Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving, the staff at Harlaxton tried their best to have a traditional meal. Even though the whole day it didn’t seem like it was Thanksgiving at all. We had classes Monday-Thursday, and no matter how much we tried to talk our teacher out of not having class on Thursday, we still had class. The meal was okay, though at my family dinner we don’t serve turkey, we always have ham and I missed that. I really wish I could have been home for Thanksgiving, because my mom went to Texas to visit her mom, and other family that we don’t get regularly get to see.

Friday, I went to see “A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream” performed by a ballet company from Wales. It was really cool and I really enjoyed it. Saturday, I went to see “New Moon” again! The second time was better because there weren’t as many little kids freaking out when certain actors came on. Then, I went with a few friends to The Blue Pig for a drink before heading back to the manor. We had a slumber party in my room, which worked perfectly because my roommate was gone for the weekend.

Since most of my classes are over, I have no homework to do, so on Sunday I did nothing but relax! This week marks the last day of classes, and I can’t wait till they are over! The past couple of days there have been a few programs, for instances there was a choir concert that I went to, and the tree trimming where we decorated the huge tree in the great hall. That was fun!

The other day we had a briefing for the Italy trip. The more I think about it, I really just want to go home. I am ready to be stateside! Tomorrow, is convocation where we get our certificates for attending Harlaxton High School…oh, I mean College. Then a nice dinner – and the last night the bistro will be open. Then, I have finals Saturday and Sunday…wish me luck!

Costume Ball

This weekend was the costume ball, and while I wasn’t too sure if I was going to go, the more my friends and I talked about it, the more excited I got. I didn’t have a costume and no ideas about what I could be, until one of my friends had an idea…a nudist on strike! All you have to do is write that on a piece of paper acting as your sign and then your golden. So that’s what I was, even though she made the sing for me, we ended up finding out later that she spelled nudist wrong. Oh well, we still had a good time!

Sunday was work day. My term paper was due on Monday and with only my research done, I had to get writing! I didn’t want to write it in my room, my roommate was there and I knew it would be a distraction, so I went down stairs to sit on a couch. Though I soon realized that I get very distracted sitting there, too. After sitting there for almost 2-3 hours and only having about 500 words, I needed to move. I went into the computer lab with a friend who was also working on her paper - though she had not started yet and it was already 10 when I moved in there. By about two in the morning, I was a little over 1000 words and I wanted to try to finish by 3, but that didn’t end up happening. I ended up leaving the computer lab around 3:30 a.m. and all I had left was my conclusion and a bibliography.

When I got back to my room, my roommate was in there with a guy, sleeping, and this isn’t the first time it’s happened. And we’ve talked about it not happening again, but it seems to continue, so I had to go get an RA to have him kicked out, so I could sleep. I forgot to mention this earlier, but the night of the costume ball he was also in there asleep when I got back, and I didn’t want to deal with it that night, so I stayed in someone else’s room.

Anyways, on Monday morning I ended up sleeping through lecture and seminar, but I finished my paper and had everything finished like I needed to. I was supposed to take a test at 2, but the teacher never showed so then I turned in my paper. I was so glad that I finished my paper because that was the only big project I had to do and it was nice to be done with it.

Tuesday, I didn’t really do anything, because I didn’t have any homework. Today, I plan on seeing a play. Thursday is Thanksgiving, which I hear is suppose to be really good here. Then on Friday I plan on going to see a ballet with my meet-a-family. I can’t wait to relax!

Go back to the U.S.A!

There is a point to my title, but I’ll come back to that. Last

Wednesday we left for Paris, we took a train down to King’s Cross in London, and then walked across the street to the Eurostar station. When we arrived in Paris, we were all starving, so we ate at the Hard Rock Café. I spent way too much money on my meal, and our waiter was kind of creepy.

The next day we walked to Notre Dame Cathedral (pictured right). It was so beautiful inside!! It doesn’t look that big on the outside, but inside it just keeps going. We found out later you can go to the top, but we didn’t know at the time. Next, we walked to Musée d’Orsay. We were going to go in, but we decided we would another day because we wanted to buy a two day museum pass.

