So I Bought A Guitar!

I really couldn’t be more excited about this! I got to play a bunch on it yesterday and now Vincent (that’s my new guitar’s name.. haha… yay) is just chillin’ in my dorm room with me. So that’s pretty much the most exciting thing that’s happened as of late. Yesterday we ventured out as a group into Norwich which was a pretty stupid idea considering it was Saturday and EVERYONE from UEA was crowded into the tiny little town of Norwich. It took us about 45 minutes to get there by bus (its usually only about a 10 minute ride)! When we finally got in we got to walk around and look for guitars, among other things. Since guitar shopping was the first thing we did, I got stuck carrying a guitar around in a box for the rest of the day!

After walking around for a while we decided that we needed some dinner, so we went to this place called Nando’s which was (apparently) a Portuguese chicken place! Anyway, you could choose how spicy you wanted your chicken, so almost everyone went for Medium, but Heather and I, being thoroughly New Mexican decided to try the ‘Hot’ Chicken. Dan, being braver than the rest, tried Hot also. Everyone was pretty happy with their mediums but Dan and Heather were having a bit of a task keeping up with the hot. I was quite proud of myself for not being burned by the “hot” chicken in England. Sorry, that was a useless story, but I thought it was funny.

Anyway, this morning Lucy and I tried out King’s Church in Norwich. Its kinda cool, the CU (the Christian Union) has this thing where at the beginning of the semester they have a handful of leaders come to campus to take people to different churches around the city so that you can try them out and see which one is right for you. So Lucy and I tried King’s Church, and unfortunately neither of us really liked it. Oh well, we’ll still keep searching for a church and in the meantime we’ll be going to the CU meeting on Tuesday nights.

Well, I didn’t sleep much last night so I think I’m going to take a nap before I tackle my homework, but I just thought I’d write a quick blog and upload a few more pictures. Sorry this blog isn’t very coherent or interesting… I’m so tired! Anyway, check out the new photos and I’ll be back out of my sleep deprivation soon and write a proper blog with something interesting in it. Hope all is well! Missing you all more and more each day…. That was cheesy. Sorry. Haha :)

NEW PICTURES:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13447587@N05/sets/72157602208485540/

How Many of the 50 States Can YOU Name?

This was the game of the evening last night, and I am pleased to announce that I was able to get all 50 in about 5-10 minutes… My wonderful British flatmates, however, took a full two hours between about 6 of them to get 48 states! And with a bit of help from me, I might add! I will say that I was thoroughly entertained, however. They were coming up with such states that I’d never known were states like… New England, East Virginia, Nantucket, and even Miami. Haha, we all had a good laugh at that one.

So school is in full force… kinda. I just finished my first week and it would seem that this semester is going to consist of me attending overly long lectures/seminars once a week and reading so many plays that I won’t know what to do with myself. Fortunately I have the next five or six days to read a play, Poetics by Aristotle, and memorize a sonnet. Oh, BUT, I’m so excited because I have an audition for a short play on Saturday! And I signed up for 2 more auditions so hopefully I’ll get cast in something! If I don’t, I think I might try to work backstage anyway and see if I can get involved.

I almost completely missed one of my classes today though. This was a bit of an adventure. So I was supposed to have my Classical Theater class at 2pm until 4pm on Thursdays and its supposed to be in this new little building that has been built on the FAR end of campus. It literally took me almost 20 minutes just to walk down there from my flat! So I get there right at 2pm, and no one is there except for this guy who’s in one of my other theater classes. So we start chatting and we’re both wondering where everyone is. Twenty minutes goes by and still no one has shown up. So we’re both getting a little bit worried and we look around in all the rest of the class rooms, but to no avail. So we go to the library to check emails and make sure we didn’t miss some important announcement, but again no luck. Running out of options, we go over to the Literature office, the professors office, and finally the office of Undergrad Programs. The nice guy there, who had no idea what was going on, suggested we go check the drama studio. So, by this time its about 3pm and we’re walking to the drama studio. In the drama studio we find a piece of paper saying that the Classical Theater class is in the green room! So we both walked into class an hour late! It kinda sucked, but at least we were in it together.

