Englishness and Freshers Week

I just got back from an English brunch, with beans, toast, fried eggs, hashbrowns, marmalade, and a table full of people who always use their knives and forks. But now I'm blogging and being very English by drinking tea (I finally went to a grocery store yesterday, and tea was a must!).  I am also enjoying the very nice view from my window and the cool English air--I am actually adjusting quite well to the colder weather.

Tea and one of my free mugs from the Freshers Fair!

The view from my room before sunset

As it is now Saturday we are nearing the end of Freshers Week with only two events left--Love Your Hall (so tonight I'll be hanging out with all the people living in Lenton and Wortley) and the Finale Event tomorrow night. The past two nights were the Baywatch themed night and the Silent Disco. For those of you that don't know what a silent disco is, it is like any other club with lots of dancing and music, but the difference is the music comes from headphones that everyone wears, and there are two DJs competing for listeners--needless to say it was tons of fun!

Freshers Week Night # 4 Baywatch

My room filled with people before Baywatch
(at least 12 people)

Baywatch

Freshers Week Night # 5 The Silent Disco

The boys with their legwarmers

The Block 4 Boys with face paint and so ready for the Silent Disco

Some of the Block 4 boys (Sam, Elliot, Will, and Dan) 

Lucy and me at the Silent Disco

My Life in Nottingham... I've been here a week!

It is been about a week since my last blog post, and I have been having so much fun. Since you last heard from me the semester has started, I have moved from my temporary home to my permanent home in Lenton and Wortley Hall, I have gone to the city, attempted to figure out the public transportation system, and I have met a lot of new people (most of which are now attempting to perfect their American accents). 

Things that are different....

1. Housing- I have a single room, I share a bathroom with six wonderful girls, some of your best friends are the people that live in your block

2. Meals - We eat breakfast and dinner in the dining hall, and you always eat in your own hall (this means you become much closer with the people in your hall)

3. Public Transportation - First of all, the English have public transportation, we ride into town on buses and this can be quite interesting if you have never ever had to use a bus to get anywhere

4. The legal drinking age - I haven't turned into an alcoholic, but it is so nice to be able to get a glass of wine at lunch or a beer with friends 

5. Accents and vocabulary - As the American, I am also the scapegoat, because I say everything incorrectly. Pants are trousers, underwear are pants, bandaids are plasters, college is uni, dorms are halls, elementary school is primary school, high school is secondary school, middle school is nonexistent, soccer is football, planners are diaries, sweatpants are trackies, going downtown is going into town, and everything I say is wrong. 

6. Tea - Everyone drinks it all the time, so to fully immerse myself in the English world I joined the Kettle Society. 

6. Rain - It doesn't pour, it just rains and rains and rains and rains, but it is usually a sprinkling rain. 

Charlotte and Kaitlin at Derby Hall during International
Student Welcome Week - making the short walk to dinner

Our first trip into town - Katelyn, Kaitlin, Charlotte, me, Anca, and Warren 

The City Centre of Nottingham

On our walk to our "in town" lunch at Revolution

Charlotte - lunch at Revolution

Kaitlin having a glass of wine at lunch

My very yummy lunch - a sweet potato and bean falafel wrap 

The cloudy skies of Nottingham, on our way out of town 

End of our first trip to town

Anca, Kaitlin, Charlotte, and Katelyn enjoying our bus ride back to campus

We hadn't quite figured out how to ride public buses so we missed our stop,
took naps and got to see the town of Beeston

The beautiful view from the Portland Building  (our "student center")

Trent Building

Walking around campus, killing time, while waiting to move into my
new hall (Lenton and Wortley!!)

My new room!!

A week later when my room is actually decorated

The view from my room... be jealous

The Lenton and Wortley Dining Hall

Another trip into town meant a check off of the Nottingham Bucket list, a trip to Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem for fish and chips - it is England's oldest inn, turned into a pub . Charlotte planned the trip (my best friend who happens to lack a sense of direction), so we got lost but this meant a little more time for sight seeing!

Town Centre on a sunny day

Charlotte wondering if we were at the number 13 bus stop (it says it at the top of the post)

A pub on the way to ye olde jerusalem

Nottingham, the home of Robin Hood! 

