London Town

Hello Everybody!

So I am back from a FANTASTIC weekend in London. After a weekend in this spectacular city I can understand why it is considered one of the greatest cities in the world. Rae and I would be meeting all of the other kids from U of I that were studying abroad in the UK (except for the lame ones that didn't want to come) for a 'London Weekend' of sightseeing that was all paid for in our program fees...that's my kind of weekend! My weekend started off with Rae and I catching out 11:28 train to London with no problem and getting into St. Pancras International station in London. 

On the train all ready to go!

 Now let me tell you, this train station puts Ogilvie to shame. Not only does it basically have an entire shopping mall inside it, it is also home to the EuroStar so there are people there going to other fabulous places like Paris and Brussels. Rae and I knew the tube (that's British for subway) stop that we needed to get off at to get to our hotel but didn't know how to get to our hotel from that stop so we decided it would probably be a safer bet to just take a cab. We made it to the hotel without any trouble, checked into our rooms and then met the rest of the U of I kids. Now let me tell you, after being surrounded by people for the last month that don't know what Kam's is or even know where Champaign-Urbana is in Illinois (or where Illinois is for some!) it was was SO nice to be around people that knew what I was talking about but actually a bit of an adjustment. I caught myself a couple of times beginning to explain a "U of I" thing before realizing that they would know exactly what I was talking about...it was lovely!

For dinner that night our fantastic program planners Emily and Emma took us to this place called Darbucka. It was Lebanese. Now, I haven't had Lebanese food or really any middle eastern food in, well...ever so it was an experience. Of course, being me I took pictures of every single thing that I ate. It was dark in the restaurant so looking back at the pictures that the flash went off on I'm wondering exactly what I was eating...maybe it's better to just not know! After dinner (and baklava for dessert...OMG (that means oh my gosh for those of you that didn't know) it may be my new favor it thing ever. I mean what's not to like about pastry baked with butter and sugar and nuts...NOTHING!) we headed to see a show on a theater on Tottingham Court Road. It was called Pricilla Queen of the Desert and if I had to describe it in a word...strange. Long story (2.5 hours long to be exact) short the main character was a drag queen but had a son and was going to see him for the first time and was traveling in a pink bus. Oh, and it was in Australia so the Australian-English hybrid accent was a bit difficult to decipher at times! I'm all for new experiences this semester but let's just say I will not be going back to see Pricilla for an encore viewing when mom and I take on London in April!

Pricilla was definitely like nothing I have ever seen before!

Saturday was the day that I finally had the opportunity to embrace my inner tourist and take pictures (I believe I took over 250 this weekend but don't worry, I didn't post them all!) of anything and everything London. he day started off kind of funny actually. The hotel had a full English Breakfast service so I went down to eat and there was a line so I waited. Then when it was my turn I told them I just needed a table for one. They took me to my table which was basically in the corner of the room and I was thus shunned from the rest of the dining room! We had a private coach tour all for us with our faithful tour guide named Suze. Now if I were British by birth (I'm still holding out for British by marriage, don't you worry!) I would want to grow up and be just like Suze. She said cute things like blimey and rubbish like I would say cool or like! She has been a certified tour guide of London for 42 years and you can tell that she loves every second of it. Except when she has to give tours to groups of French people...she told us she doesn't like them very much! 

Suze! After I took this she said "Now love, I am not having a very good hair day!"

 The day started off rainy so it was hard to get pictures from the bus as we were touring but we stopped at a lot of places and got to take pictures. I saw the London Bridge, London Tower, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, and a LOT of red telephone booths (I waited about 2 seconds after I got home to make me in one of them my new facebook profile picture!). The sight seeing and tour around the city (fun fact: the city of London covers over 600 square miles and has 36 different boroughs)  was a lot of fun but we did not really go in too many places so now I know where everything is for my next trip to the city! Sad news...the guards were not outside Buckingham Palace. Apparently when it is rainy in the winter they don't stand outside...doesn't seem like they are very good guards to me!

