For some reason, whether I just didn’t notice it much or perhaps it didn’t really bother me, Tennis Courts is getting awfully loud every night. This semester I can tell I haven’t slept very well because Brit’s and Americans are way loud outside my window. Although I love where my room is, it is somewhat of a nuisance at night. On Friday night, everyone was either having a party or coming back from the pubs/clubs being extremely loud! From all the noise, I didn’t get to sleep till 2:30am. Now, I wouldn’t be complaining this much if I didn’t have to wake up at 5 am the next morning.
I woke up at 5am on Saturday the 21st of February to go to Stratford with a couple SIE friends. I was all ready and was waiting in centre court waiting for the rest of our group to come so we could take off for the train station. After waiting about ten minutes, still missing Geoff, Marcie, and Michelle, we decided to split up and track them down. Even though I knew it was really early and I wouldn’t like if someone rang my doorbell at 6am in the morning, I was cranky and upset for not getting sleep that I didn’t care and rang Geoff’s doorbell anyway. He answered within seconds still wearing his pajamas and his eyes were half open. He said set his alarm wrong and that he’ll meet us in Stratford. As I made my way down the steps of block 20, I noticed that Kristin and Ashley Miller were also empty handed and reported that Marcie and Michelle we more likely going to meet us there as well. We got to the train station just in time to catch the 24 past train. It only cost 3.95…FANTASTIC! It was a little over 40minute train ride till we arrived in Stratford. The whole reason why we came to Stratford so early was to get the cheap student tickets to “The Tempest” playing at the Courtyard Theatre. So we hurried to the theatre to get in the queue. Since Stratford is a little town, it took a few minutes. We were the first one’s there and at first we were a little nervous about this being the right place, but soon other’s showed. After we were there only about 20 minutes, around the corner as fast as lightning, was Geoff! We waited in line till 9:30am when the box office opened, purchases our 5 pound tickets and took off to see the Holy Trinity Church where William Shakespeare is buried. It was a cute little church and it was even more precious when you walked in. An older woman was sitting at a rickety little wooden desk with a pad of paper, brochures, and a bowl of money. She looked up at us with pleasant eyes and told us the price to see Shakespeare’s grave. It was 50 pence. After a few pictures, we left to go and get a little snack. We went to “Anne Hathaway’s Tea House’ to get scones and tea. After our warm, yummy scones we went to Shakespeare’s Birthplace, the statue garden of all his famous characters, and then back to the Courtyard theatre to catch the show. It was a fantastic performance and really interesting because it was ‘The African Tempest.’ It was only a two hour show, so we got out a little after 3:30. Marcie, Michelle, Kristin, and Ashley left to catch the train home while Geoff and I went to Starbucks to wait for Theatre Tour of the Courtyard that was at 5. The Theatre tour was neat, although I was told things I already knew about theatres. After the little tour, which was free, we got on the train and headed home. We arrived a little after 7:15. I ate some dinner, got ready for bed, and was asleep by ten.
Stratford was a fun little town and I’m going to be going back in May, right before I come home, to see “Julius Caesar”. It’s 8:45pm on a Sunday evening and I still have a business test to study for, snap.
Cheers!
Kirsten
Sunday 22 February 2009
Thursday 19 February 2009
Feb. 13-15th: Bath-Stonehenge-Avebury-Glastonbury
The buzzing sound of my phone alarm woke me from a deep sleep. I groggily got up to cross my room and turn it off. I got back under my warm covers and lied my head down on my perfectly positioned pillow to sleep till my second alarm would go off. The second alarm did it this time. I woke up instantly without lingering in my bed and routinely opened my door to grab my towel and take a shower. Once showered and semi-ready, I went to the kitchen to make a big breakfast. I ate three eggs on toast, an apple, and a glass of milk. I went back to my room to finish packing and organize my room somewhat before departure. It was fifteen past eight when I made my way down stairs to wait for the coach. Once on the coach, I turned my iPod onto my ‘Wicked’ soundtrack, positioned my pillow to rest against the window and then I put my ‘sea bands’ on and fell asleep. I woke up when we were just outside of Bath. Once at the hostel, we found out that only one room booked was clean and ready, therefore we had to unload all our luggage in room 7. The entire group then got back on the coach to have it take us down the hill to City Centre. A group of us girls and one boy, Von, found a “Pizza Hut,” to have lunch before we started wondering the city. After a very delicious lunch, we found the Roman Baths. We spent about one hour touring the Roman Baths. It was very beautiful and rather fascinating to learn about all its history. Funny story, a group of us were posing for a picture like we were going to jump in the Roman Baths…turns out I almost fell in for real! There is a picture of me falling and my friend catching me! Oops! After the tour, you could try the water from the famous fountain in the pump room. Let me tell you, it was disgusting. It tasted like I was drinking iron. Sick. After the baths, we just walked around the city seeing the Bath Abbey and the Pulteney Bridge. The night most of us just stayed in the hostel and made dinner there instead of going out. I enjoyed a yummy dish of Spiderman Mac n’ Cheese (Thanks MOM!).
