Dublin-Ireland

Okay, so I went to Dublin, and I promise I will write all about it and post new pictures soon! I took over 1000 pictures, so it might take a while. Also since I will be traveling a lot coming up, I really need to get work done on my projects! Sorry, but coming soon :)

PS this was kinda lame sorry!

You Know You Are Studying Abroad When...

1) You get homesick for London whenever you leave it.
2) You spend more time blogging, and uploading photos than working on your school work.
3) 50% of the time you spend on your computer is on Skype.
4) You get asked for directions all the time, and can actually help.
5) You realize that everyone can speak another language but you.
6) You know your way around London better than the largest city near your home town (for me, San Francisco)
7) You finally look the right directions when crossing the street without hesitating.
8) You see tourists and realize that you are no longer one of them.
9) You get asked where you are from, and hesitate because you don't know whether to respond with where you are currently living (North London), originally from (Bay Area), or where you go to school back at home (The OC).
10) You Finally have your UK number, postal code, UK and Europe clothing & shoe size memorized
11) When you stop trying to calculating £ to $ in your head.
12) When you start to use the metric system and understand it without needing to calculate it in your head (sometimes).

Windsor Castle

Sunday a few of my friends and I decided to go to Windsor Castle for the day. This was the third castle I have seen in England since I have been here. Several weeks ago, we visited Hampton Court Palace which was the home of King Henry VIII. I have also been to the Tower of London, which is right next to the iconic Tower Bridge in London. It amazes me how different each castle is. Windsor is the only castle we have visited which is still used as a royal residence. When we got off the train, we were so excited to see the royal standard flying. This is the flag which signals that the Queen is currently residing inside. The security was unbelievable to get inside. Much like when I went on a tour of the Parliament building, we had to go through metal detectors, bag scanners, and the occasional pat down. Unfortunately, we were not able to see the Queen, but we could definitely feel the tension among the guards and security.

Bath & Stonehenge

Last weekend Julia and I went to Bath for a few days. #1 rule of travel: it is a very bad idea to both fall asleep on the train. Neither of us remember falling asleep, but next thing I know, the train is stopped. I looked outside the window, and saw the sign for Bath Spa, which was our stop. I yelled at Julia, and we jumped up, grabbed our luggage, and jumped off the train just in time before it started moving again!
Bath is such a cute little town! Though I have been there before (about 5 years ago), I still did all the touristy stuff. We went to Bath Abbey, which is where the 1st King of all England (Edgar) was crowned. We took a tour, which took us up over 200 steps on a tight, stone spiral staircase, to the top tower which overlooked all of Bath. It was beautiful! After, we went to the Roman Baths, which are preserved Roman baths used for public bathing. The Romans dedicated this sacred springs to their Goddess Minerva, the Goddess of medicine. They believed these baths had healing powers due to the "unexplainable" heat, and surplus of minerals in the water. At the end of the tour, we were able to try a sample of the water, so I thought why not give it a try?! It tasted like liquid metal, and I only got in two sips before giving up. After the Roman Baths, we walked around the town for a while, and just explored the city.
The next morning we went to Stonehenge, which I had also been to before, but it is such an amazing sight, I could never get enough of it! Fortunately we went during the right time of the year, because during the Winter and early Spring months, there are a lot less tourists, which is nice!

Me and Johnny D

So I've been a little busy with class work the past couple of weeks, but now I have a bit of a break! Last week I went down to Cobham, and trained with the Chelsea FC Women's team. Though I didn't feel completely on my game, I guess they saw something in me, because they invited me back. It was such a cool experience, and the facilities were unbelievable, (it's the same place where the Chelsea FC Men's team trains)! The fields were out of the city's light pollution, so we could see the whole night's sky.
Yesterday I went to my first movie premiere (even though I go to school not to far from Hollywood)! It was the world premiere for Alice in Wonderland by Tim Burton, starring Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter (AKA Bellatrix Lastrange), Alan Rickman (AKA Snape), and Timothy Spall (AKA Wormtail). Though it was raining and we got soaked, it was so much fun! I even was able to see Prince Charles, who was quite late and held up the start of the movie! Many people waited over night for the premiere which is insane in this weather, so sparing a few hours wasn't that bad for me! I made some new friends, and got to enjoy Ben's Cookies while I waited, so I was a happy camper. For those of you who have never experienced Ben's Cookies (in Covent Garden), they are the best cookies I have ever eaten! I recommend the white chocolate chunk.