We decided we would walk down to L’Arc de Triomphe. We went to the top just in time for the Eiffel Tower (left) light show and then we walked to the Eiffel Tower. We went to the top, it was pretty cool and I recommend it; though it was very cold, and VERY windy at the top! It was extremely busy making it take forever just to get on second floor; once you get there, you have to take another lift to get to the ground floor. We were at the top when these guys cut in front of us. I told them that the back of the line was way back there, but they ignored me. On the second floor we were saying the one liners we knew in French and the same guys turned around and ask us if we knew French? We told them that we did not to which they asked where we were from. We told them the USA, and they just laughed and turned back around. They were the last ones who could fit on the lift, and right before the doors closed they yelled “Go back to the USA.” This upset a lot of us in the group, one guy even used profanity, I told them oh how funny they were. But here’s the thing, I don’t think they were even from France. It seemed like they were from Italy.

After that fiasco, we took the metro back to the hotel because everyone’s feet were killing them. The next day, we bought our two day passes and hit up the Louvre (middle) left). We spent about five hours in one wing alone, that place is huge! I got to see the “Mona Lisa”, and one of my personal favourites, “Madonna with Child.” By the time we left, it was time to eat dinner, so we ate at McDonalds - it was one of the cheapest places we could find.

On Saturday, we went to Versailles to the Chateau de Versailles (left). It was so beautiful and big! It rained on our way back into Paris. We stopped at Orsay on the way back, but we didn’t have much time because they were getting ready to close. We asked for information about the location of Jim Morrison’s grave, but she said they were getting ready to close. We could have gone in the morning, but we were leaving and I didn’t want to risk it. That evening, we ate an amazing French restaurant and went back to the Eiffel Tower to watch the light show!!

I loved Paris!! It was dirty, and there were a lot of homeless people, but I still thought it was so beautiful. I was sick most of the time I was in Paris and didn’t feel to well on Monday or Tuesday, so I stayed in my room and didn’t go to class. This week is going to be long, because we have class on Friday, because we have to make up for class we missed last Thursday.

This weekend is the costume ball and I am still searching for a costume. Next week my term paper is due and then there are only two weeks of classes left!!

London & Cadbury

On Friday, everyone had a British studies trip to London. Our group started at St. Paul’s then went to the National Gallery. St. Paul’s Cathedral is so beautiful, though we weren’t allowed to take pictures. The reason we went there was because it had to do with what we talked about last section, even though we just started a new section. I think we should have had this trip a little earlier. Then, we walked down to the National Gallery. Our itinerary told us it would only take 30 minutes, but it actually took us about 45-50 minutes, with a detour. We first went across Millennium Bridge. When inside the National Gallery, we saw many paintings that were included in many lectures; it was crazy seeing them in real life and in real size! We spent about two hours here.


Then we went to Leicester Square to buy tickets. We ended up seeing The Lion King!!! It was AMAZING!!! Probably one of the best plays I’ve ever seen! Oh, and London is rainy. You know how you see in the movies when a bus or car will drive by and water splashes on the person? Yeah, that totally happened to me, only my feet got soaked, and not my whole body.

I didn’t arrive back to the manor until 2 a.m. and unfortunately had to get up at 7 for Cadbury. It was very cold that day, but I was okay with that, because once you arrived to Cadbury World you get free chocolate!! Cadbury World was crazy! It was like a maze where you learn about chocolate, and how the Cadbury brothers started their business.

Next, it was off to the largest Cadbury Chocolate store in the world, and I purchased tons of chocolate!!! Then, we went to Birmingham, the largest shopping district in England. So we went to the Bull Ring which has over 200 shops. There were so many people that we had to sit at Starbucks for over an hour – the crowd was too overbearing.



Back to Manor we headed again for the nasty Sunday dinner that never changes. Monday was boring!!!!! Tuesday was the same thing though I only had one class, and that night I watched Hocus Pocus!! Which I haven’t seen in forever!!! Love that movie! Today is Remembrance Day. We have a service this afternoon because an air battalion stayed at Harlaxton during WWI. Today, we also leave for Paris! I’m so excited!! Just think…later today I’ll be in Paris!!!

44 Days

I am going to go on a rant so please feel free to skip to the next paragraph if you want to avoid it…Right now, Harlaxton is feeling a bit like high school and I hate it! Cliques have been formed and even my roommate seems to have fallen back into the days of high school – being nice to my face and then not so nice outside of our room. I am frustrated! I already went through four years of high school, just like everyone else here, but I left that all behind me. One of the professors here even mentioned that there seems to be a bigger divide between students this year. I guess I am ready to come home and my countdown (44 days) has begun!