After our tour we had some free time for lunch. I went off with my new friend Jeri and we got some jacket potatoes (I know, I can never escape the potato!). Jacket potatoes for those of you that don't know (I didn't before I got here so don't feel bad!) are just baked potatoes with things inside. I had tuna and cheese in mine which was actually quite tasty ( and the one thing that I ate that I forgot to take a picture of..sad day!). After lunch and some tea (and a chocolate muffin that had frosting inside of it...maybe my new favorite thing after baklava) we met up with most of the group again for a scavenger hunt of the city. Now this was not just any old scavenger hunt because the winning team would win 10 pounds for each person on the team. That's a pretty nice chunk of change so Jeri and I teamed up with 3 other kids (Greg, Natalie, and Akash) and formed team Kick Ass (sorry for the name choice...the boys came up with it and since it was the only decision we were going to let them make all day we decided to just go with it!). We had 2.5 hours and a big list of things we had to figure out, take pictures with, or go and then we had to be back at the restaurant we were going to dinner at. We raced off with a determination to win. I felt like it was training for the Amazing Race (I WILL be on that show some day) and I just kept telling myself that we had to make it to the pit stop! We raced all over London and had to do some cool things like take a picture in front of the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum (yes, I did pose like and Egyptian in that picture!) and talk to someone about their favorite football (soccer) team and get pictures in at least 5 red phone booths. We made it to the Albany (where we were eating dinner) just in the nick of time, handed in our sheet and pictures and waited and waited and waited for them to announce the winners. In the mean time we got our food (pictures are posted...it was SO good) and just had a really good time getting to know kids in other programs in the UK from U of I and sharing experiences and stuff. When it came time to announce the winners they said that team Kick Ass won!!! We basically all stood up and started screaming and pumping our fists in a very un-British fashion but it didn't matter because we were 10 pounds richer and had bragging rights!

Winner winner chicken dinner! (It's a Burns phrase!)

Sunday we headed to London Tower and got to explore on our own. It was SO cool. My favorite part were the coronation jewels that they have on display. Crowns from kings and queens past, the ball thing that the king/queen holds during the coronation, the largest diamond in the world, the second largest diamond in the world and all  of these cool things were on display for you to see. You couldn't take pictures which was sad but if you are ever in London go there! I can't even imagine the weight that a king or queen must feel on there shoulders (and not just physical weight!) during the coronation ceremony as they don the golden robes (we saw the ones that Elizabeth II wore!) and the GIGANTIC crown that is so bedazzled it looks fake. Needless to say, I was impressed and and the history of the place made me really feel that I am doing the right thing by studying history and education because I just want to share it all with everyone! After the Tower of London, Rae and I headed back to the train station via the tube to catch our trains. We were on different trains and I got into Nottingham after her so I tried to find a bus that was running so I wouldn't have to pay a taxi to bring me back to school. Now, in Nottingham, for some reason they don't think that people travel after 5 pm on a Sunday so most of the buses don't work. I spotted a bus that I recognized from campus and asked a girl in line if it would take me to school. She said "yes, that's where I'm going" so I hopped in line with her. When I went to pay the driver I gave him my money like I always do and he just looked at me... Hmm...what do I do now? Then he asked where I was going to and I said, I don't know! and just looked for the girl that had helped me out! Luckily she hadn't gone far so she told him and he gruffly gave me my ticket. I don't know what that was all about! Then as we were riding the bus I got all nervous that I missed my stop so I basically stalked the girl that helped me and watched to make sure she hadn't left! I finally got so nervous that I went up to her and said, I should still be on the bus, right? She said yes but the next stop was ours. We got of the bus and chatted. Turns out we were on the same train and stayed in the same hotel all weekend...how weird is that?!

So I made it home safe and sound and had a fantastic time! I'm sure I will think of more stories of the weekend as the day goes on but I wouldn't want to write about everything in my blog because then what would I tell you when I get home (3 months from today...crazy!)! I don't know if I will be doing any traveling until my break in April but I'm sure that I will have things to report from around Nottingham. Thanks to everyone that has been sending me packages, letters, e-mails, and facebook messages! I love having a little bit of home to treat myself to at the end of a long (and usually rainy) day over here across the pond. This past month has flown by and when I think that I have 4 weeks of class, then a month off, then a few weeks of finals and I'll be home it just blows my mind! I'm working on embracing every opportunity that presents itself to me and to reach out of my comfort zone. Can't wait to see you all soonish.