Everything else seems to be going well. I’ve been getting along splendidly with my flatmates. Last night, me and a few of the girls all shoved ourselves into my dorm room and attempted to watch Gosford Park on my laptop. Haha, shoving five of us on my bed that’s just about the right size for me alone was quite amusing. It was good bonding experience, though. And then we ended up talking to these guys through my window (I’m on the 3^rd floor) who were walking around in the street outside. The only reason they caught our attention was because one of them was dressed up in a cow suit! Why, you ask? I have no idea. I don’t think he knew either. It was funny though, because he heard my accent and immediately said “you’re not from around here!” To which I promptly replied, in the worst and most posh British accent I could muster, “Oh but I am! I was just affecting an American accent!” I don’t have any idea if he believed me (probably not) but we all got a good laugh out of it. Anna and Emma were telling me that they can hear themselves starting to get a bit of an American accent already. I’m spreading the American love!

Jesus Is Not An American

Duh, right?

No, but seriously, we get so caught up in thinking that Jesus was a white guy who spoke in English with an American accent because that’s how the pastor reads the Bible or that’s what you hear in your head when you read the Bible. May I just say that hearing a sermon with a British accent makes you realize that Jesus was NOT American; and consequently nor was He British! So, big deal, right? Nah, I went to the Christian Union on campus last night with Lucy (the other Christian girl in my flat) and that was pretty cool. A little bit weird though because we didn’t really know anyone, and in a setting like that its really hard to just meet someone. But they’re having a BBQ where a bunch of church leaders from around Norwich will be giving a small little talk about their church, so hopefully I’ll (well, me and Lucy) be able to find a church in the next week or two. Anyway, the point about Jesus not being American is lame, I know, but it just kinda hit me like a ton of bricks last night while we were singing hymns and other songs that we sing in America, and it was like a sort of calming revelation that there are other people 5000 miles away from what I call home who worship the same God that I do. It was heart warming. Sounds cheesy, but still, just thought I’d share.

So, on a lighter note, it rained. Finally, it has rained in England and I have been caught in it! I wish I had pictures, but I didn’t really want to whip out the camera while I was walking all by myself back to my dorm just trying not to freeze in the cold and rain. But, I finally got to use my umbrella, so I’m thankful I actually bought one.

Classes started today for me. My first class is 3 freaking hours long every Wednesday, starting at 9am. I slept like poop last night though because I was afraid my alarm wasn’t going to go off and I’d miss class. So, as a result, I would wake up every few hours and check my phone to make sure I hadn’t slept to late. Problem was I checked my phone at about 1:30am, and obviously that was a bit early. Class went well though, I think it should be fun to act with British people, and hopefully stretch my horizons a bit as I’m completely and totally out of my element. There’s also a Drama Society (a sort of club thing) on campus that I’m hoping to join. Hopefully if I can get involved in that, I’ll be able to work in shows and audition and such. I know I’m going to have a lot of reading this semester, what with my Classical Theater class, and acting class, and Introduction to World Dramatic Literatures, but still, I’m not IN class near as much out here as I am back home.

I also think that everyone should be thoroughly proud of me as I have started to cook for myself! Well… “cook” might be a bit of a strong word. Let me rephrase: I have started to prepare my own humble food. So far, it’s mostly consisted of peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, but I think I’m going to make pasta tonight, and I made some pretty good chicken last night. Oh, and Mom, this is for you, I’ve even helped clean. I’ve swept our kitchen floor and kept both my room and my dishes clean in the kitchen! (don’t have a heart attack…) Laundry, however, is going to be a different story. The launderette (as they call it) is so ridiculously expensive, so I’m trying to make the clothes I brought last as long as they possibly can before I have to venture down there.

Anyway, that’s mostly everything for today. I’m going to go see Motion City Soundtrack in concert in Norwich on Thursday, Oct 4 so that should be loads of fun. I’ve even convinced a few of my flatmates to come with! Alright, well hope everything is going well out in the States. Things are going well here!

OH! And I finally know what my mailing address is, so if you want that, hit me up with an email and I’ll send it to you. AND, i attempted to teach some of the girls how to swing dance. "Attempted" being the key word here....

PS – more pictures should be up in the next few days. I’m having some issues with my flickr account so I think I might switch over to photobucket… we’ll see…. I’ll keep you updated.

More Eventful Monday...

