaha. These parties are ridiculous... and awesome.

Well, that's all for now. I must prepare for slumber. Miss and love you all.

PS Pops-- Cider is good.

Lost in the Dark

I'll explain the title after a few paragraphs explaining my adventures thus far.

DEPARTURE DAY:
Primero, mis padres y yo estámos comer en un restaurante de las costillas en los momentos antes de mi vuelo. My parents and I were eating at a rib restaurant before my flight from Dulles on Monday evening. Our dessert had literally just arrived at the table when I get a call from Alex's mom saying that our flight to Heathrow had been cancelled due to inclement weather. When you think of the UK, you think of a cold, wet climate. However, the Brits don't like snow. So, they rebooked us on a KLM flight to Amsterdam (from Amsterdam we flew to Manchester). KLM is amazing and though I doubt I'll ever be able to afford such amazing airline service, I highly recommend it. I'd say they had easily over 200 movie choices. Stellar. The flight attendant was also quite pleasant... she nudged my arm while I was resting my head on my backpack to offer me all sorts of spring water assortments, hot towels, and diet coke. I think she thought I was sleeping, but really I was deeply immersed in Hancock, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. Of the three, Hancock was my favorite, but I'd say they were all only mediocre. Two and a half stars for sure. Anyway, we got to hang with the Dutch for an hour and I enjoyed a whole wheat baguette with strawberry jam. Delish.

DAY ONE:
After finally arriving to our hotel- heavy luggage in tow- Alex and I were totally pooped. 7 am on the East Coast, 2 pm here. But we were determined not to fall too far off our schedule, so we explored Sheffield's "City Centre" and shopped a bit. Then, we went to Pizza Hut because we were too tired to do anything else. They butchered our sweet pizza hut. By then, I was hoping for some kind of WIFI access just to email my mom and let her know I was okay, but we couldn't find any place that offered it for free.... I have since come to realize that America offers many things for free- WIFI being one of them- and that I took them all for granted. You have to pay for everything here. We also got cell phones, which are friggin expensive. If you're local, don't call me unless it's after 7 on a weekday or it's the weekend b/c I'm sick of paying 2o pence/minute. From there, we gave up trying to put off sleep. We were sound asleep at 1830... you do the math. Then, we both woke up sweating and frantically searching for a plug for the fan that was so conveniently placed in our room. Alex, in her alert yet sleep-deprived stupor, began conversation with:
Alex: "AHH. WHAT TIME IS IT?"
Me: "9:30."
Alex: "IN THE MORNING?!"
Me: "HAHAHAHA, NO. PM."
Alex: "WHAT THE FRICK?!"

DAY TWO:
After showering fully and enjoying a delicious meal of fruit&fiber cereal with soy milk, we proceeded to walk to the University of Sheffield to check it out. We stumbled upon a "UNI-Bus" and got off at a university that was not Sheffield. Come to find out, there's more than one Uni here. So, we walk another 20 or so minutes up a steep hill and take random turns that the Brits told us to take and then upon reaching the fantastically amazing, Sheffield Student Union, we walked to our appropriate homes for the coming months. Hills and icy sidewalks everywhere. Cars flying at us from the left... depth perception off. We were nearly hit 4 times... I counted. Naturally, my residence hall = ghetto. I think that's a new trend in my life. Basically, it's the single most hideous building in all of Sheffield. It's true. But, it's so hideously old and run-down that it offers a unique feeling of belonging and homeliness. Also, it is fully equipped with a bar and dining hall. How many residence halls do you know offer a full bar? Get my point? After venturing through the hills of Sheffield, we became weary and hungry, and so set off to return to the hotel. Some person lied to us and told us that the University of Sheffield was a 4 mile walk from the City Centre. We've since come to find out that it's a 15 minute walk. But, at the time we still trusted this Brit, and so spent an hour trying to catch the "Uni-Bus" back to the hotel. If you're wondering why it took us an hour to catch the bus, especially when it came every 10 minutes, that would be because we weren't aware of the fact that you have to hold out your arm and flag the bus down to get it to stop at the bus stop. Fortunately, Alex asked a British woman why none were stopping for us and she told us. We finally made it back, shed our wet shoes and clothes, and then, proceeded to the HAHA Bar and Grill. Appetizers and a Meal for 10 pounds, babay. Delicious. I had my first taste of fish & chips... and mushy peas. Delicious. We went to bed at 9:30.