Love from London (for real! and I can't wait to go back!),

Stacey

P.S. I posted a bunch of new pictures so you can click on them and view them. There will be more in the next couple of days as I get pictures from other people from the weekend! Enjoy :)

Loving Life

Hi Y'all!

So tomorrow is my one month mark! And what a month it has been...I have been to the oldest bar in Britain, worn leggings as an outfit, eaten a LOT of potatoes, joined the softball team, and seen the home of the Beatles. Wow, that's quite the month! This time last year I never would have guessed that I would be doing any of these things, much less sitting in England writing a blog. I know that in the 3 months that I have left here I will have so many more experiences and I will soon be writing saying it's all over. But that's sad so I'm just going to not think about it, and you shouldn't either! Unless you really miss me because then 3 months is NO time and I'll be home before you know it :)

So I haven't written in a week because there hasn't been much to write about in my opinion and I really don't want to bore you all telling you what I ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday (although I do write that down in my journal because my mom told me to!). I do have a couple of cool stories though! I mentioned my new friend Konstantina (and Australian girl) I do believe and last Monday we were talking and she mentioned that she was going to Paris in early April. Paris is on my list of "must go there" so my little ears perked up at the mention of this. Being my outgoing self I asked her if I could tag along and because she is awesome she said "of course, I would love that!". So it was decided...I was going to Paris. Ha, I love that I just said that like it's no big deal. But then rational me got all nervous because I HATE spending money and large amounts of money like plane tickets get me all jumpy and jittery! I talked to my mum (I'm trying to blend in by using words like mum for mom and car park for parking lot...it's not really working!) that night and she said to just do it, when else am I going to get to go to Paris for as cheap as I would be able to. So I said okay, I'll do it. We chatted for a while longer and then hung up. Now, you are probably like what was so cool about that story?! Well....about an hour later my computer starts ringing and I saw that mom was calling me again. I answered and she said 3 things...1. You rock (gee, thanks mom!) 2. Jesus loves you 3. Jesus is always looking out for you. I was VERY confused at this point because I knew all of these things already, even if they are nice to hear out loud! Then she held up a check that she had just gotten in the mail from my Grandma for my "travel fund" which was almost to the dollar the amount of money it would cost to fly to Paris. So basically I have awesome people in my life and I'm going to Paris for 4 days in the spring. So yea...I love my life!

I mentioned earlier that I joined the softball team so that's another exciting thing going on. I think I told you this story but in case you haven't been following my every move...I was looking for a club to join and saw that Uni Nottingham has a club softball team so I decided to get a little out of my comfort zone and go for it! I went to my first practice a couple weeks ago and LOVE it!! I played in a tournament last Wednesday and guess who scored the game winning runs...ME! We play this indoor version which is like no other version of softball I have ever played but it's a blast But it's just been really great to meet a new group of people who I have something in common with. They are called the Nottingham Swingers...we might have to work on the name but it's been a blast so far and I can't wait to keep playing. 

 

The weather here has been pretty rainy which I am not a fan of. I did nothing all weekend except watch TV online which has become a new obsession! I actually started on the papers that I have to write though so yay me! Sometimes I forget that I'm not just here to travel to cool places and make friends but for school too. Dang nab it! I'm off to London this weekend with all of the kids from U of I studying abroad in the UK so I will have a really exciting and awesome blog post for you Sunday/Monday with LOTS of new pictures. I told Rae today that I have enlisted her as my photographer for the weekend because I fully plan on embracing my inner tourist and taking pictures of EVERYTHING! My list of "must gets" includes a red telephone booth, a guard at Buckingham Palace, Parliament, and Big Ben so except lots of pictures of my pretty little face! My other goal for the weekend is to try fish and chips (I don't like fish...but I do love chips, which are french fries!)

Lots of Love from London (and I'll be in London for real soon!),

Stacey

P.S. I just want to say thanks to all of you who have sent me mail, e-mails and kind thoughts. I miss all of you at home a lot sometimes and am so glad that I get to share my experiences with you in so many different ways!

Me in my softball jersey!

According to the lollipop my mom sent me "I rock!"