Manchester

Thursday morning we took the train from Liverpool to Manchester, it was only £6! We have gotten so used expensive London, that it was nice to visit a place that was more affordable all around (an all day public transportation pass in London is £7.50, and an all day metro pass in Manchester was only £2.90)! After checking into our hotel, we spent the day walking around central Manchester. There weren't really any tourist attractions, but we enjoyed being in a new city. They have a lot of pubs, and a lot of shopping! Julia and I found that in general, the people in Liverpool and Manchester were a lot friendlier. We figured that they don't have as many tourists up there, so people have more patience, and time to help us! We found that people would go out of their way to help us get to where we were trying to go, and that it was overall a more relaxed environment, though I still love London!
That evening, we went to The Trafford Center, an amazing mall in Manchester. It was the most extravagant mall I have ever seen! The food court was ridiculous as well. Each section had a different country, and the entrance had a large marble staircase which opened up to a cruise ship themed center court.
The next morning, we went on a tour of Old Trafford, the Manchester United Stadium. I put aside my hatred for Man U for one day, to see the beautiful stadium. It holds 73,000 people, including an away section of 6,000 seats. On an average day, they will have 200 employees working on the grounds, cleaning, and taking care of the field, and on game days over 700 employees working! The Man U locker room wasn't overly nice, or big, but it was built to be more traditional, and the players lounge had a bar in it! Now I really want to tour Chelsea's stadium, Stamford Bridge!

Clips From the Game

Liverpool

On Wednesday, Julia and I took a trip up to Liverpool and Manchester. After 2 short hours on the train, we arrived in Liverpool. We walked to Queens Square (the center of the city), and took a bus over to our hostel which was very cozy and cute! After getting somewhat settled in, we went to the Beatles museum where we learned about the life stories of the Beatles! After that, we walked around and took a bus to Everton Stadium to see the Chelsea vs Everton match. If you don't know football, Chelsea is one of, if not, the best teams in England, and Everton was the underdog. I accidentally got tickets in the home section even though I am a Chelsea fan. I was told my multiple people that unlike games in the US, the fans are divided in the stadium, with police and security standing between the aisles. I was told that I had to wear my jersey under my other cloths, and not cheer at all for Chelsea. "If Everton scores, you just have to stand and smile. If Chelsea scores, you cannot cheer or you will get kicked out of the stadium," my friend Paul warned me. This was very hard for me to follow, because it was a very intense game. Chelsea outplayed Everton, passing around them the whole game, but Everton played with more heart. Sometimes, it isn't always the better team that wins, it's the team that wants it more, and Everton wanted it more. Though I was unhappy, I felt like Everton deserved that win. The people around us in the stadium were definitely dedicated fans. One man told us that he lived in Spain, but that he flies up to Liverpool for every home game! I found the fans very entertaining. There was a lot of cursing, the best came from the guy behind us, "Fu*k you Fu*king Fu*kers"! We spent most of the second half on our feet, and listening to the Evertonian fans singing cheers. My favorite was when ever Landon Donovan (formally an LA Galaxy player, and one of the star players of the US team) did something good, the whole stadium would start chanting "U-S-A, U-S-A". This made me proud! For those of you who don't know about the John Terry scandal, he was England's captain, and got stripped of his captaincy last week due to an affair he had on his wife with one of his teammates ex-girlfriends. He is one of the best defenders in the world, and one of my favorite players, so it is really unfortunate that this happened! He is still the captain on Chelsea, but it was clear this game that his head was somewhere else. I rarely see him ever make mistakes, and both goals this game were his fault! So during the game, Everton fans didn't take it easy on him. Anytime he committed a foul, or appeared to have at all, the whole stadium would start chanting "Cheater, cheater, cheater". They also sand a song something about John Terry is not shagging anymore. I wonder if this is a song that they have, and just replace the name of the player, because this seems to be a very common issue here! As the game approached the 90th minute, the tension in the stadium continued to build. The ref signaled for 5 minutes overtime, which made the fans very upset. After several minutes of overtime, the Everton fans started yelling and whistling at the ref to blow his whistle. They were all cursing at him, and calling him a twat because he wasn't blowing his whistle! Finally he blew it, and the game was over. I found it interesting that the fans of the home team seemed to be yelling at their own players more than the away team. Anytime one of their players didn't do something perfect, they would make sure it was heard! This was very different for me to experience. After going to this game, I really want to go to a Chelsea home game, and experience that! I have a feeling that each stadium environment is a little bit different. Different cheers, and traditions!

