Exploring Notts

I spent most of this weekend locked in my room trying to get some school work done (trying, being the operative word... I spent most of the time watching movies or reading other books...). I decided that since I have Mondays off, I should go exploring the town and finally see the castle. I went with Brittany, one of the American girls I found on tumblr and befriended. We found our way to the castle and took some pictures with Robin Hood, admiring the architecture. We would have actually gone in the castle, had they not been closed on Mondays. That is just going to have to be something to do later. We walked down a street next to it, taking pictures of some of the cool buildings and the wall surrounding the Castle. We found a telephone booth that we could finally take pictures with because there was no one around! Walking around the other way, we found the oldest pub in england built into the side of the Castle wall. Next time I am in the city centre and hungry, i am definitely going there for lunch! The entire city centre is basically shops, so we walked around some more before going into Primark. She had something to return and I wanted to look. Of course, i ended up buying some things. There was a poundland on our walk so we went in there and i found so much food for great prices. Stocked up on chocolate, yumm! We went into the mall to go to Boots so she could get something and i found the perfume i like to use for such a bargain price! I paid half of what I usually pay at home, which made me so happy. I really didn't want to spend any more money after that, so we walked around a bit more before catching the bus back to Raleigh Park. Brittany told me there is an ASDA around here, which is basically a Wal-Mart, so I might go there tomorrow or Wednesday to see if i can find a cheap mirror. Still doing my hair in a webcam. Today was a good break from school work and I still have time if i want to do some. I did some before I went exploring, so at least I did something productive today! Here are some pictures of my day:

 

 

New Obsession

In coming to the UK, many things changed, including what shows i could watch on Netflix. One of the shows i found was Downton Abbey, something I have been wanting to watch for ages and that every one has said was fantastic. So of course, i started watching it. In the week i have been here, i have gone through the first season and half of the second and i can now say I am obsessed. This show is like a work of art. The acting is fantastic, the setting is beautiful, and all the feels! I am now utterly invested in this show and the lives of the characters. I can't even tell you how many times I have cried watching this show and gasped in surprise and hoped for the best and hated those scheming schemers. Is this normal? Is this how every one else watches this show? I can't even deal with how this show makes me feel. Now I will leave you with some fabulous photographs while i go and watch another episode!

 

  

 

Also, the place that they film at is called Highclere Castle and I seriously want to go visit it once it opens for the spring!

 

x

Brianna

Trip to London

I went to London this weekend to attend the afforementioned TFIOSlive, so i did a lot of exploring, seeing most of the city's famous tourist spots (which are actually really close to each other, i mean, i could walk from one to the other and it didn't take me that long). As I did, I took tons of photos, though they aren't the best quality because they were either taken at night or when it was cloudy (typical London). It was chilly too, with the cold wind blowing pretty strongly. I had a really nice time though, it was cool to see things by myself and take my time looking at everything. Being in London I also got to experience the tube and found that it really is not that complicating if you know where you are going. Here are some photos from the weekend!

Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station

Big Ben

Telephone Booth

The London Eye

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace



Green Park

Green Park



Hyde Park

Where Stacey and I ate lunch - the burgers were good but really expensive!



Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square

National Gallery

M&Ms World

Piccadilly Circus

 x

Brianna

 

TFIOSlive

On Sunday I went to Cadogan Hall in London to see John Green and his brother Hank Green live! It was a really great experience, one i never thought i would get to do. They were both really funny and it was just an incredible day overall. There were tons of people there, all of whom were so friendly. Two people baked some goodies to hand out too and i am sure there were more! As a surprise, another author that I love and who is good friends with John, Maureen Johnson, participated in the event by asking the brothers questions. That was just the cherry on top really. I got my books signed as well as my ticket and John was even kind enough to personalize the one i got as a gift for my friend even though they were not personalizing anything because of time restraints. Afterwards I was walking to some touristy things and I saw and walked past Benjamin Cook, who makes the series Becoming YouTube. I may have stared at him a bit more than is acceptable, but I couldn't even believe it. That doesn't happen in Calgary often because I'm pretty sure there are hardly any video making YouTubers there. Unfortunately he was on the phone looking for his friends, or I would have said hi. Anyways, here are some photos of the event!

 

 

x

Brianna

Impressions

Since getting here, I have been trying to explore as much of my area as possible, trying to get familiar with it. I am finally starting to get used to looking the opposite way when i cross the street, but there are a lot of other things I am encountering that are very different! First of all, their doors swing the opposite way! Instead of swinging towards the exits or to go outside, they pull inwards! How weird is that! Second, their chocolate is really different. Good, but definitely not the same as ours. The taste will take getting used to but then i may be ruined for chocolate at home. And third, they don't have Alfredo sauce! What is this?! I'm going to have to try and find a giant supermarket with world foods or something cause Carbonara just doesn't taste as good!

I had to go shopping to get bedding, so I decided to brave the transport system by myself and head down to the shopping mall in the city. While there are some really cool stores in there, none had bedding, so i googled a primark and found that there was one a few blocks away. On my walk there, I stumbled upon this fantastic building:

 Like seriously? This beautiful piece of architecture was in the middle of a giant shopping area. How cool is that?! I really just want to sit there and stare at it, maybe take pictures, but there were so many people and i practically scream tourist whenever i take out my camera.

The Primark ended up being just by it, so i went in there. From what I could see, the clothes in there look awesome! I really want to go back and spend some actual time shopping in there. The Home section was upstairs and they did not disappoint. I found some white sheets and pillow cases, 2 pillows, a duvet and a duvet cover, a tea towel and 20 hangers for £44. I'm pretty impressed, don't think i could have gotten all that at ikea for that price. So I went home, carrying all that heavy stuff and it was drizzling too. Not bad at all, but having to walk from the bus stop and carry that kind of sucked.