Can You Feel The Love Tonight

Hello lovely little followers!

So while not much has happened since my last post a lot has happened at the same time...if that makes any sense! The weekend was actually pretty boring. A lot of people here either go home or kind of hole up in their rooms all weekend and sleep so there isn't much activity going on! The highlight of my Saturday was doing laundry...sad but true. You really have no idea how nice it is to have a closet full of clean clothes (and a drawer full of clean underwear. TMI?). When you only have enough clean laundry for 21 days and you've hit day 20 it's a sign that something needs to be done. Luckily the laundry room is right outside of my door so I don't have to go far to do it but yet it somehow took me close to 3 hours. (This very well could be because I was busy skyping people from home and failing at multi-tasking!) I was almost done with my laundry and had just a few things left in the dryer when I discovered something. The door to the laundry room locks sometimes when you leave. Now, it did not lock any of the 6 times that I had come in and out through out the evening but of course the last time I left it locked. And what was in the dryer you ask...ALL of my pants (except for the ones I was wearing, obviously) and towels...basically the necessities of life! Hmm...I thought to myself. What the heck do I do now?! Luckily I had my smarts and I ran into my room and called the front desk (it was around 11 pm at this time and there is only someone there until 11:30) and said the door was locked. The porter (the desk attendant/security guy) said he would come over and check it out. I met him at the laundry room and he was like umm it's not locked, you just have to punch in the code. Now, you would think that the people that gave me my keys on my first day would have included that little bit of info when they told me about things but nope, I had NO idea there was a code! He told it to me (and made me write it down, probably so he wouldn't get another annoying call from the American girl) and I gathered my pants and ran back to my room! I now have the code written down and hanging up on my bulletin board to use 21 days from now!

Now for those of you that are extra sharp you might be wondering how something is hanging on my bulletin board when in my last post I said I only had 2 thumbtacks. Well wonder no more because that leads to my next bit of exciting news! In the spirit of Valentines day I received the most UH-MAZE-ING (I hope that you could hear me saying it like that in your mind!) care package today courtesy of my mom and her amazing group of college mom prayer warriors (shout out to you ladies...you rock!) and from her, my brother and dad! Now you all have probably gotten a care package at some time in your life but I can guarantee that it was nothing compared to the monster that I received today that brought me to tears (that's not a metaphor people, it actually happened). Not only did this package have thumbtacks (now I have 12!) in it but it also had pictures, food, gum (Rach, I have quite the collection of gum now...you would be proud), you name it and it was probably in that box. It was the king of care packages and was just the icing on the cake of life if I may because I realized something while I was doing nothing this weekend. I am finally starting to feel like I am not just an international student but that I belong here. My little room in Sherwood Hall feels more homey and I love my creepy weird shower room. The last 3 weeks (I can't even believe it's been 3 weeks already!) have had their share of ups and downs, feelings of sadness, joy, and sheer terror but I'm finally feeling like I belong. Maybe that's the two cups of coffee that I've had today talking (I love when they give away free cappuccinos outside the Student Union!) but I don't think so. Everyone talks about how you hit a turning point when studying abroad and you go from feeling like an outsider to not. I think that I'm on my way to that. I didn't do anything this weekend but I didn't have the feeling of loneliness that had become familiar in the last couple weeks and let me tell you...that feels good!

On another note...I have officially embraced my inner European/study abroad student. Yes, I wore leggings to class today (please insert a gasp and/or raised eyebrows here). For those of you that see me on a day to day basis you know that I don't do the whole leggings thing. My legs are about 6 inches long so why would I want to highlight them?! I LOVE jeans and always just opt for those and kind of had the thought process that leggings did not constitute as pants. Well, today I went to the dark side people and let me tell you, I kinda like it. Now I don't know if I can pull it off every day (probably once every 21 days or so because I think I only have 1 shirt that can be worn with said leggings) but I can cross it off my bucket list and come home in May knowing that I blended in, well, at least for one day. See, here girls don't wear jeans or sweat pants like girls in the states do. People actually care about their appearance for class and most girls wear leggings or tights (stockings if you want to be British) to class and between my jeans, Northface, and Vera Bradley bag I practically have "American" stamped on my forehead and then I open my mouth and the whole blending in thing is toast! 

