Friday feb 27

On Friday after I got out of class at 11 I quickly packed a bag and met with Rachel for our first trip to London! We grabbed a baguette on the way to the train station which is a 15 minute walk from my dorm. The train ride was about an hour and 40 minutes all together because it makes stops along the way. We got into London at Waterloo and took the tube to Kensington. The tube seemed like it took us to the center of the earth. I have never in my life been on escalators that steep before. When we got out onto the street it was filled with little junk tourist shops and places to eat.. alot like new york city. We walked about 3 blocks and found the hotel Umi which was where I stayed for the weekend. I shared the room with two other girls but they hadn't arrived yet when I checked in.
For the rest of the afternoon we just walked around into the little boutiques and got some potato leek soup from a cafe. Rachel and I were both so tired so after eating we went back to the hotel and took a nap. Brockport's Study abroad program planned this weekend trip for all of it's students studying in the UK so after we rested a bit we went down to the bar to have dinner and drinks with the directors of the UK programs and Other students studying through Brockport. They gave us tube passes and guides that told us what the city had to offer. All the students went to Piccadilly circus and walked around for a bit. It was really crowded and is located in the west end. It is the central location of all the theaters in London. Every one was really tired so we went to a pub and had a drink and decided to go back to the hotel because we had an early start for a bus tour in the morning.

School

While taking notes during class I have this habit of writing down things my professors say that read out of context don't really have anything to do with lecture. When I am in Brockport I usually read the quotes at dinner or when everyone is just sitting around. Because I am in Portsmouth I have Decided to post them here. You will have to imagine me doing an English accent. The following are quotes from my classes today:

"ALL HAPPY BUNNIES? THAT'S JOLLY GOOD!"
"JUST BUM DOWN TOWARD THE FRONT"
"THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO IS STILL SELLING LIKE HOT CAKES!"
"STONES ARE AN OLD FASHIONED WORD FOR TESTICLES"
" LET'S MAKE A START"
My instructors all seem to be pretty "jolly". Today I had Global Sociology and disability, Stigma and Social life. They are back to back classes and in the same building so that is really nice. The lecture halls here are set up pretty differently though. The building I was in today had two floors. You can only gain access to the rooms individually from outside. The rooms form a box around a courtyard that has benches to sit on which is really nice out when it isn't raining. the past to days have been nice and sunny. I took a few pictures on my walk back from class today. The academic buildings are about an 8 minute walk from my dorm which is really nice. I pass the city museum that looks like a castle on my way to most places. the library is also pretty much the halfway point to class from my building which is also nice. We don't have to buy books here! they post most things online and they books they suggest you look at are in the library and are not required.
I got a package today with twizzlers, chocolate, macaroni and cheese (Annie's), granola bars, crasins, and other things. I don't think the British have ever heard of snacks before. So I think I might go do some snacking.

grocery store fun and chinese new year

Last night was the chinese new year party. we didn't end up staying long because we were so tierd and couldn't pay attention to any of the acts which were in chinese. when we got back we decided to create a fake profile on e-harmony .com after trying to find television on the internet. today i slept in and expected to wake up to a gloomy and rainy day again. I was pleasantly surprised when i opened my curtains to see the sun shining. We went to the store to buy laundry detergent. when we got back we started watching tv with someone from our hall. There was this show on where this guy races really fast cars against public transportation. it was interesting. i will be glad to start classes next week.


also my calves hurt.

day one

We arrived in Heathrow airport about an hour late.  By the time we passed through customs our bags were coming out onto the conveyor belt.  When we walked outside of the baggage claim area we saw a man holding a sign with our names on it so we said our goodbyes to Andrea and began our trek to Portsmouth.  The driver drove a mercedes and drove it very fast.  It was very sunny and a nice ride down to the coast although it was highway most of the way.  eventually as we got closer to Portsmouth we saw windmills in the hills and sheep walking in hilly pastures. the ride was about an hour and a half because of the traffic.  As we came into the city it didn't seem that big and the streets we went down weren't what i expected.  By the end of the day we began to find the really beautiful parts of the city.  when we got to the dorm we found out that rachel didn't have a room so they gave us an extra mattress and she stayed with me.  We decided to go exploring.  We went to a department store called Debenhams and bought gloves and a scarf because I forgot to bring them.  We found a small pub on a side street and got a cheese platter and a bottle of wine to share.  The woman selling the cheese seemed a little annoyed with us.   The wine may not have been the smartest choice since we hadn't really eaten lunch or a substantial breakfast.  We walked back to the dorm (Rees) after a few hours of people watching at the pub.  on our way back we came across an elementary school and the children were just getting out for the day.  They all wear uniforms and walk home from school.  in the morning I see them walk by my window in rows. Being here feels like I am watching BBC on a huge television screen.  When we got back to the room we went to sleep intending to get up for dinner and try to make some friends.  Unfortunately we slept through dinner and missed our chance.  there are not a lot of students here yet.  Most of them will be coming back on Sunday.  We went for a walk and found the Student union and then walked down to Gunwharf Quays which is on the water and has tons of shops, clubs, and restaurants.  We went back to our room and called it a night after that.