This weekend, I stayed that the Manor and caught up on some homework. So far, the week has been kind of boring. Today, I had a British studies test, which I hope to do better on this one then I did on the last. Tonight, there is a Bonfire! It’s an English tradition. On Thursday, there was suppose to be a volleyball game, but it got canceled. However, it’s clue night so that’ll make up for it! Friday, is a British Studies trip to London, then on Saturday a trip to Cadbury. Can’t wait - I’m going to get so much chocolate! Then, next week is Paris!!!! I am sure November will just fly by!

Across the Universe

Friday night, I went out to eat with a couple people. Then we came back, because we had to get up early for Liverpool! On Saturday our train left at 7:25, and we didn’t get there until 11:15ish. We tried to make our way to get on the Fab Four Taxi Tour, but we got a little lost. So we stopped into an information center and booked our 2:30 taxi tour there. During our down time, we decided we would go to the Beatles Museum. It was amazing!! They had rooms set up as clubs/bars that they started out playing in. I also found out more about the inspiration for their songs and the recording process.

After the museum, it was time for the Fab Four Taxi Tour, which was awesome! We went to so many places. We saw all of the Beatles’ childhood homes, though Ringos’ house was in a dodgy place so we weren’t allowed to leave anything in the cab. We also went to Strawberry Fields, which use to be an orphanage run by the Salvation Army. John use to go there when he was younger to play with the children. It was said that since his mom and dad left him in the care of his aunt that he felt more at home there. We also went to Penny Lane, where you can find a bank, fire station and barber shop. We also got to see Eleanor Rigby’s grave. I found out that John told his aunt that he wanted to make his living playing music. His aunt told him he’d never make. She told him the story of Eleanor Rigby who tried to do the same thing, and she died along with her name; though Eleanor died several years before John was even born.

After the tour it was off to catch the train. Sunday was a day of relaxation. On Monday/Tuesday, nothing eventful happened. On Tuesday, I had volleyball practice, and I found out that our first game in on Monday…against a prison! We’ll be locked in with them…scary!! Today, I have plans to go to Newark with my meet-a-family.

Until next time!

In my week of nothingness!

This past weekend, nothing great was planned. On Friday, we didn’t have classes and my roommate left for Germany, so I had the room to myself. It was a nice break! However, I kept thinking that it was Saturday when it really wasn’t. During the day, I went into town to get some groceries. When I came back, I started on homework and began a book called “North and South”. I like the book so far. I’m not finished yet even though it was supposed to be done by Monday.

Saturday, I planned on working on my term paper, but I didn’t get to that. I decided to enjoy the peace and quiet instead. Sunday, I had to get out of my room, so I went to different places in the manor to read, and to study for my mid-term in Marketing. My roommate came back around 3 p.m. and said she had a fun time. Sunday dinner is always the worst! I usually order pizza. At Bethany on Sundays, they make fried food. Here they have some kind of meat and, of course, potatoes smothered in gravy, and it’s usually awful…no kidding!

Mondays seemed to pass by quickly and on Tuesday I worked on my term paper and attended volleyball practice. Today we went to Southwell, a work house. It opened in 1820’s and was intended for poor people who didn’t have jobs, but it was more like a prison. If you’ve ever read “Oliver Twist”, or watched the movie, it was like that. Families were split apart, and could only visit each other on Sundays for one hour. We also visited Belvoir Castle; we went there to look at the romanticism of the architecture.

This weekend, I plan on going to Nottingham on Friday for some shopping, and then, on Saturday, I am off to Liverpool for the day. We will participate in Beatle Mania ALL DAY!

Oxford, Bath and Stonehenge

On Friday, we left for Oxford early in the morning. We reached our destination around noon with only three short hours to see the sights. We visited the Christ Church, where part of Harry Potter was filmed - mostly the great hall scene and unfortunately that part was closed. We still looked inside at the huge church because other parts of Harry Potter were also filmed there. Then we went to Alice’s Shop, a tiny (and I mean tiny!) shop full of Alice In Wonderland themed items. After that, we made our way to Bath.