So another day has come and gone, and this one was quite good. So Fresher’s Week is in full force but seeing as how I’m not the biggest fan of hip hop I decided to give up my tickets to Sunday night’s bash as well as Monday’s. Both nights a few of us ended up staying in and drinking wine in the kitchen whilst talking about this, that, and the other. Sunday night was pretty chill, we ended up talking about nothing really in particular, and seeing as it was all girls, much of it was riddled by comments about this boyfriend or that boyfriend and whatnot.

However, Monday proved slightly more eventful. Seeing as how I had basically wasted my Sunday (besides getting to talk to my mom and dad on the internet which was quite nice), I decided to make a bit more use out of my Monday. So after sleeping in WAY too late I decided to venture out and see if I could find this secondhand shop that was supposed to be within walking distance of my flat. It turned out to be a bit of a letdown so I made my way into Norwich via the bus system that I still don’t really understand.

First, I stopped a small do-it-yourself type store where I was able to buy some pans and utensils that I had needed. Well upon paying for my stuff and leaving the store I realized that I had lost my bus ticket! I freaked out looking for it and finally resolved myself to the fact that I was going to have to buy another one (4 more freaking pounds!! The busses are so ridiculously expensive here….) Anyway, I decided that I should have one last look into my bag and there it was, wrapped in a towel I had bought. I still don’t have any idea how that happened, but long story short, I didn’t have to buy another ticket.

So I made it into Norwich, finally, and walked around by myself jamming to my ipod and forgetting to walk on the left side of the walkway (haha.. .weird) and I bought all kinds of weird stuff from these little shops. I also got a cellphone today too. And my number is nine digits long! Haha, its weird. But I got to call a few people including my mom which was AWESOME. Hearing familiar voices was a great thing, and it really is amazing how much easier traveling and studying abroad is made solely by technology.

Anyway, after that little escapade I came back to my dorm and was able to make my own food (finally!), and that sandwich could not have tasted better! Anyway, like I said, I decided not to go out again tonight so a few of us ended up staying in. What started out as just mindless conversation, somehow turned into awkward confessions of very odd things, and that eventually morphed into a religious debate, if you will. We ended up sitting at the kitchen table arguing/discussing religion, Christianity, atheism, creation, and all KINDS of related material. It was so amazing! And fortunately it stayed simply a discussion and no one got offended or pissed off. I have learned, however, that there is another girl in my flat who is a Christian! And talking about stuff like that with people who don’t believe what you believe forces you to reexamine any faith that you did or didn’t have. It forces you to find out why you believe what you believe and whether or not you should keep believing it. I honestly am thoroughly thankful to God that we had that conversation. I’m not entirely sure that we got anywhere but it was good nonetheless.

Anyway, that was the exciting part of the night. Tomorrow I’ve got just a few more things to sort out and then classes start on Wednesday. Pray for me and wish me luck!

Oh, and I really have started talking like them! I said that something was rubbish the other day and I can hear myself wanting to say “properly”! Haha… not that you care, of course. OH, and I tried a pickled onion sort of chip thing. It was like Funions, but with a pickled flavor. They were weird….

Splatterday

There’s just so freaking much to tell all of you! Today the British students moved into the dorms! I’m all excited because we sat in our kitchen and just talked for a while today, so we got to know them a bit. There’s 8 of us in my flat, and then in Heather’s, across the hall, there’s less but I’m not sure how many. We’ve got 3 guys and 5 girls, three of which (including me) are American. Its so fun to listen to them talk because they go so fast and half the time I don’t understand their slang. Fortunately for me, and the other Americans, they find it slightly amusing that we don’t really know what they’re talking about so they are willing to explain if I’m dumb enough to ask. My reasoning is that I’d rather just ask and make a fool out of myself rather than wait til I get into a situation where I REALLY mess something up.

School doesn’t start til Wednesday so we’ve got a bit more time to get used to the campus and the town. We’re going to bum around Norwich again tomorrow and see what other kinds of shops we can find. Hopefully we’ll be able to find a secondhand shop and a music store so I can get some pots and pans and other utensils and hopefully buy a freaking guitar! We went to a sort of mini grocery store today that’s actually attached to a gas station (which out here is called “petrol”…. For calling it “gas” I was sharply reprimanded!) and tried to buy a few things so we could make our own food. The food out here (and everything, really) is so amazingly expensive and they don’t have any sort of meal plan. Plus, mostly all they have is over priced cafeteria food and sandwiches.