Weather Update!

Yesterday I went on a walk around the park which surrounds our campus. It is absolutely beautiful here! On my walk it began to snow, and all of the sudden, the graceful flakes floating down turned into a blizzard. Maybe that was an exaggeration, but the flakes were literally the size of quarters! Last night we had football practice in the snow, and it was so much fun (besides the fact that it was ridiculously cold)! Also the ball was hard to control, because it was so slippery.
About five minutes ago, it was hailing, and now it is sunny. Only in England can it be sunny, raining, snowing, hailing, and be sunny again all in the same day!

It's Now Been a Month!

Wow, sorry it has taken me so long to write my next post! I have been attempting to save a little money the past few weeks, but it is very difficult. I can only have frozen meals for so long! Just a little weather update here: It has rained, hailed, and snowed here over the past few weeks, but it seems to be warming up just a little bit (or I am getting used to it)! Although, we freeze when we have to wait for the buses for what seems like forever! In case you don't know (which you probably don't), there is a Uni bus that drives from Oakwood station (our underground station), to Trent Park campus. It is only a 10-15 minute walk, but it is very dark at night, and has hills. This road is called Snakes Lane, AKA the road to Narnia (I think I have some pictures). Anyway... so we think that we have the worst luck with the buses here. They loop around about every 15 minutes, but sometimes (feels like all the time), they go on a 20 minute break so we could be waiting in the cold for over 30 minutes. It feels as though whenever we need the bus, they go on break!
Last Friday, we had the River Boat Disco on the Thames! We have learned here, when they use the term Disco here, it means that there is music and dancing (not that it is 70's themed)! It was so much fun! The boat had 2 levels which we could go on, and the 2nd level had a door to go outside on the deck. We tried to go out there a few times because it was so beautiful, but it was freezing! When we got on the boat, the first song that was played was "Party in the USA". We thought it was a little bit ironic, but we enjoyed it none the less! *Helpful tip: If you are going out wearing heals, and have enough room in your purse for flats, bring them! Your feet will thank you!
This past week I have been trying to focus (a little more at least) on my classes. I am in a module for graphic design which means that we get full class credits and a grade for the module, but we can choose our classes with in it. I am taking 2 classes here at the moment, and both classes are focused around completing one project in each, which both happen to be for different international advertising competitions. My first class is for the D&AD competition. For this, we were given several briefs to choose from. I chose to do the project on the integrated marketing campaign for Lloyds TSB partnered with the London 2012 Olympics. I'm finding this project really fun, because it is incorporating two of my greatest passions: Sports, and creativity! The second project, is for a drink company in England called Feel Good Drinks. It is a very young company, and the brief pretty much just said "Make us famous". For this project, we were able to work in groups. Since we jumped in half way this year, my partner and I were by default put together. We got tagged as "Team America", which we aren't sure how we feel about, but it is entertaining at the same time.
So this Sunday is the Superbowl! The Student Union is reserved for watching the Superbowl at what, 2am? It should be interesting, especially since supposedly the halftime commercials are going to be the UK ads, not the same ones that will be aired in the US. Guess I will just have to watch them online later!