Some of the girls from International Student Welcome Week - Kaitlin, Hanna (from Iceland), Charlotte, Anca (from Canada), Mary (who also happens to be from Charleston), Mary's housemate, Camille (from Vermont/Georgia), and me!

We finally made it to Ye Olde Jerusalem!!

English fish and chips

Sidewalk art in town

 After getting settling into my hall, I began to meet all the people living in my block and the semester started, which evidently means Freshers Week (classes don't start until the following week).

Lenton and Wortley Hall

Blocks 3, 4, and 5

Jennie (from Maryland/Virginia), me, and Hanna looking very pathetic after so much rain.

Freshers Week: Night #1 Back to School

Bonding over living in Block 4 before the first event of Freshers Week!
Do you like the Back to School Theme??

More new friends so excited about Freshers week! 

Me and Hanna

New friends!

Freshers Week: Night #2 High School Stereotypes

Dressed up as "chavs"

The Freshers events will continue, coming up we have a Baywatch theme, a Silent Disco, Love your Hall, and our Finale event!

Crossing the Pond

First of all I apologize for not posting this sooner, but I have been having some internet problems that fortunately were fixed today thanks to my new friend Drew in the IT department!

STAGE ONE: Excited

My Monday started dark and early at 7:00 am, after getting ready and saying goodbye to Melly, my mom and I started driving to Atlanta. 

Melly and me before our goodbye...she knew
something was up and was having a
very anxious morning

After the quick drive we arrived at Maggie's house (Maggie is a good friend of my moms) and headed out to lunch. Maggie and Martin (her husband) treated my mom and I to a delicious lunch at Canoe (thanks again!), which helped me relax--thanks to the wine, good food, and great conversation.

My mom and me at Canoe

Then we were headed to the airport were I said a three month goodbye to my mom--and Mom you held it together very well, I am proud of you!

Do you see the British flag??

Just before the teary eyes

Heading through security was a breeze, there was no line and the whole process took less than five minutes--and I took my time because I still had two hours to kill. So my extra time was spent making a few calls and attempting to keep myself in a relaxed state. Before long Charlotte, Kaitlin, and I were reunited and boarding the plane, ready to fly nonstop to London.

STAGE TWO: Very tired (but still excited) 

Charlotte and I fresh off the plane

8 hours, 2 meals, and 0 sleep later we walked into the London Heathrow airport--included in those 8 hours there was also a thirty minute period were they were unable to open the plane door, so that was fun. But the fun didn't end there...we got to stand in line waiting to go through immigration for at least an hour and a half before we realized that there was a very short student line. A couple minutes after this realization we walked into the baggage terminal with new stamps in our passport books, but our baggage was not listed on the screen because it had been over two hours since our plane landed and our baggage was collected. Thanks to my brightly colored (or should I say coloured?) suitcase, I spotted all the Atlanta baggage in a pile across the airport, so that dilemma was quickly solved. Later, after what I thought was the longest walk of my life, a short train ride, and more walking, we found the shuttle service for the University of Nottingham and got the chance to stand in another line. But the waiting was not all bad, because I was able to grab a quick snack (at this point it is about 11:00 am in London and I ate breakfast at 6:00 am) and I got a chance to sit down on the airport floor.

STAGE THREE: Exhausted

At 12:00 pm London time, Kaitlin, Charlotte, and I were on the shuttle toward Nottingham and I had officially been awake for 24 hours. In my delirium I took pictures of the big fluffy clouds in the English sky on the uncharacteristically sunny day and wrote in my journal. I began noticing the differences in my surroundings, from the rolling hills to the differently colored and styled houses--this was a very peaceful point in my day. 

Kaitlin and Charlotte took a different approach and passed out on the bus. 

At 2:30 we arrived at Nottingham, received our temporary rooming assignments, picked up our University cards, ventured through an underground tunnel, fought through and surrendered to a couple emotional meltdowns and then rested before dinner, where we met a few new friends! 

Even though two days, which felt like one, were stressful and tiring, they were also so much fun. I was reunited with my two best friends, experienced my first flight out of the country, and finally began the trip I have been planning for the past year. 

So here begins my study abroad experience 

filled with rolling hills, great friends, and the unexpected!

The University of Nottingham

We've finally arrived! (Kaitlin, me, Charlotte)