The next morning we woke bright and early to make our way to Stonehenge. Stonehenge is Europe’s most famous prehistoric monument. It was very cool to see and a lot bigger in person that I thought! But since it’s a bunch of rocks, we only spent about 30 minutes there. Next we drove to Avebury. Avebury is known for its stone circles…so in other words, we had a day of taking pictures of big rocks. That night we hung out at the hostel for a bit and then the majority of the SIE group walked down a little path to get down to Bath. We went to a posh pub called “Weathering Spoons” or something like that for a Valentine’s pint. The next morning we took off for Glastonbury. Glastonbury was an interesting town…witchcraft and incents were in every window! It’s mainly known for its Tor, people in the town say it’s ‘no ordinary hill: people develop personal, profound relationships with it.’ I didn’t actually develop a relationship with it besides the fact that I’ll never walk up it again. Apparently, Glastonbury Tor is home to Gwyn ap Nudd, King of the Fairies. Yeah…about that.I went there. After walking the Tor, we got some lunch at this organic food restaurant and enjoyed some yummy Guinness Cake! Finally, we left around 2:30ish and headed back home to Brum. It was a good trip but it's always nice to get home. Although we got back around 5...I decided instead of doing homework I'll watch a few hours of "planet earth"...oops.
This Saturday I’m taking a day trip with some of my SIE friends to Stratford-upon-Avon. I’ll let you know how that goes!
Kirsten
The next morning we woke bright and early to make our way to Stonehenge. Stonehenge is Europe’s most famous prehistoric monument. It was very cool to see and a lot bigger in person that I thought! But since it’s a bunch of rocks, we only spent about 30 minutes there. Next we drove to Avebury. Avebury is known for its stone circles…so in other words, we had a day of taking pictures of big rocks. That night we hung out at the hostel for a bit and then the majority of the SIE group walked down a little path to get down to Bath. We went to a posh pub called “Weathering Spoons” or something like that for a Valentine’s pint. The next morning we took off for Glastonbury. Glastonbury was an interesting town…witchcraft and incents were in every window! It’s mainly known for its Tor, people in the town say it’s ‘no ordinary hill: people develop personal, profound relationships with it.’ I didn’t actually develop a relationship with it besides the fact that I’ll never walk up it again. Apparently, Glastonbury Tor is home to Gwyn ap Nudd, King of the Fairies. Yeah…about that.I went there. After walking the Tor, we got some lunch at this organic food restaurant and enjoyed some yummy Guinness Cake! Finally, we left around 2:30ish and headed back home to Brum. It was a good trip but it's always nice to get home. Although we got back around 5...I decided instead of doing homework I'll watch a few hours of "planet earth"...oops.
This Saturday I’m taking a day trip with some of my SIE friends to Stratford-upon-Avon. I’ll let you know how that goes!
Kirsten
Sunday 8 February 2009
Saturday Feb. 7th: 'Play Day' in London!