The Proper British Way

So, the past few weeks, I have been learning first hand about the everyday rules. These are just a few that I have come up with (I will make note of more as they come up in the future).

1) In the US, we naturally pass people walking on the right side. In a grocery store we usually do the same, because that is how we drive, and it is how we grow up. So, everyone knows that in the UK, people drive on the left side of the road. Well they walk the same! They walk on the left side of the stairs, the left side of the aisle, and so on. Unless you want to crash your shopping cart into everyone you pass in the grocery store, pass on the left! Most of the time left is right, except when you are on the escalators, then standing on the right is right. Confused yet? Because I am.

2) This is very important: Pedestrians do not have the right of way in the UK! Or at least that is how it seems. If you reach an intersection and see a car approaching slowing down, it is not because they are waiting for you to cross (because they won't stop), it is because they don't really have stop signs, it's more like a mutual understanding to yield when approaching a bigger street than the one that you are on.

3) If you try and fit in with the speech here, it doesn't work. They get confused when you mention football with an American accent. "you mean American football, or proper football, soccer?" Also, if you say "cheers" with an American accent, you will be laughed at. However, there are so many different English accents within England, no one will question your fake British accent if you try, well to your face at least!

A Little Look at Middlesex

Sorry for not posting for so long, I have been busy trying to sort out my classes, and get settled in. We have had some snow this week, which made me extremely happy, but it was almost all washed away the next day by rain. Since my last post, I have continued to meet a lot of people, gone on a bus tour of London, gone to a club in the city, got my classes figured out, and gone on a The Great Treasure Hunt of London!
This past Monday, we were officially welcomed to our Middlesex campus, Trent Park. Just thought I'd share some interesting facts in case you were curious where the name Middlesex comes from. In the 6th Century, the Anglo-Saxons began to inhabit the area now known as London. The saxons named the east Essex, the south Sussex, the west wessex, and right in the middle was Middlesex. As the city of London grew larger, it became bigger than the county of Middlesex which it was in, therefore changing the name of Middlesex to London.
On our Trent Park campus, there is a building known as The Mansion. This is because Trent park used to be part of King Henry IV's hunting grounds. Later, in 1909 the estate was sold to a man who who played host to many celebrity visitors at Trent Park, such as Charlie Chaplin and Winston Churchill. At one point Queen Victoria even vacationed at the Mansion.
I am not going to get into my classes now, since I'm sure I will talk about them later but I am so relieved that I got into the ones which I wanted. As of now, I have class Wednesday at 10:00am, and Thursday at 2:00pm.

It's COLD

Snakes Lane fox watch count as of today: 3

Welcome to Narnia

After getting a brief tour of the Trent Park campus at Middlesex University, the other Study Abroad students and myself decided that we are now living in Narnia! We are surrounded by beautiful snow covered trees as well as plants which seem to go on and on. Everything around us is so calm and still. Though it's cold, I have found the crisp air very refreshing. Also, despite the weather reports, it hasn't snowed or rained since I've been here, but who knows what it will be like tomorrow!

Arriving

If anyone has seen the movie The Holiday, and remembers the part where Cameron Diaz is trying to find her rental cottage, that was me today. Apparently there was too much snow on the ground for the University Bus to pick me up from the Underground station, so I took a cab. The driver stopped, and told me that he couldn't go any further because he wouldn't be able to get out of the snow. So there I was, dragging two 50lbs suitcases through the snow! What a journey! After a 10 hr plane ride, a 2.5hr tube ride, 5 minute cab ride, and 15 minute hike I made it!
Next adventure: to find some food... I don't think that bag of Doritos is going to hold me over! Oh, and I need to find a bank to get some money!