That evening, we went to a place called Witherspoons. The food was cheap, but it took them almost an hour just to it out to me. Saturday, there was an optional trip that I decided to skip. I went to the Jane Austen Center instead and then we went shopping afterwards.

We made our way back to the hostel, located on top of a HUGE hill! That day was someone in our groups 21st birthday and everyone was going out to celebrate with him. I passed on going out because I wasn’t climbing that hill again! I stayed in and ate at the hostel. On Sunday, we toured the Roman Bath. It’s basically this huge bath or spa that the Romans built and the water that flows into it is from a hot spring. Then, it was on the coach again and off to Stonehenge.

Stonehenge was kind of cool! You get an audio guide, but I wasn’t into really listening to it, so I just walked about it. Then, it was finally back to the manor! By Sunday I am always so tired, so I’m glad to get back as soon as possible.

The beginning of my week was pretty uneventful until Tuesday night… there was karaoke in the Bistro! On Wednesday, I had dinner with my family and then went to a basketball game. Today has been slow, too. I don’t have anything special planned for this weekend, and I’m glad that I get to kind of relax although I do have a lot of homework!

P.S. I Love You

Wednesday was the big day…it was our first British Studies test. No one knew what to expect! Is it going to be difficult or easy? How long will it take? I think I did pretty well, but it did take me an hour and a half to finish three questions! I believe I did well, but it will be two weeks until we get them back. After the test, it was off to Ireland, but before that the fire alarms went off; so that pushed everything back a couple of minutes. We jumped on the coach took the six hour ride to Wales to aboard the ferry at two in the morning! While on the coach we watched P.S. I Love You to gear up for Ireland.

We finally reach our destination at 6 a.m. and ate breakfast at a Best Western. Everyone, including myself, was extremely tired, so most of us not only slept on the ferry, but slept on the three hour ride to Blarney Castle. I attempted to kiss the Blarney Stone, but because I’m not tall enough to reach it, my task was a bit difficult. When attempting to try to kiss it; you have to lie on your back, grab two metal bars, and scoot down a lot to try to reach it. Oh and it’s also on the very top of the castle, and I’m kind of scared of heights, so that made it even more difficult!

After that we went to a few of the shops to look around before getting back on the coach. Our next stop was Killarney. Once we reached Killarney, we went to search for food for a decent price. Every place had meals for over 19 euro and I didn’t really want to pay that much for food, but somehow over four days I probably spent a hundred dollars in food alone because of how expensive it is in Ireland.

After we finally found something to eat, we went to a pub to listen to some live music. While we there, a large group of Italian guys came in and just looked at our table but none of them came over to talk to us. The next day as we traveled to the Ring of Kerry we stopped in a town that is hours from where we were staying and we ran into the same group. And they recognized us! They were like “you from last night” and we were like “yep” - it was a little awkward!

While traveling though the Ring of Kerry, we were able to see a lot but it was a lot of coach time; which wasn’t fun. But Ireland was so beautiful! We stopped someplace to have Irish Coffee, which is coffee with either whisky or baileys. I wasn’t impressed - not only was it 9 a.m., but I also don’t like coffee. After what seemed like all day on the coach, we arrived back into Killarney around 6. We went to a pub that was close to our hotel and had the most amazing food! We stayed most of the night there and listen to live music. While there, a guy and his girlfriend from Australia came up and talked to us. He told us later that he always heard that Americans were mean and rude, but that didn’t fit us at all because we were so nice!

On Saturday, we left for Dublin but didn’t get there until three, so we didn’t have much time to shop for souvenirs. We had to get up early the next morning to leave for Harlaxton, so we decided we would stay in that evening.

On Monday I was so tired, I think I took two naps because of how tired I was! After my last class on Monday, President Ed took all the Bethany students out for dinner, and then later drinks. It was a lot of fun to hang out with Prez Ed and to know more about what was happening not only in Lindsborg, but also at Bethany.

Yesterday, I had volleyball practice and today I got my hair cut really short! I plan on going to a basketball game tonight. This weekend I’m going to Bath, Oxford, and Stonehenge. I just hope it won’t be as tiring as Ireland was!

Oh Bethany how I miss you….