WOW! What an amazing day in London! On Friday, Ashley’s friend who is currently studying in Italy came to visit for the weekend and we ended up doing some baking and hanging out. I ended up not getting bed till 2:30…oops. I had my alarm set for 4am…yup I only got 1.5 hours of sleep. We woke up early to catch the 5:50 train to London. We arrived in London about 15 to 8. Ashley’s friend, Tara, had to catch a 6:50 AM flight back to Italy on Sunday morning and we discovered that the last train from London to Birmingham on Saturday was a 9:42 PM….that was going to be a problem. The reason why wanted to get to London so early was to stand in line for 25 pound front row Wicked tickets! We ran off the train, jumped on the tube to Victoria Station and headed towards a “London Travel Help Desk” to get directions to the Apollo Victoria Theatre were Wicked was showing. We went up to the person behind the desk and asked for directions and he was like “Yeah, I’ve never heard of the Apollo Victoria.” Then he motioned his head behind us and we turned to see a huge sign saying “Wicked” and above it in huge letters was “Apollo Victoria.” Hahahaha! So we apologized for being Americans and dashed out the door. We noticed the line was only 15 people long, but we still wanted to just get there and get our spot. Once in line, Ashley and Tara went into the station to get coffee and some rolls. The ticket office wouldn’t open till 10 AM so we had two hours to sit out in the cold…burr….! After two hours of chit chat, coffee, and reading Twilight, they finally opened the doors! We GOT OUR TICKETS! Woot Woot! We paid 25 pounds each for front row tickets to ‘Wicked!’ It was 10:15 AM and after taking a bunch of pictures outside the theatre we headed to the tube to show Tara around London till the 2:30 showing of ‘Wicked.’ It was an absolutely beautiful day! First we went to Buckingham Palace, then to Westminster, and the Parliament to see Big Ben. After a little bit of walking around, we headed back to the theatre to see ‘Wicked!’ AHHHH! On the way there, I was getting so fired up I couldn’t handle it! The show was SPECTACULAR! It was absolutely AMAZING! I can’t wait to see it again someday! We sat front row and I could see everything and….wow! I’m speechless …it was so good. Wow.
After seeing ‘Wicked’ we went to the National Express Bus station hopefully get information on buses going to Birmingham. We had a feeling that there was no way that we were going to make our 9:42 train because our next show that we were going to would get out at that time more or less. So we ended up just buying tickets for the 11pm 3 hour bus ride home, just in case. If we would wait to buy them till we knew for sure that we missed the train, we’d be screwed. I was really proud of myself as far as spending money, before we left to catch our train that morning I made myself eat two big bowls of cereal and pack a few apples, granola bars, and a water bottle full of apple juice. So with those snacks in my bag, I only spent 2.25 pounds on food the entire day! I bought a huge baguette and ate half for lunch along with an apple and granola bar and then for dinner we went to Sainsbury’s again, and I bought lunch meat and a can of coke to wake me up before the “Three Days of Rain’ performance with yup, you guessed it, JAMES MCAVOY! AHHH! We ran from station to station from tube to tube case we were getting so fired up! Once at the theatre and we had our tickets in our hands, we sat down in our seats with anticipation! I was almost going to faint I was getting so excited!
Then…the theatre went dark, everything went quiet…then suddenly, the lights turned on and focused on the stage as the set door opened abruptly and in stumbled in…James McAvoy! I and Ashley were shaking! Right before the lights turned off, we noticed in the program that there were understudies and we were freaking out that they’d use an understudy for James MvAvoy the night we come! But, we were relieved that it was him who we saw! The performance was outstanding and it was sure something else to see James at is craft. He was phenomenal. The acting was brilliant. The story of the play was deep but with a hint of comedy. Wow. We sat in the stalls, floor, and were only 15 rows back…it was a small theatre and it was like he was right in front of me….!!! Ahh! You’re not allowed to take photos or anything during anytime in the theatre…but we did kind of. Oops…. After the show we lingered around to see if, you know, he would just happen to come out. He didn’t but I didn’t care, it was a fantastic show and I still can’t believe I got to see it! The only way I knew about it was reading an article about it on the train one time! After the show, we made our way back to the National Express Bus Station, got on the bus, feel asleep instantly and woke up in Birmingham.
It was a wonderful day and I’ll never forget it! Wow! As I type this I’m listening to the ‘Wicked’ soundtrack…hehehehe.
Well I better go and get some homework done. Icky.
Cheers!