The moment i got into my flat, i started setting up my bedroom. I'm going to save all the bags my bedding was in so that i can sell it to someone or at least leave it for someone in the bags. I also put up the two Doctor Who posters that i had brought from home. They really personalize the space for me haha. 

That night i discovered something incredibly odd about the students here. They go out on Monday nights. Seriously, Monday is considered a student night at the clubs here and that is when they go partying. Also, on busy nights, you need tickets or need to be on the list to get into these clubs. What? So different from home. Anyways, since my British roommate Shaun had just come back from being on semester abroad in Georgia, he had a bunch of his uni friends over to drink and then go out to a club. They very kindly included me and I had my very first British clubbing experience. It was incredibly fun, even considering the fact that the club was packed with students celebrating the end of exams. All of his friends were really nice and I hope that we'll be able to hang out more. Got to familiarize myself with the locals and their culture, don't i? 

The next day i had to go to University Park campus for my first class and orientation. My class was just an introductory lecture, starting the class off with the basics about each group we will be focusing on. I've also had to read several articles for the seminar on Friday but it doesn't seem like this will be too horrible. I tried writing my notes out by hand but i think i will stick to typing, it is faster! While I was on campus i ran into a person i had found through tumblr and discovered that her friend is in two of my history courses! They are from Canada and are incredibly nice and I really hope that we'll be friends. During the free time i had before my orientation, i walked around the campus with one of the girls, Megan, and took some pictures.

Portland Building, the main student hub

Trent Building, the bell/clock tower as seen from inside the court yard

When we went to the orientation, i met another person that i had found on Tumblr, Brittany from Georgia. She actually happened to be in a class with Shaun and had debated with him. Small world! She turned out to be really cool too, which is great. You never know what people will be like when you first find them online. Anyways, all of us returned to Jubilee Campus together as we all lived in the same area. It started raining for real on our walk back to our flats, even though their for real seems more like simple rain showers to me. I guess i am just used to rain being ridiculously angry. That night I booked my train tickets and hostel bed for in London this weekend and i am really looking forward to it. It was really scary doing it by myself but I'm getting the hang of it. I'll be meeting Stacey there and spending the weekend doing touristy things and seeing John Green with her. I'm so looking forward to seeing everything i have waited years to see. Afterwards I just talked to my mom on Facebook and watched an episode of Downton Abbey before going to sleep. 

Today i didn't have any classes, so i slept in until 9:30am before heading back to University Park to do my in person registration. I also tried to get my student card but it doesn't seem to have been made yet, which is weird because i uploaded my picture months ago. When i got off the hopper bus, i went looking for the library so that i could take a picture of it. It is a pretty cool building, the entire campus is lovely really. On my way back to my flat i went to Tesco's to get some food to change it up. I got some Penne and Carbonara (which as stated before is no where near as good as alfredo), some mini potatoes to eat some other day, some butter for my sandwiches and the potatoes, and some snacks because i was craving chocolate! When i got back, i read all of my seminar readings and tried to  form an opinion on the topic. I also took a 40 minute nap between doing those things because for some reason i was tired. I'll just use jet lag as an excuse. For dinner, i made penne with chicken and carbonara and vegetables. I made too much pasta but at least i know for next time! Shaun and my Chinese flatmate Tongren were also in the kitchen so we talked for a bit. Since then I just finished reading my last article and plan on watching some more Downton Abbey. I understand why people like this show!

Tomorrow I have a full day of classes, so i really hope they all turn out to be awesome! 

x

Brianna

Made it!

Other than an initial delay of two hours because of technical issues, my trip to England went smoothly. I didn't get a lot of sleep because of children crying, but managed to survive. At the airport in Toronto, i found two girls who were also going to Nottingham to study so we stuck together after that. We got to London around 8:30am and quickly got through customs. The agent i went to was very thorough, scrutinized all my documents and asked me questions before finally letting me go. Because that didn't take long, we ended up waiting a few hours before we could take our coach to Nottingham. During that time we met a few more people that were also going. 

The coach ride was 2.5 hours and man, was it hard not to sleep like everyone else was. I really wanted to stay up until 8pm so i could avoid being jetlagged. The highway we took was lined with trees and lots of sheep! There is a place called Milton Keynes that i am pretty sure was named after the economists. It rained briefly when we landed and during the drive, but otherwise it was sunny and windy. An observation: fairly certain the highway we were on didn't have a speed limit. There was nothing posted and everyone was going different speeds. It seemed to have been a 'watch out for everyone, pay attention, and you'll be fine' kind of thing. They take the slow-middle-fast lane theory seriously. 

I got my key to my room and moved in. My roommates consist of a guy from China, a girl from Slovakia, a guy from England who just came back from exchange, and another Asian guy who i met very briefly. Because the stores close really early, i was unable to get bedding right away, which meant a really cold sleep and not actually sleeping much even though i was exhausted. As i write this, it is 6am and i have been up for an hour as i gave up. I explored the area a bit after unpacking as much as i could, getting subway for supper and walking way too far to find a grocery store where i bought some food for breakfast. I plan on getting some more money and doing a real grocery trip today. Really hoping there are VISA friendly ATMs on campus! I'm hoping to go to Victoria Center (mall) which some new friends because we all need to find bedding after orientation this morning. 

I don't know if i will be able to update this blog daily, but probably every 2 or 3 days. We'll have to see!

x

Brianna

Flying!

See you tomorrow England!