Last weekend, I basically did nothing the whole weekend. In my nothingness, it made me realize how much I not only miss Bethany, but I miss home a lot. I miss being at Bethany my second home. I miss all my friends and being able to hang out with them. I think that is what I miss the most and it’s not just my friends, but it’s all the faculty and staff at Bethany who are so amazing. I’ve grown accustom to seeing them every day. The flatness of Kansas…well maybe not so much…even though this might sound weird I do miss my five hour drive from Missouri to Kansas, and just being able to drive. I feel when I come back that I might not know how to drive anymore…but that’s just crazy…I hope.

Since fall is my favorite season I do miss all the different colors of the leaves when they change. The leaves are staring to change here…and I love it! Another thing I realize is that I didn’t know how much I would miss my dog. Everywhere I go I see a dog and it makes me miss my dog so much. Then, I’m tempted to go out and buy a dog and hide it in our room….but since I’m on the fifth floor that’s not very logical. I was telling my roommate all this the other day and she ask me if I regretted coming. I told her kind of, but not because I miss home, but because of my classes.

In my marketing and management class, I have the same teacher who reads directly from the PowerPoint which is available online. So I feel like I’m not learning anything yet, I mean it has been a month so I should have been able to retain something by now right? But I do hear that there are other professors here that are worse. My roommate is taking a class titled God, Suffering, and Evil (which I consider taking) and she told me that he came to class and told the class that he had a dream. God told him that he had to kill one student and started to reach into a basket. He was trying to prove a some sort of point, just not a good one. You don’t mess around with something like that. I don’t really regret coming here, I just wish I would have chosen different classes.

Tomorrow, I have my first test for British studies, I’m kind of nervous. They are giving us a two hour time limit though, which seems a little long. Then, it’s off to Ireland! It’s going to be a crazy adventure! We drive down to Wales to jump on a ferry at 2 am and get to Ireland at 6 am. It’s going to be fun and I’m ready for it!

Pictures from Scotland Trip

Arthur's Seat

View from Arthur's Seat

Edinburg Castle

Whiskey Tour

Scotland

Last Thursday night was the mandatory meet-a-family reception. Everyone dressed up and we had a very nice meal. When the family’s arrived, they would meet up with their studies and then get their food and eat in the Long Gallery. My family wasn’t there that night, so they sat me with another family whose students weren’t able to make it, because they had left for an independent travel.

Friday, I got up early for a six hour bus ride to Edinburgh, Scotland. We did make one stop to eat our sacked lunches provided by the school, but those consist of butter and cheese sandwiches so we opted for fast food. When we arrived in Edinburgh, we went on a whisky tour. The first part of it is a ride in a plastic barrel were you learned about the making process, and then it was off to a room to learn about different whiskies from different regions of the country. We were able to choose which kind of whisky from various regions we wanted to try. I don’t remember the name of the kind I had, but it was really nasty and I ended up pouring the rest out! Oh, we also received a free whisky glass. After the tour, we stopped to eat at a Mexican food place, which was amazing! Then it was back to the hotel to figure out what we would do that night. A lot of people wanted to go on a ghost tour, and I really wanted to do it, too…but I just felt like I couldn’t put myself in that position to be attacked, or to have anything follow me back. So I stayed behind with a few other girls, and watched TV.

The next morning, we got up early to climb Arthur’s seat which is a really steep hill/mountain. Then, it was off to Edinburgh Castle, which was overpriced. Anyways, Edinburgh Castle is where Queen Mary of Scots lived until the reformation. As the story goes… Mary was forced to leave the country after her one year old son was kidnapped, so he could be raised as protestant instead of Roman Catholic. She fled to England to live with her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. Mary plotted to kill Queen Elizabeth, so that she could be Queen of England. Elizabeth found out about Mary’s plans had her exiled to a tower in Scotland and then Mary was beheaded.

After a couple hours at the castle we went shopping near our hotel. For dinner we went to Pizza Hut. Yes, they have Pizza Hut in Scotland! After dinner we were going to go on a literary pub tour, but the man selling tickets wouldn’t let one of the girls in because her only form of ID was a student ID. Plan B - we would go to a comedy club, but it was a little pricey. So we went back to the hotel, and ordered a bottle of wine.