Now for my final update on my crazy exciting life...I officially have a plan (or at least a partial plan) for my Easter Holiday. In the UK, University students have the month of April off for Easter Holiday. I don't really know why because if I was them I would rather get off school a month earlier but when in Rome. And speaking of Rome...I'm going there!!! Rae and I (that's grammatically correct for once, mom!) signed up yesterday for an excursion with a company that does trips for students. We will be going to Barcelona, the French Riviera, the Swiss Alps, Florence, and Rome from April 16-24 and then probably hanging out in Rome until I fly back to London to meet my mommy!! I am SO excited for this (although it almost killed me to spend the money...I'm a tad bit on the stingy side, I must admit) but I will only be studying abroad once and am going to try to grasp some of the opportunities that are presented to me! Now, this better not be the only time that I will be in Europe because I have officially promised my mom to take her to Rome when I have a real job but it will be a fun adventure for sure! For the rest of my break I will probably camp out at Jean, our family friend's house in England and maybe do some little trips here or there with people from school or that I know that are also studying abroad this semester but we will see how my wallet feels by then!

So I guess a lot has happened in the last couple of days. Oh, funny little story. I got a salad for lunch today and was trying to eat it but the fork they gave me was the size of a ice cream taste test spoon which made eating to be very difficult. I was on the receiving end of quite a few stares from people in the dining area. Good thing my AWESOME care package today came with a fork in it (I kid you not, people!) so I will just have to carry that around with me from now on! I will probably be known as the weird American girl that carries around cutlery but oh well :)

Classes are going well. I finally have a bit of a routine worked out and I am going to start working on the two papers that I have for my history classes tonight probably. I have talked to all of my professors (tutors as they are called here) about leaving England early to be home for Craig's graduation and all but one have said that I can do an alternative assignment if I am going during the scheduled final time so that is exciting for me! I'm heading off to dinner now and it's been such a good day that I don't even care if the only thing they are serving is potatoes (amazingly enough the chances of this are quite likely!)

Thanks for all of the love that I am feeling right now. Keep the kind thoughts and prayers coming. I never thought I could feel so much love from so far away but life has ways of surprising you! I mean I never would have thought this time a year ago that I would be sitting in England right now writing a blog (I LOVE BLOGGING)!! Happy Valentines Day!

Love from London,

Stacey

P.S. I have discovered a new love on this Valentines Day...nutella (a chocolatey hazelnut spread). I am going to have to increase my running to 2 times a day now but it is so worth it :)

P.P.S. Sorry this was so long but I bet you are sad it's over :)

I am just SO European now ;)

3 Weeks Down!

Hey everybody! Due to popular demand I created another video for you all to view on my adventures over here in England!! I hope that you enjoy it. It was a pretty boring week over here but hopefully things will get a bit more exciting for me (and for you all to read about!) in the next couple weeks. But then again I'm in England so that in itself is pretty darn cool! Love you all and miss you! Keep sending the thoughts, prayers (and mail :) ) my way!

Love From London,

Stacey

(You must be on my actual blog site to view the video!)

Love from Liverpool!