Anyway, tonight was interesting because, now that the freshmen are here (or “first years”), they have what is called “Fresher’s Week”. It’s a week of random things for the freshmen to do, mostly all involving alcohol, loud music, and lights. Anyway, we went down to the LCR (Large Common Room) on campus and danced a bit and had a drink or two. I must say, it was a bit amusing being one of the sober ones. But, now its 2am and I’m wide awake from all the music and dancing. Oh, by the way, its confirmed, I really am a terrible dancer. Haha, oh well.

Ok, well that’s mostly it. Oh! Somehow I had hot water this morning in my shower. Seeing as it was Saturday I didn’t think anyone from maintenance was going to come fix it, but either they did or the darn thing fixed itself! No idea… but it made this morning quite a bit more pleasant.

Well, email me and let me know how things are back in the states. Miss you all!

PICTURES!!!

Hey, sorry it took me so long to get all these pictures up, but at least here's some from Norwich and our first day at UEA (University of East Anglia). Check 'em out and let me know what you think. Just click on the link and it'll take you to my Flickr account.

http://flickr.com/photos/13447587@N05/


Just a note about today... we had orientation and i've got my class schedule all figured out. Classes start on Wednesday, so that should be fun. I'm only taking 3 classes per semester so hopefully it'll be rather laid back. I've met loads and loads of new people from all over the world. Tonight they had a little social thing for all the international students and after everyone went down to the pub to hang out and sing karaoke. It was highly amusing. I had a lot of fun talking to this girl from France too... unfortunately i can't remember her name.

Well tomorrow I think the home students actually move in so hopefully there'll be some British people living in my flat with me. My neighbor is from Pennsylvania... which is exciting.... but not British!

Ok, thats pretty much it.

Hope all is well!

England... Day Two

Hello all! I know I said I'd be blogging every week but there's just so much to tell you all! Ok, so lets just get right down to it. First, my dorm. I'm starting to get used to it, I put some pictures up on my posting board thing so at least I can see familiar faces. I unpacked all my stuff but I don't really have a dresser. I've got a closet with 4 shelves and enough space to hang maybe 30 things… but I only have 8 hangers. Haha, oh well. It works the way I did it.

My bed, however, is a different story. First, the said that for international students for 20 GBP (Great Britain Pounds… I don't know how to do the symbol on my computer), anyway, for 20 GBP (~$38) they'd give you a bedding pack. So I'm imagining a pillow, sheets, a comforter, y'know? Well I got all those things but it's a pillow like the ones on airplanes… but bigger. I don't have a fitted sheet to cover my mattress, which is really just foam, and the comforter is made outta the same crap as the pillow! So I was all hurt about it at first, but I slept in it all last night like a rock! So I think its going to be just fine.

On a different note, I can't figure out how to work the darn heater. I think I'm going to talk to the people about it tomorrow… maybe I'm just doing it wrong. Oh, and this morning my shower decided it only wanted to get hot for about 10 seconds. So I took the coldest shower I've ever taken in my life this morning. It was a new experience.

BUT, now I'm gonna get all philosophical for you, ok? I decided that the shower is a metaphor. I'm standing there in the freezing cold thinking, "y'know, I could just NOT take a shower… but I really need one". So instead of wussing out and not taking a shower, I braved it with the reasoning that I really did need a shower, and that cold water isn't bad, its just not idea or what I'm used to. So, I figured that's how it is here in the UK. Sure, the cold water of not knowing anybody and being away from home and leaving everything that is familiar and "normal" isn't pleasant, but its not bad. Its not a bad thing that for a teensy tiny split second it crossed my mind to come home and then I realized….Its just water! And eventually the water is going to be warm again and I won't even remember that I didn't want to take a shower that day. So.. I had a moment in the shower. Haha, not that you care, of course.

Anyway, we went to Norwich today. Heather and I walked around and found all kinds of stuff. We walked through department stores and found a little bakery where we ate. I'm also trying to get used to the way they talk. You'd think it wouldn't be that hard but I've already had a few instances where i've been sharply reminded I'm not in America. This lady asked me if I "was queing?" which means, "are you in line?" and another ask me, "are you parked in our car park?" which with an accent just sounds like "ark in ark ark?" It was kinda amusing....