The next morning it was back to Harlaxton. On our return trip, we stopped at the border to get a group photo. After that, we went to Hadrian’s Wall, built by the Romans. Our next stop, Durham. By this point in the trip, none of us were too excited about going. We just wanted to get back to the manor. I walked around and got something to eat.

Monday felt like it went really slow. Tuesday a fire alarm went off in the Carriage House, because someone left their curling iron on. Then it was off to volleyball practice, and toward the end of that, the fire alarm went off again.

Today I met with my family and we went to the Belton House. It was really pretty, and parts of the BBC version of Pride & Prejudice were shot there. This weekend I don’t have much of anything planned. The next weekend though is our long weekend to Ireland!!!

Lincoln Castle

Lincoln Cathedral

Close-up of Lincoln Cathedral

Stained Glass Window inside Lincoln Cathedral

Long Weekend...Lincoln!

This weekend was really nice because I was able to relax. Thursday, I had volleyball practice and after that I was starving! Have I mentioned that the food here is not the best? Well, it’s not getting any better! So my roommate and I ordered pizza and watched The Wedding Date.
On Friday, we had a mandatory trip for our British Studies class. We went to Lincoln, which is only 30 minutes from Harlaxton Village. In Lincoln, there is the Lincoln Cathedral and the Lincoln Castle. Both were built in the time period that we are currently studying in British studies. We spent the whole day there and towards the end, we were able to visit all the little shops. Most of them are down a street called Steep Hill. Let me tell you, walking down Steep Hill is the easiest part; coming back up not as much!

Saturday, most of the students who didn’t go on the day trip to Cambridge had a lot of reading to do. So, during the morning, I went into town to buy my Meet-A-Family some flowers. Then, I skyped with my mom before working on my homework. In the afternoon, my roommate and I decided that we would watch another movie. Afterwards, we decided to go out to Grantham to see the nightlife.

Short recap of the beginning of my week…Sunday we reserved for more studying and some lounging around. Oh how I despise Mondays morning lectures at 8:30! Tuesday, I meet with my Meet-A-Family. They picked me up for dinner at their house. It was probably one of the best meals I’ve had since I’ve been here!

Today, I had a test in my British studies class. (It wasn’t super hard like everyone thought it was going to be). And I’ve gone into town to get some food for my room. This weekend I’m excited to go to Edinburgh, Scotland, and to also hang out with some new friends.

Pictures of my trip to London

Me in London!

The Eye - too bad the line was so long!

Parliament - so much history!

London Calling

I left for London on Friday morning to embark on an almost three hour ride on a coach. On the way there, we stopped at a huge truck stop to eat lunch and then it was back on the coach where we remained to a tour around the city. When the tour ended, we were free to do whatever we wanted. Katherine, Jennifer and I went up to our room to unpack, and then decided to find our way to Leicester Square to buy tickets to see Wicked! It took us about thirty minutes just to walk there because of the numerous stops to ask people how to get where we were going. We bought tickets for Friday night. We knew it would take almost an hour to find our way to the theatre, so had to basically run back to the hotel to get ready for the musical. It was amazing! I would go see it again if I had the chance. Afterwards, we went to an Italian restaurant and they had some pretty great food.

The next morning we got up early to see the sights. Our first (intended) stop was Buckingham Palace, but we didn’t know how we were going to get there. We didn’t want to take a cab because we knew it would cost too much, so we bought a bus pass and jumped on a bus. Later, we found out that the bus we got on was not the bus we wanted. However, we didn’t realize this until we were sitting on the bus for almost an hour when it started to go to the suburbs of London. So we got off and jumped on a bus that took us back into town.

Our first stop was in front of the British Museum. We decided to get a hotdog from a vendor and eat it on the steps of the museum. We also fed the pigeons while we there, but got in trouble so we had to stop. The day was getting long so we finally broke down and decided to take a cab and walk the rest of the way. The cab ended up being £10 ($17) so it wasn’t that bad between the three of us.

Finally, we arrived at Buckingham Palace. We walked down to the London Eye, which we were going to go up in, but there was a super long line. Down by the Eye are a lot of street performers - some of them were good and others were not. Then, we took a quick walk across the bridge to see Big Ben, Parliament and Westminster Abbey.
By dinner time, we were all tired. We headed to the hotel to take a nap and then we went out to eat Indian food. It was my first time experiencing Indian food and I didn’t really like what I had. A lot of the students were going out to some clubs down by Leicester Square, but we were all really tired so we decided to stay in.