Kirsten
After seeing ‘Wicked’ we went to the National Express Bus station hopefully get information on buses going to Birmingham. We had a feeling that there was no way that we were going to make our 9:42 train because our next show that we were going to would get out at that time more or less. So we ended up just buying tickets for the 11pm 3 hour bus ride home, just in case. If we would wait to buy them till we knew for sure that we missed the train, we’d be screwed. I was really proud of myself as far as spending money, before we left to catch our train that morning I made myself eat two big bowls of cereal and pack a few apples, granola bars, and a water bottle full of apple juice. So with those snacks in my bag, I only spent 2.25 pounds on food the entire day! I bought a huge baguette and ate half for lunch along with an apple and granola bar and then for dinner we went to Sainsbury’s again, and I bought lunch meat and a can of coke to wake me up before the “Three Days of Rain’ performance with yup, you guessed it, JAMES MCAVOY! AHHH! We ran from station to station from tube to tube case we were getting so fired up! Once at the theatre and we had our tickets in our hands, we sat down in our seats with anticipation! I was almost going to faint I was getting so excited!
Then…the theatre went dark, everything went quiet…then suddenly, the lights turned on and focused on the stage as the set door opened abruptly and in stumbled in…James McAvoy! I and Ashley were shaking! Right before the lights turned off, we noticed in the program that there were understudies and we were freaking out that they’d use an understudy for James MvAvoy the night we come! But, we were relieved that it was him who we saw! The performance was outstanding and it was sure something else to see James at is craft. He was phenomenal. The acting was brilliant. The story of the play was deep but with a hint of comedy. Wow. We sat in the stalls, floor, and were only 15 rows back…it was a small theatre and it was like he was right in front of me….!!! Ahh! You’re not allowed to take photos or anything during anytime in the theatre…but we did kind of. Oops…. After the show we lingered around to see if, you know, he would just happen to come out. He didn’t but I didn’t care, it was a fantastic show and I still can’t believe I got to see it! The only way I knew about it was reading an article about it on the train one time! After the show, we made our way back to the National Express Bus Station, got on the bus, feel asleep instantly and woke up in Birmingham.
It was a wonderful day and I’ll never forget it! Wow! As I type this I’m listening to the ‘Wicked’ soundtrack…hehehehe.
Well I better go and get some homework done. Icky.
Cheers!
Kirsten
Sunday 1 February 2009
Second Term Starts and York & Whitby Feild Trip...
Second term started the Monday the 12th. I’m enrolled in 5 classes:
Journal and Memoir
Advanced Writing: Arts and Letters
Organizational Behavior and Management
British Short Stories
British Art and Museums
I love my class schedule! I have class everyday from 9-12:30 and its perfect! I’m usually home by a little past one, and then I have the entire day to go to the gym, get work done, and work for MJ. Speaking of MJ Catering….I worked two weeks past at the Darby Football Game and this time I was in charge of a ‘box.’ They asked if I’d ever worked a box before and I was like “sure I have!”….NOT! Anyway, it was a good day’s work and I enjoyed it very much! Now with MJ I can be a Bar Supervisor and in charge of a Box. Nice.
On Wednesday the 29th for my Arts and Museums class we met at the “The Barber Institute of Fine Arts” on the University of Birmingham campus for class. Before our hour tour of the art Institute, we had time to go through the “Jack Kerouac” exhibition. Here we got to see the original manuscript scroll of Jack Kerouac’s seminal novel. “One the Road,” is displayed here in Britain for the first time! I got to see one of the most iconic literary manuscripts in existence. In April 1951, Kerouac taped together eight twenty-foot strips of teletype paper to form a single scroll some 150 feet long. Feeding it into a portable typewriter, he began composing the work that was to become the bible of the post-war Beat Generation. He completed the novel in only twenty days or rapid. Continuous typing, fuelled chiefly by caffeine! It was very cool!
On Friday the 30th we left Tennis Courts at precisely 8am to make our two hour journey to York. We first stopped at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park before dropping out stuff off at the York International Youth Hostel. Naturally I frolicked around the park and imitated the various sculptures. It was rather windy and cold but still a fun time! From the Park we when to the youth hostel to get unloaded and situated. We had about two hours to just relax and hang out or wonder through York till the group would meet at the York Minster at 3pm for a guided tour. The York Minster was absolutely beautiful! York Minster is a Gothic cathedral and one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The Minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York which is the second-highest office of the Church of England. Its formal title is “The Cathedral and Metropolitan Church of St. Peter in York.” It was constructed in 1338 and contains the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the world. In its existence, it’s been through three fires but still stands today as beautiful as ever!