We also took a guided open top bus tour which was kinda amusing and very interesting. Apparently there are more old church buildings in Norwich than London, York, and some other city combined… or at least there used to be (that's over fifty)! AND they've got like a bazillion pubs. The tour guide said that at one point (when all the pubs were still standing) there was a pub for every day of the week IN A GIVEN YEAR (365!!) and a church for every Sunday! I thought that was amusing.

Anyway, orientation is tomorrow, so hopefully I'll get to meet some new people. Oh, and there's a meeting for this drama society on campus on Wednesday, so I'm hoping to go to that and try to get involved. Its so nice not to have to work around a job! Well, so far, I haven't met a lot of British people because the home university students move in on Saturday. Heather and I did, however, meet a girl from Australia. We went to the pub, and she thought it was funny that we were so excited to be able to drink legally.

Ok, well I think that's it. I'm sure more will follow! Miss you all!

We Made It!!

Well, we made it! England is just as beautiful as I thought it would be and now I’m just hoping I enjoy it! I must say I have extremely mixed emotions right now. I couldn’t be happier that this is where I am, and this is where God has allowed me to be, but I’m far away from home, out of contact with anyone I truly know, deprived of sleep, and I can’t get my internet or phone card to work. (Once I post this, that means I finally got internet).

Anyway, thanks for all your prayers, the trip was as smooth as it possibly could have been. We’ve been traveling now for the past 20 hours on an extremely sporadic sleep schedule. Flying out of the ‘Burque was good, nothing to report; got in to Dallas and on to Chicago just fine. It was flying out of Chicago that was a little bit weird. I knew that was the last time my phone was going to work, so I called my parents and texted a few people. The flight from Chicago to London ended up being only 6 ½ hours instead of the 8 that our itinerary had said it would be. We got in to London and went through customs (or immigration… whatever they call it here) without any hassle.

The trip really wasn’t that interesting until we got to London. The people from UEA were supposed to meet us at 8am London Time (1am in abq), and then we were to leave by 8:30. That didn’t happen. We showed up early and walking out of the terminal at Heathrow were just mounds and mounds of people all holding signs with names on them. Of course, we didn’t see one for us, so we just sat down and waited. Finally we ran into the two girls that were “collecting” us. It turned out to be a total of about fifty international students on the bus going to Norwich. So, with lots of time to kill, (we didn’t leave Heathrow til 10am) we all started chatting.

We met a guy from China, another girl from Hong Kong, a chick from Mexico, one from Australia, and then there was a handful of Americans also! Anyway, they’re all pretty cool, we got a picture of us girls sitting at Heathrow. So we finally get on the bus to go to Norwich, and everyone’s been pretty cool so far… a bit aloof, but nice. I think I’m just overly emotional right now because I’m so sleep deprived. Driving over here, though, was pretty cool. Like I said, England is just beautiful. Its weird because one minute you’ll be driving and all you’ll see is a really green forest out the window (but no pine trees!) and then it’ll just be farm land! I even saw sheep!! And the houses and buildings are just like they are in pictures: gorgeous and old. No stucco here…

Well, I’m sitting in my room, I finally got my laptop charged, and I gotta say that my room is a little bit ghetto. Its got a big desk (which is nice) and then I’ve got a not-so-comfortable bed, a little dresser/closet type thing, and a “shower pod”. Yes, a “shower pod”! It’s a combination of a shower, toilet, and sink (or should I say washbasin?) and its got this goofy little door that opens to it. Anyway, I really should set up my room, and I think Heather and I are going to venture into Norwich and see what the town’s like. I’ll try to post this as soon as I can get my internet up and running, but just know that I love you all and miss you already!

Oh, and PS. I got in trouble for calling this guy “sir” but I’m not sure why…. Something about working for a living… he had an accent…. I didn’t really catch it all.

Leaving in 4 Days.

So, i figured it would be easiest to blog about the trip. (yes, i'm copying jimmy.... so shoot me) so here is where you can come to find out all things england... or something.

haha, anyway. leave me comments, look at my pictures, and i'll try to update once a week or so. sound good?

pray for me and wish me luck!

PS. plane leaves sept 18 at 930 in the morning.... woohoo!!