So guys...I survived my first weekend adventure and hostel stay but let me tell you it was exactly that...an adventure! Our group was myself, Rae, Alison, Simone, and Beck (Rae is from U of I and the other 3 girls are Australian). It all started Friday when we all raced out of our classes to make our train. I had some left over credits from lunch so I bought some chips for the train because you never know when you might need a bag of chips and was good to go with my backpacked on and looking like a real live backpacker...until I had Rae take pictures of me. I think all my credibility went out the window at that time but oh well! Our train ride was pretty seamless and we arrived at Liverpool Lime Street Station and found a taxi to take us to our hostel to check in. Our driver was very friendly and gave us some tips on where to go to get something to eat after we were all settled in. Upon walking into our hostel (a little place called Strawberry House after Strawberry Fields by the Beatles) I was no longer feeling so confident in the situation that we were in! The hostel itself was clean and everything but dark and scary and it was windy out and my bed  creaked, so needless to say I was feeling like the situation was slightly less than ideal and I was ready to look for the nearest Holiday Inn to check myself in for the weekend! Since none of us had eaten dinner yet and it was getting on 9pm we decided to venture into the city to find some food. We had a handy travel book that gave us some good suggestions to eat so we hopped into a taxi and were off. We discovered this restaurant that had a £4.10 beer and burger special so we were all for that. Here it is totally legal for me to drink but it is still odd ordering alcohol at a restaurant...I think that I will feel that way even when I turn 21 in September! So after our food (which tasted like the BEST thing we had ever had since 1. we found it on our own and we felt all grown up and 2. we were starving) we headed to a bar down the street to just hang out and get a feel for Liverpool. The night was pretty uneventful and I will admit that I was perfectly content with going to bed before midnight! Except let me tell you about that! The 5 of us had a room just for us so that was cool. It had 2 single beds, 1 double, and a set of bunk beds. I didn't mind taking the top bunk but I soon regretted this decision because I promise this bed was missing a piece! Every time I breathed in or out it squeaked and if I physically moved this bed rocked like a sailboat caught in a hurricane! I literally thought that I was going to die or at the very least crush the girl sleeping on the bunk below me! This bed was making my little, uncomfortable bed at uni (breaking out my Aussie/British lingo) look like a cloud of wonderfulness!

Saturday was the big day because we were going to do the Beatles. And when I say do the Beatles I mean visit practically any and every location that any member of the Beatles or their families could ever have been associated with (including but not limited to the bar where Ringo's mom worked, George's grandma's house, and the maternity ward where John Lennon was born)! The morning started off with me needing cash and having to try 3 different ATMs before one would give me money. I was in a slight panic by number 3 because no money is a big problem! Then it started to rain...and rain...and rain and of course this was the FIRST time that it has truly rained since we have been here. And what did I leave in my dorm room at Nottingham? Of course, my umbrella and being the cheap person that I am I was NOT willing to purchase another one! Luckily I brought my rain jacket so I did not get soaked because we were not going to let the rain bring us down (although for some reason the rain somehow got inside my boots and my socks were SOAKED after 8 hours of practically standing in water). The tour that we decided to do was actually a cab tour so it was just us 5 ladies taking on Liverpool with our fearless driver ready to drive us around and take pictures of us as we shamelessly played the part of the tourists needing a LOT of pictures taken! The tour was not only cool for the Beatles lovers of the group but also a really cool way to see a new city. People in Liverpool were SO friendly (for the most part) and the city itself was beautiful, especially at night. We learned cool things like the GIANT Catholic church in Liverpool has 4 bells outside of it, one for each member of the band and that Eleanor Rigby was actually the name on a grave that John Lennon always hid behind when he played hide and seek with his friends in the church graveyard by his house (not my choice of hide and seek setting but maybe it's a British thing?!). After our tour (3 hours of everything Beatles!) and jumping in and out of the cab (it had a seat that faced backwards...SO fun!) to snap pictures we were again starving (my day really does revolve around food but I'm okay with that!) so we got a recommendation for a cheap place to eat from our Cabbie and were off. We walked into this pub (the Wethered Spoon) and discovered that it was the exact same as the place that we ate the night before but with a different name and everything was about 50 pence more expensive. Good thing we liked it! This time I had some lasagna...yum! After our meal we just kind of bummed around town (still raining) and then headed back to our hostel to get ready for a night out on the town.

Now the weekend gets really entertaining for all of you when when we get to today. We were originally supposed to take a train at 11:20 but for various reasons we decided to take the 12:52 direct train from Liverpool to Nottingham. Easy enough, right? WRONG! We got to the train station only to discover that the train was canceled to to a landslide on the tracks...what the heck! So we were instructed to take a train to Leeds and then get to Nottingham from there. Easy enough because that train was in about 20 minutes. Well, we get to Leeds and there are no trains going to Nottingham on the board so we ask how to get there. And with our luck we ask 3 different people how to get to Nottingham and they all give us different answers. Well that's a problem, now isn't it! We finally figured out that we had to take a train from Leeds to Chesterfield and then get on a train in Chesterfield to get to Nottingham. Well the Chesterfield train wasn't leaving for an hour so we got something to eat (of course!), boarded our train and were off. We finally arrived in Chesterfield and waited another hour for our train to Nottingham. So long story short a train ride that should have taken us 2.5 hours took us about 7. Luckily I decided to buy a chocolate bar at the train station so I was a happy camper on the train(s) with my candy and Kindle (greatest piece of technology EVER)! So now I am home which I find kind of weird because coming home from a trip usually means going to Geneva but I'm getting used to being away! 2 weeks down already, dang!