DAY THREE:
First day of orientation. I found Lindsay Saladino. We have a lot in common if you don't already know. Let me put it this way: Lindsay, Lindsay; Charlotte, Charlotte; UNC, UNC; IV, IV; Snakebite, Snakebite (crazy drink we had); Prude, Prude; Dance, Dance. The list goes on... today, we even wore the same outfit out by mistake- black boots, blue jeans, black sweater, and finally flashy scarves. I met a lot of people this day. It was great fun. Highly romantic environment. This was the first time someone said, "Cheers, duck" to me. Alex and I met an Australian named, "Little Bear." When we get back to the states, I'm making her a shirt that says, "Alex <3's>Bear." HAHAHAHA. We developed a little clique at lunch, as the two of us usually do. We met 2 girls from New Mexico, Chelsea and Monique; a girl from Oregon, Genna; a guy from New Zealand, Kohan; and of course, Lindsay. I exchanged greetings with a bunch of random people throughout the day, but these stuck. We went to dinner at a Noodle Bar, which was pretty good. Did I mention that my salivation has changed since I moved here? I'm now able to go 2-4 hours without drinking water or soda because of the slighted drink portions they provide and the "no free refills" signs that they so kindly display on all of the menus. It's kind of funny. All of the Americans are dying of thirst. Good times. Alex and I proceeded to taxi our way back to the hotel because it was late and from there, we went to Cafe Rouge for dessert. Then, bed of course.

DAY FOUR:
Crazy day. Registration day. I guess the school doesn't do it online, so sometimes you have to run across the world from one person to the next to get a department head to sign off on the course that you've chosen. Fortunately, after hours of panting; fighting with the Econ guy to prove to him that yes, I have done regression analysis, multiple regression analysis, and regression analysis with hypothesis testing; and sweating my way through the process, I was able to achieve my goals. Economic Development, Shakespeare & Renaissance Drama, Irish Writing. Then, I was bold enough to ask the question of where I was supposed to meet/what time for my "modules," and I was told that I should have found out from the department heads. When I asked if they were available online, I was told "no." Needless to say, I had to swallow my pride and go find out where and when my courses were, but I'm so ecstatic to finally have that stressor removed that I was okay. Alex and I then had lunch at one of the four bars at the Student Union. Yes, Marius, 4 bars. I love it here. Really, I do. Then, I blew time and shopped with my NM buds, got ready for a night out, and got tipsy enough to dance for 4 hours with Lindsay, who is also not accustomed to alcohol intake. We started at this local hostel/pub which offered live music that happened to be cute Irishmen. Then, proceeded to the union. Sheffield students have literally just finished their exams so they had a big rave party at the Student Union. Basically, you bar hop and dance your way through the student union for 5 hours. The snakebite was our second drink of the night and we were convinced that there was a wizard bartender who had casted a spell over our individual drinks to make it so that it never ended. She gave up about 7/8 of the way and handed her drink to Kohan to finish. I was approx. 3/4 of the way done with my own at that point and so desperate to dance, and so not wanting to slosh it all over my clothes, that I decided it'd be best to gulp. Wow. We danced 2 1/2 more hours after that. I think Kohan made us stay at the UNI clubs on purpose to make us dance it off... that's my theory anyway. My other theory is that black people will dance better than you anywhere you may go...

DAY FIVE:
Move in day. The only place near our hotel that offers WIFI was McDonald's, which happens to constanly be busier than our Chick-fil-a's at the busiest lunch hour at all times of the day. The Brits love the golden arches, I suppose. I was able to get a calling card online so that I could call mis padres for cheap. I talked to them for the first time in 5 days for 32 minutes and it was great... I wanted to keep chatting, but they wanted to go to Home Depot. My room is totally unpacked. And, because of my unwillingness to leave my dorm until everything was unpacked, I lost a great deal of daylight. Hence the title of this very, very long post. Picture P.S. I Love You scene in the dark minus a handsome guy who kissed me. I was trying to book it to the Edge (another on-campus venue that offers a big bar and dining hall), and instead lost my way. After about 35 minutes of walking in the dark uphill with no lights or people in s sight, I started to cry. I ended up at the edge of Sheffield and finally found 3 different people who gave me different directions to Shore Lane. The last guy gave me the right directions and when I hit the first landmark that he told me about, I started to cry again. Plus, he said, "be careful, love" and when I said, "thank you, I really appreciate your help," he responded, "cheers, duck," which is why I love it here. Finally made it to the club about 40 minutes after I was supposed to be there... you see it should have only been a ten minute walk. Oh well. But it was a fun night, nonetheless. I had a cherry vodka that tasted like a sour candy and then a shot of sour apple something or other, both had hardly any alcohol, so don't worry, I'm not an alchie. And that puts me back into my room, writing to all of you. This has been a long entry, and I'm tired, so I'm peacing. I have learned a lot about life over the past 5 days. One, don't judge a book by it's cover. My room maybe old, but it has the best view I could ever ask for. Two, cell phones are expensive when not on a regular plan. Three, talk to everyone. Four, I thought I would have a PS I love you moment, but not on my first day officially "living on campus." Five, water is essential for survival. Six,... Cheers, Duck.

I'm here. I'm safe. My flat iron doesn't work. I have a cell phone that costs me 20 pounds/month. I get WIFI at McDonald's...

This is all I have time for right now. It's really pretty and hilly. Pictures and details later. Love.