London at Last

My whole reasoning for coming to the U.K. to do a year abroad was because of my ultimate desire to see London.  I have loved it from afar for so long that actually getting to be there was surreal.  Consider my luck when I realized I can now love it from only 40 minutes away, an easy train ride that I plan to do often now that I know how accessible it is.  Me and the other two Canadians packed our bags once again, mainly with food, and left on Friday for London, we spent day one shopping on Oxford Street, although I did not buy anything.  Emilie, Sam and Ryan were on their way in from Hungary so I met up with them once they landed and we said goodbye to Nicole and Kristi since we were luckily all staying with friends but could not all stay together in one place.  For dinner we met up with some of sam's friends at a small pub called Waxi O'connors and got to see the Piccadilly at night with all its glory.  Day two in London was better then the first, we toured around and saw Big Ben, Westminster Abbey (I cried when I saw it), Hyde Park (where there were hundreds of birds and swans that came up close to you), Buckingham Palace, Princess Diana's Memorial Fountain, and the London Eye although we did not go on it.  We took a train back to Colchester late Saturday and Emilie and Ryan came with us to visit in my town for a couple of nights. They left yesterday to head to Morocco, I am disappointed I could not go with them but I am excited for this weekend which is Halloween and my costume is ready and waiting. 

things that continue to confuse me, and probably always will

1. What way to look when crossing the road
2. Which side of the sidewalk to walk on, is it the same as the side of the road they drive on or the same as us back home?
3. Why you have to flip a switch on the wall in order to use the oven.
4.  How there are no building names on campus just numbers and in order to find your class you just have to walk into a building find a room number and start from there.
5. The buses all are from different companies so if you buy a bus pass you cant use it on any bus other then the one you bought a pass from.
6. The word pants means underwear and trousers mean pants so when I discuss how long it took me to pick out what pair of pants to wear out I get tons of weird looks
7. Traffic circles, if they drive on the opposite side of the road shouldnt they be going around clockwise, but yet some people go clockwise while others go counter clockwise, either way I still don't know which way to look when crossing at a traffic circle.
8. They only have one type of tea, and its called tea..so what is it exactly?
9. I can't seem to find normal marble cheese
10. The elevator, or shall I say lift, in the library is constently moving with no doors so you are just supposed to walk on and off on whichever floor you need

Brighton-"London by the sea"

Our first real adventure in the U.K. was a trip to Brighton this past weekend.  The took a five hour coach in the morning headed south of London and arrived mid Saturday.  Our Hostel was called the Smart Sea View Hostel with a view of the water from the lobby, our room unfortunately did not have a view.  The first day we walked along the beach and visited the Brighton pier where hundreds of seagulls scared us away so we then had a casual yet classy sea side dinner at a small pub/restaurant.  Our night was very low key but it was much enjoyed after the busy week we had.  Sunday morning we packed up early, after filling ourselves with the Hostels complimentary breakfast, to go explore the town.  We did some shopping and got to see the lanes which is the more expensive stores.  It is a small town but in its center is the Royal Pavilion, a home built for the late King George IV.  We went on a tour of the Royal Pavilion however no photography was allowed inside the building which was a shame since the place was gorgeous and I wanted to share it with you all.  Every wall was decorated in a ravish Chinese wall paper, the ceilings were adorned with magnificent chandeliers and carvings of dragons and snakes.  We learnt that although the Pavilion was decorated with an ancient Chinese flare no one had yet to travel there and every piece of art was simply made from a photo and idea of what it would be like.  We ended our trip to Brighton with an early dinner of fish and chips on the waterfront.  Our trip seemed to go smoothly without one of my catastrophe stories however that changed upon our arrival home.  the next day i received a phone call from the Hostel that we had not paid for our stay.  I'll explain- we paid online for our hostel and the receipt had said we paid the full amount, which is odd since you usually just pay a booking fee.  So we brought the receipt so not to be charged twice and they accepted it, even making a photo copy, but apparently we were only charged the booking fee.  So we stayed in a hostel with free breakfast for the small sum of 6 pounds for the four of us.  Wasn't intentional but we lucked out big time.  This weekend my friends from Hungary whom I've already visited are coming to England to see me.  Tomorrow I will head into London with the other two Canadians to meet them and stay one night then we will all make our way back to Colchester late Saturday.

Thanks Giving

Not being home for the Holidays can get tough but I have fourteen new friends to be thankful for this year because they made this Thanks Giving better then anything I could have asked for.  I have whole heartedly plunged myself into the culture here in England all of which I have enjoyed but on Monday I was able to share a bit of home with everyone here.  So this year I am thankful for my family, for believing in me and supporting me to go on this exchange, and I am thankful for everyone in flat ten, my family away from home.

another little tidbit of the day that I forgot to add is that I set off the fire alarm in my building from cooking rice.  It is definitely an event to note for the books since no one has ever accomplished burning rice before I showed up.  The best part is that most of the people nap here around seven at night so when we were all evacuated outside to the rain most of the people were in their pajamas wrapped in blankets.  I'm just rolling in four leaf clovers and horse shoes

Week one in Colchester

This week has gone by really fast, it scares me to think how fast this whole year could go by.  I have had such an eventful week getting settled into my flat, picking my courses and meeting new people.  Today specifically was the freshers fair where all school groups set up tables around the main court so that the new students can see what there is and join the ones they want to.  I joined the v team which is a volunteer organization and the travelers society.  The travelers society should be pretty sweet since they organize mini trips around the U.K. and we all go together on a bus.  The night life here on campus is also very social, they have had rappers and dj's and themed parties every night at the club on campus. Yes there is a club on campus and its actually really fun, on Wednesday night a bunch of us went to the masquerade ball that was being held there.  It was fun dressing up and definitely something I have never been to before.  Tomorrow already is my trip to Cambridge.  We meet at 9:30 in the morning and get back around 6:30 at night, however we only actually get four hours in the town.  On Monday I start class which will be weird starting off so late in the year but I am excited to meet my teachers and start learning again. 

Finally Colchester!

I have arrived! After all that wondering about what my school will be like, what my town will look like, and who I will meet I finally have answers.  I landed in Gatwick airport on Sunday to the sun shining, the most gorgeous day you can imagine.  I took a shuttle to Heathrow airport so that I could catch a school shuttle straight into Colchester.  I was seated next to an Italian girl who I have exchanged numbers with since she too would like to travel around this next semester.  Arriving into Colchester was so picturesque and beyond exciting I couldnt wait to explore.  Everyone was so helpful and organized in getting us settled into our rooms.  My room is huge and it has its own bathroom which will be very beneficial.  I share a kitchen with five other flat mates, three boys and three girls(me being one of them).  Campus is very easy to get around and absolutely gorgeous with a pond and swans included.  there are three other Uvic girls from back home and the first day we arranged dinner together and have been hanging out ever since.  Day two we waisted no time getting off campus to go grocery shopping and get some things for our rooms.  The four of us had purchased so much we could barely walk across the parking lot to the bus stop where we were told by the bus driver he wasnt leaving for another hour.  When we were plotting our next move he approached us again and personally chauffeured us back to school with all of our stuff.  Today we went exploring into town, cant even begin to explain how amazing it is.  Everywhere you look is postcard material and the shopping is limitless.  I wish you all could see it for yourselves I know you'd love it too.  The rest of this week we will explore more and finish orientation before beginning class on Monday.  This weekend is a planned trip to Cambridge but other then that the possibilities are limitless.