Sunday 19 October 2008
Wales and London
Sorry it’s taken me so long to update….been pretty busy!
Wales: Oct. 3-4
We left for Wales early Friday morning and headed towards Chester. We stopped there for two hours to grab a bite to eat and look around. Although I’m starting to get my bus legs for ‘city’ buses, coach buses still make me feel a bit sick. So Katie and I stopped at a Boots Pharmacy to pick up some motion sickness mediation. It took longer than anticipated and we got kind of lost on the way back to the bus….we were only 10 minutes late. From there we headed to the Youth Hostel in Conway. We looked around the town, walked around the walls of the castle there and had a cup of tea in this very cute tea house.
The next day we went on a coach tour of Wales for about three hours or so? I don’t really remember the coach ride at all because I popped in my motion sickness medication and passed out before the bus started moving. I woke up in the town of Llandudno and asked what I missed….a lot of sheep.
This past week of classes has been pretty jam packed. Everything is really starting to get busy and homework is starting to pill up.
London Trip!
It’s Sunday night and we just got home from our weekend trip to London about 4 hours ago. Friday morning we went to the train station and meet up with two other students in our group and the assistant director of the program. She told us she’d be willing to come down to London for the day with us to show us around. It was a BIG help!
Friday:
We arrived in London around 10:15am and left our luggage at the station’s luggage storage area. Then we walked around a bit and then walked and took tons of pictures at Buckingham Palace. Then we walked to a church and ate in the Crypt. YUMMY! From lunch we headed off to the Westminster Abby and it was amazing! Your admission fee includes a headset to listen to of everything in the Abby, (Well not EVERYTHING cause there is just so much). The headset could be programmed into your language and the tour guide for English was Jeremy Irons, a.k.a Scar from the Lion King. It was an amazing tour and it was very beautiful! I could walk around that place for hours. During the tour it takes you into the room where the Monks would sing hymns and they played one of the pieces sung and I had tears in my eyes because it was just magnificent.
After the Abby we walked to the Globe theatre and to St. Paul’s Cathedral. Then we took the tube, subway, to Covent Garden’s and had fish & chips. The two other people in the group that we meet up with and the assistant director were heading back to Birmingham that night, and Katie, Ashley and I were staying in Claygate with family friends of Katie. Claygate is about a 30min. train ride from Waterloo. So here were our travels: From Covent Garden’s we took two tube rides to the train station in Waterloo, then bought a ticket to Claygate and jumped on the train. We arrived around 9pm and we all were completely exhausted!
The next morning, we got up bright and early, 6:15am, and headed back to Waterloo, and then tube rides to Leicester Square to get tickets to Phantom of the Opera! We were the first ones in the queue (line) so we went next door and got a latte. After we got our discount tickets, we went back towards St. Paul’s Cathedral to find Fleet Street! After getting a little turned around we found Fleet Street and then headed for Harrods department store. Since everything is really expensive we just got treats from the bakery!
From Harrods we took a tube to the British Museum and walked around there for a few hours. After the Museum we went into a few local shops. We also stopped to have a cup of tea and some yummy chips, a.k.a French fries.
After our little snack we again took a couple tube rides to the London Tower and the Tower Bridge. Next we headed back to Leicester Square to find “Her Majesty Theatre” and get some dinner. We ate at the Pizza Express and it was SOOOO GOOD! Then we went to Phantom of the Opera. Wow! It was so good that I cried during “Music of the Night”. After the shot we got on the tube and train back to Claygate.
We woke up this morning around 7:30 and headed back to Birmingham. We got in around 2ish. I’m catching up on some homework and then off to a much needed full nights rest!
Cheers!
Kirsten
Wales: Oct. 3-4
We left for Wales early Friday morning and headed towards Chester. We stopped there for two hours to grab a bite to eat and look around. Although I’m starting to get my bus legs for ‘city’ buses, coach buses still make me feel a bit sick. So Katie and I stopped at a Boots Pharmacy to pick up some motion sickness mediation. It took longer than anticipated and we got kind of lost on the way back to the bus….we were only 10 minutes late. From there we headed to the Youth Hostel in Conway. We looked around the town, walked around the walls of the castle there and had a cup of tea in this very cute tea house.
The next day we went on a coach tour of Wales for about three hours or so? I don’t really remember the coach ride at all because I popped in my motion sickness medication and passed out before the bus started moving. I woke up in the town of Llandudno and asked what I missed….a lot of sheep.
This past week of classes has been pretty jam packed. Everything is really starting to get busy and homework is starting to pill up.
London Trip!
It’s Sunday night and we just got home from our weekend trip to London about 4 hours ago. Friday morning we went to the train station and meet up with two other students in our group and the assistant director of the program. She told us she’d be willing to come down to London for the day with us to show us around. It was a BIG help!
Friday:
We arrived in London around 10:15am and left our luggage at the station’s luggage storage area. Then we walked around a bit and then walked and took tons of pictures at Buckingham Palace. Then we walked to a church and ate in the Crypt. YUMMY! From lunch we headed off to the Westminster Abby and it was amazing! Your admission fee includes a headset to listen to of everything in the Abby, (Well not EVERYTHING cause there is just so much). The headset could be programmed into your language and the tour guide for English was Jeremy Irons, a.k.a Scar from the Lion King. It was an amazing tour and it was very beautiful! I could walk around that place for hours. During the tour it takes you into the room where the Monks would sing hymns and they played one of the pieces sung and I had tears in my eyes because it was just magnificent.