After the tour, we got the option to stay for “Evensong” at 5:15. Evensong is a liturgy in the use in the Anglican Communion and is celebrated in the late afternoon or evening. It’s commonly known as Evensong when the pray is rendered chorally, where most of the service is sung. It was the boys and men’s choir singing this night and it was beautiful! I could listen to them sing the “Lords Prayer” forever!
After evensong we went back to the hostel to make some pasta! We decided to bring pasta, sauce, and food form home and cook in the hostel instead of spending money to go out and eat what a fantastic idea! The next day was a free day! We slept in a bit and then at one met up with the group to go to the “Jorvik Viking Centre.” “Jorvik’ is the Viking name for York, and this museum is actually the site of a number of 10th century Viking buildings which they are still excavating. The ground is very moist and spongy, which has helped reserve wood, leather, and cloth artifacts that would have normally disintegrated by now. It was very interesting! They had this ride that you took through a ‘wax’ set up of how it would look and SMELL (icky) like during that time. From the skeletons discovered in there excavations at this site, they made the wax people from the profile of their skulls and what they would have looked like through the use of amazing technology…..WOW! After the museum a few of use wondered around York for a few hours before going back to the hostel to make another cheap dinner. After dinner, the majority of us were pretty tired from the long day and we watched “Underworld” in the TV lounge. It was fantastic!
This morning we woke up bright and early for some full English breakfast provided by the hostel and got on the coach for a two hour ride to Whitby, in Northern Yorkshire. There was an OPTION to take a 7 mile hike along the coast from Robin Hoods Bay to Whitby…it was snowy, windy, and really really cold…I opted out thank you! About 25 people from the group took the hike and the rest of us wandered around Whitby. From the people on the hike, they said it was a good time and they got some beautiful pictures, BUT it was REALLY REALLY cold. Yup, I made a good decision. Once we dropped of the crew stupid enough to hike, we went to the Whitby Abbey Ruins and it was really cool! Did I mention we kind of jumped the brink fence and snuck in….. A few of us just wondered around Whitby for a few hours before catching the coach to go back to Brum. In Whitby I found a good sized, not too big and not too small, backpacking backpack for Spring Break. WOOT WOOT! Whitby is known for is yummy fish n’ chips, so naturally we just had to get some! Hehehe! They were right, it was delicious! After fish ‘n chips we went to a small café and got some hot coca cause we were really cold! Burrrrr…Then it was time to get on the coach for a four hour trip back home. As I type, a good chunk of my SIE group is at the “Bar One” a mile up the road watching the Super Bowl….no thank you. It’s 12:23am and I’m soooo tired! The game wouldn’t get done till about 4am my time and they aren’t even showing the commercials…well, it makes sense…we are in England and the commercials they play are American commercials, but still!
Well I best bet to bed! I have a long week ahead of me! Oh yeah, this weekend my and Ashley are taking a day trip down to London on Saturday to see a matinee of “Wicked” and evening show of “Three Days of Rain,” which is a NEW play with, yup you guessed it, JAMES MCAVOY!! AHHHHH! I’ll let you know how that goes! I’m getting so excited!
Goodnight!
Kirsten
Journal and Memoir
Advanced Writing: Arts and Letters
Organizational Behavior and Management
British Short Stories
British Art and Museums
I love my class schedule! I have class everyday from 9-12:30 and its perfect! I’m usually home by a little past one, and then I have the entire day to go to the gym, get work done, and work for MJ. Speaking of MJ Catering….I worked two weeks past at the Darby Football Game and this time I was in charge of a ‘box.’ They asked if I’d ever worked a box before and I was like “sure I have!”….NOT! Anyway, it was a good day’s work and I enjoyed it very much! Now with MJ I can be a Bar Supervisor and in charge of a Box. Nice.
On Wednesday the 29th for my Arts and Museums class we met at the “The Barber Institute of Fine Arts” on the University of Birmingham campus for class. Before our hour tour of the art Institute, we had time to go through the “Jack Kerouac” exhibition. Here we got to see the original manuscript scroll of Jack Kerouac’s seminal novel. “One the Road,” is displayed here in Britain for the first time! I got to see one of the most iconic literary manuscripts in existence. In April 1951, Kerouac taped together eight twenty-foot strips of teletype paper to form a single scroll some 150 feet long. Feeding it into a portable typewriter, he began composing the work that was to become the bible of the post-war Beat Generation. He completed the novel in only twenty days or rapid. Continuous typing, fuelled chiefly by caffeine! It was very cool!