On Sunday, we stopped at Hampton Court where King Henry VIII and also William and Mary lived. It was in London but it took us an hour just to get there! We spent some time roaming through the castle and grounds. Then it was back to the manor, which was nice because I was ready to relax!

When Monday’s classes rolled around, I was so tired and glad when I had a chance to take a nap before my last class. Tuesday, I started volleyball practice. I’m excited to play a sport; I miss it. Today, I have a briefing for a trip to Lincoln this Friday, which is required for my British Studies class. I also plan on watching a soccer game at a local pub with some friends; but who knows I have an all floor meeting and there was a fire drill at seven this morning…it was rough.

Pictures!!!

Group from Bethany at President's Dinner

Me with my roommate, Katherine

For the next few months, my home!

My First Week in England

I’ve made it!! I’m here in England, and the past couple of days have been crazy. Last Thursday seemed like the longest ever and that continued into Friday morning when we were suppose to land thirty minutes early, but the pilot had to circle for that time, so I arrived into London at 7 a.m.

It took me an hour to get through customs. Then, it was off to get my bags and make my way towards terminal 3, which I had to take a train to reach. I met with my group and it was about a two hour ride to the manor.

When I arrived, I found my room...on the top floor so that means a lot of stairs! At lunch, I quickly came to the realization that the food in the refectory is very bland. Dare I say I miss the caf!

I wondered the grounds and the manor with Tim, Emily and Nicole, and eventually made my way back to my room to meet my roommate for the first time. Her name is Katherine and she goes to Texas Women’s University (TWU) in Denton, Texas. She had a friend named Jenifer who came with her from TWU and she went to high school with someone from Bethany College. It’s crazy! It shows you how small the world really is. We realized that we have many things in common and we were both glad that we got someone we clicked with to make this experience even more memorable.

After dinner, we had a class with our British Studies professor in which we just talked about the articles we were assigned before we even arrived. On Saturday, we had more orientation activities, but we were able to go shopping in Grantham in the afternoon. Then, we had the president's high dinner! Everyone dressed up for the lavish event. Soon after the dinner, Katherine and I and a few other friends went into Grantham to see what the nightlife was like, and had a fun time. There is a bar on campus called The Bistro and a lot of the faculty are there, so it’s weird to go and to see your professor having a drink. Sunday, we participated in more orientation events and bought books.

On Monday, like Bethany students, we started classes. All students begin their Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays in the great hall where we have lecture for our British Studies class. Then, I have British Studies class at 11-noon and my next class isn’t until 4:10.

Sickness is flying around here and it seems to have found me and my roommate. We bought a box of tissues on Saturday and we finished them on Monday. We are thinking about going to the nurse tomorrow to get some medicine.

I Skyped with my mom today, but I had to wait up until 11 so she could be home from work. I’m not that homesick though, I think it’s because I’m use to it. When I go to Bethany, I am five hours from my house. I don’t think I have really adjusted to time yet though.

This weekend is I am headed to London. I am excited! My adventure has officially begun...

Tomorrow I leave for England; I’m a little nervous and sad at the same time. I’m nervous about flying by myself again. When I went to New Orleans, I flew by myself for the first time, but this flight is over 10 hours long! I’m sad that I’ll be leaving my family and friends for almost four months, though the saddest part is that I won’t see my Bethany friends until I come back in February.

Tuesday I paid for the trips I’ll be going on while attending Harlaxton. The first weekend I will go to London for three days. Then to Ireland, Scotland, Paris, and to some other places; I’ll also be going to Germany as part as my independent travel to visit family. I’m excited to visit these places because I have never seen them before; except for Germany. Though these trips don’t come cheap! I’ve worked all summer, and even held a garage sale to raise money and I know it’ll all be worth it. I don’t think it’ll seem real to me until I’m actually over in England experiencing new things. Even applying for my passport didn't make this trip seem like a reality! And then when I received it, I realized I spelled my middle name wrong! I think when I get over there and realize that I can’t call my mom whenever I want to, or text my friends to see what they are doing is when I will realize that I’m in a new and exciting place.

I look forward to the adventure...next time from England!