After the Abby we walked to the Globe theatre and to St. Paul’s Cathedral. Then we took the tube, subway, to Covent Garden’s and had fish & chips. The two other people in the group that we meet up with and the assistant director were heading back to Birmingham that night, and Katie, Ashley and I were staying in Claygate with family friends of Katie. Claygate is about a 30min. train ride from Waterloo. So here were our travels: From Covent Garden’s we took two tube rides to the train station in Waterloo, then bought a ticket to Claygate and jumped on the train. We arrived around 9pm and we all were completely exhausted!
The next morning, we got up bright and early, 6:15am, and headed back to Waterloo, and then tube rides to Leicester Square to get tickets to Phantom of the Opera! We were the first ones in the queue (line) so we went next door and got a latte. After we got our discount tickets, we went back towards St. Paul’s Cathedral to find Fleet Street! After getting a little turned around we found Fleet Street and then headed for Harrods department store. Since everything is really expensive we just got treats from the bakery!
From Harrods we took a tube to the British Museum and walked around there for a few hours. After the Museum we went into a few local shops. We also stopped to have a cup of tea and some yummy chips, a.k.a French fries.
After our little snack we again took a couple tube rides to the London Tower and the Tower Bridge. Next we headed back to Leicester Square to find “Her Majesty Theatre” and get some dinner. We ate at the Pizza Express and it was SOOOO GOOD! Then we went to Phantom of the Opera. Wow! It was so good that I cried during “Music of the Night”. After the shot we got on the tube and train back to Claygate.
We woke up this morning around 7:30 and headed back to Birmingham. We got in around 2ish. I’m catching up on some homework and then off to a much needed full nights rest!
Cheers!
Kirsten
Saturday 4 October 2008
First Week of Classes
First Week of classes:
This week, similar to every other week prior, flew by! It was the first week of classes and it went great! I’m enrolled in 5 classes:
Psychology Marriages and Families Worldwide: LOVE IT! We have to do 2 service hours a week for a project. I’m doing my service hours at the Raddlebarn Primary School in the nursery!
British Archaeology: From Rome to Britain: British teacher talks really fast….not going to be good.
Understand Business and Politics: Love the class cause I get to talk about my MANY opinions.
Intro to Film Studies: We watched portions of three different movies the first day of class. Enough said.
Drawing: Which I take a 30min bus ride to an old man’s house on the other side of Birmingham. There are 9 students in the class and we draw in his garden and in his studio! How cool!
After class was over on Thursday, 10:30am, my weekend started! Ashley and I took the 21 bus over to Harborne High Street. It’s a long street full of vintages shops, bookstores, yummy bakeries and café’s and more! We went into an Oxfam Bookstore. (Oxfam is one of the many charity shops along this high street; charity shops are very popular in Birmingham. Research oxfam.org.uk for more wonderful information about this GRRRREAT cause!)
Ashley and I were in the used bookstore for more than an hour. All the books in the store were donated by people in the area. The books are really inexpensive. The books that I bought are old hardcover books and very cool! I found old copies of: Beowulf, Oliver Twist, Canterbury Tales, Cinderella, Hamlet, and the Complete Plays of Bernard Shaw! I’m so excited! Although the walk back to tennis courts, about a 25 minute walk, sucked.
Thursday night we had a duvet film night with our British friends downstairs. We watched “Shaun of the Dead.” I LOVED IT! Last night was the end of Fresher’s Fest and we went out with a bang. It was a foam dance party at the Student Guild! It was a blast but all the foam made it very slippery and kind of icky, but it was still a fun fun time!
Today it’s really cold, windy and rainy! So I’m just staying in working on homework and hanging out. Later on tonight a bunch of our British friends and us are having another duvet film night and ordering some yummy pizza! OOH BABY!
Better go!
Cheers!
Kirsten
This week, similar to every other week prior, flew by! It was the first week of classes and it went great! I’m enrolled in 5 classes:
Psychology Marriages and Families Worldwide: LOVE IT! We have to do 2 service hours a week for a project. I’m doing my service hours at the Raddlebarn Primary School in the nursery!
British Archaeology: From Rome to Britain: British teacher talks really fast….not going to be good.
Understand Business and Politics: Love the class cause I get to talk about my MANY opinions.
Intro to Film Studies: We watched portions of three different movies the first day of class. Enough said.
Drawing: Which I take a 30min bus ride to an old man’s house on the other side of Birmingham. There are 9 students in the class and we draw in his garden and in his studio! How cool!
After class was over on Thursday, 10:30am, my weekend started! Ashley and I took the 21 bus over to Harborne High Street. It’s a long street full of vintages shops, bookstores, yummy bakeries and café’s and more! We went into an Oxfam Bookstore. (Oxfam is one of the many charity shops along this high street; charity shops are very popular in Birmingham. Research oxfam.org.uk for more wonderful information about this GRRRREAT cause!)
Ashley and I were in the used bookstore for more than an hour. All the books in the store were donated by people in the area. The books are really inexpensive. The books that I bought are old hardcover books and very cool! I found old copies of: Beowulf, Oliver Twist, Canterbury Tales, Cinderella, Hamlet, and the Complete Plays of Bernard Shaw! I’m so excited! Although the walk back to tennis courts, about a 25 minute walk, sucked.
Thursday night we had a duvet film night with our British friends downstairs. We watched “Shaun of the Dead.” I LOVED IT! Last night was the end of Fresher’s Fest and we went out with a bang. It was a foam dance party at the Student Guild! It was a blast but all the foam made it very slippery and kind of icky, but it was still a fun fun time!
Today it’s really cold, windy and rainy! So I’m just staying in working on homework and hanging out. Later on tonight a bunch of our British friends and us are having another duvet film night and ordering some yummy pizza! OOH BABY!
Better go!
Cheers!
Kirsten
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