On Friday the 30th we left Tennis Courts at precisely 8am to make our two hour journey to York. We first stopped at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park before dropping out stuff off at the York International Youth Hostel. Naturally I frolicked around the park and imitated the various sculptures. It was rather windy and cold but still a fun time! From the Park we when to the youth hostel to get unloaded and situated. We had about two hours to just relax and hang out or wonder through York till the group would meet at the York Minster at 3pm for a guided tour. The York Minster was absolutely beautiful! York Minster is a Gothic cathedral and one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The Minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York which is the second-highest office of the Church of England. Its formal title is “The Cathedral and Metropolitan Church of St. Peter in York.” It was constructed in 1338 and contains the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the world. In its existence, it’s been through three fires but still stands today as beautiful as ever!
After the tour, we got the option to stay for “Evensong” at 5:15. Evensong is a liturgy in the use in the Anglican Communion and is celebrated in the late afternoon or evening. It’s commonly known as Evensong when the pray is rendered chorally, where most of the service is sung. It was the boys and men’s choir singing this night and it was beautiful! I could listen to them sing the “Lords Prayer” forever!
After evensong we went back to the hostel to make some pasta! We decided to bring pasta, sauce, and food form home and cook in the hostel instead of spending money to go out and eat what a fantastic idea! The next day was a free day! We slept in a bit and then at one met up with the group to go to the “Jorvik Viking Centre.” “Jorvik’ is the Viking name for York, and this museum is actually the site of a number of 10th century Viking buildings which they are still excavating. The ground is very moist and spongy, which has helped reserve wood, leather, and cloth artifacts that would have normally disintegrated by now. It was very interesting! They had this ride that you took through a ‘wax’ set up of how it would look and SMELL (icky) like during that time. From the skeletons discovered in there excavations at this site, they made the wax people from the profile of their skulls and what they would have looked like through the use of amazing technology…..WOW! After the museum a few of use wondered around York for a few hours before going back to the hostel to make another cheap dinner. After dinner, the majority of us were pretty tired from the long day and we watched “Underworld” in the TV lounge. It was fantastic!
This morning we woke up bright and early for some full English breakfast provided by the hostel and got on the coach for a two hour ride to Whitby, in Northern Yorkshire. There was an OPTION to take a 7 mile hike along the coast from Robin Hoods Bay to Whitby…it was snowy, windy, and really really cold…I opted out thank you! About 25 people from the group took the hike and the rest of us wandered around Whitby. From the people on the hike, they said it was a good time and they got some beautiful pictures, BUT it was REALLY REALLY cold. Yup, I made a good decision. Once we dropped of the crew stupid enough to hike, we went to the Whitby Abbey Ruins and it was really cool! Did I mention we kind of jumped the brink fence and snuck in….. A few of us just wondered around Whitby for a few hours before catching the coach to go back to Brum. In Whitby I found a good sized, not too big and not too small, backpacking backpack for Spring Break. WOOT WOOT! Whitby is known for is yummy fish n’ chips, so naturally we just had to get some! Hehehe! They were right, it was delicious! After fish ‘n chips we went to a small café and got some hot coca cause we were really cold! Burrrrr…Then it was time to get on the coach for a four hour trip back home. As I type, a good chunk of my SIE group is at the “Bar One” a mile up the road watching the Super Bowl….no thank you. It’s 12:23am and I’m soooo tired! The game wouldn’t get done till about 4am my time and they aren’t even showing the commercials…well, it makes sense…we are in England and the commercials they play are American commercials, but still!
Well I best bet to bed! I have a long week ahead of me! Oh yeah, this weekend my and Ashley are taking a day trip down to London on Saturday to see a matinee of “Wicked” and evening show of “Three Days of Rain,” which is a NEW play with, yup you guessed it, JAMES MCAVOY!! AHHHHH! I’ll let you know how that goes! I’m getting so excited!
Goodnight!
Kirsten
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