Fun fact...I have gone 3 days without getting a single potato on my plate, that's gotta be a record or something!

Well I'm off to bed because I'm exhausted! Pictures from the trip will be up tomorrow so check back but for now enjoy the little treasure's at the end of this!

Love from London (and Liverpool...I think I can only go places that start with "L"!)

Stacey

All set and ready to go...chips in hand!

The bed. It looks harmless but don't let it fool you!

Just hanging with John, no big deal!

Why are we in Chesterfield?!

Long Time No Talk

Hello lovely followers! Sorry if you have been waiting with anticipation for my next post. Things haven't been too exciting around here and I figured you did not need a play by play of what I ate for dinner everyday this week (potatoes, potatoes, oh and potatoes...see all caught up!). I did FINALLY figure out how to get pictures on here and you should notice a link to the right of this post (for those of you who are actually on my blog and not just reading this from an e-mail) that says "Nottingham Pictures". If you click on the pictures it should (crossing my fingers here!) take you to my web album where you can view all of the pictures from my trip. If it doesn't work please comment and let me know and I will try to fix it (no promises though haha).


This week has been pretty much about going to class and getting a routine down. Tuesday was a bit of a crazy day because I realized that I was taking classes that would not transfer back to U of I and help me graduate on time...oopsy! So I decided to change about half of my schedule that day and after a few hours of panicking about it I succeeded in getting in a couple different classes that I have actually come to really like and that will help me more back at home!


The highlight of the week is most definitely the fact that I now have FULL battery power for my computer at all times! For those of you who were not privy to the fact that I made a slight error in judgement in not bringing a 3 pronged adapter for my computer charger, I essentially could not charge my computer with my charger so I was taking it over to Rae's room everyday for a couple hours and getting enough battery to skype my mommy before bed and just about nothing else. Well my package that my mom sent me with said adapters still hadn't arrived on Monday and the tracking number USPS gave us said nothing about it even making it to England yet so we (me mom and dad) made the executive decision to have me pull out the third prong of my charger because apparently you don't need it?! Why the heck is it here then, I ask! So that night I was ELATED with the freedom of using my computer for as long as I wanted. Oh, and guess what came in the mail on Tuesday. Yep, the adapters! Aye aye aye, that would happen but oh well! 


Yesterday I was getting ready to go to Rae's room and as I was getting ready to open my door to leave a bird flew in my window into my room. Yes, you read that correctly. A REAL LIVE BIRD was in my ROOM. Needless to say I panicked, ran into the hallway where all my neighbors were congregating and said "I know this sounds weird but can someone help me get the bird out of my room, it just flew in the window". They all just looked at me and chuckled and replied "oh, that happens all the time, it will just fly out when it's ready. It comes in our rooms too, it's name is Robin because it is a Robin (creative, no?)!". I was like umm...where I come from it is NOT normal for a bird to fly in your room. The told me to just go close the curtains on it and it would leave but I was scared so they started to do it for me and then it flew out. Needless to say I will NOT be keeping my windows open too wide from now on!


Besides that life has been pretty boring. I'm still getting homesick sometimes, especially at night when I'm alone but it gets better everyday! I'm traveling to Liverpool (home of the Beatles) this weekend. There has been talk of an ALL DAY Beatles tour...joy. I'm sure I will come back and astound you all with my Beatles knowledge. I've been getting to know some international students a bit more so that is exciting to have people to hang out with! Tonight at dinner some Brits came and sat with Rae and I. As normal as this may seem it was basically the highlight of our day because that NEVER happens.


This post was boring...and not really even that funny but I hope that my posting of pictures make up for it! My next post will probably be Sunday night so be on the edges of your seats waiting!


Love from London (and soon Liverpool...I think I can only go places that start with "L")


Stacey