Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Wizards and Muggles

You know how I've been going to Platform 9 3/4 to get my Harry Potter fix while I've been here? Well today I think I finally got my fix... I went to the Warner Brothers Studio Tour.

I met Sarah and Kara at Surbiton Station (also where part of a Harry Potter movie was filmed!). We then met Ellyn at Euston and took a train to the studios. We were going to meet Maddy, Kaley and Amanda there later.

The Great Hall
We saw EVERYTHING during the tour! The first part of a movie set we saw was Harry's cupboard under the stairs. We were then put into a room with a screen and you watched a little movie about the series. The ending scene was the doors to the Great Hall. Then the screen was pulled up and there were the actual doors to the Great Hall! This was the most surreal moment for all of us, I think. Just seeing it on screen and then the actual room was right in front of you.... I could not process that right away! The Great Hall was the only room that had a tour guide. She talked about the different costumes that were in the room. She started talking about the houses and said to cheer when she said our favorite. She asked first who was a Hufflepuff. I screamed so loud because I got so excited (and I have to represent my house with pride!). Everyone in the Great Hall just stared at me and the tour guide said "I guess that makes two of us." Sarah was cracking up at me. I might have gotten a little to excited but I didn't even care. Nothing could bring me down today... I was on the Harry Potter set!

Philosopher's Stone aka Sorcerer's Stone
The rest of the tour was self-guided. We got to see many costumes that were worn in the movies and even some wigs! We also saw some important rooms, such as the Gryffindor Common Room, the boys dormitory  Dumbledore's office and Hagrid's Hut. There were also important artifacts, such as the philosopher's stone (sorcerer's stone), the time turner and even some of the horcruxes!

There was an outdoor part of the tour, as well. There we saw the Knight Bus, the flying car, the Hogwarts Bridge, and Harry's house on Privet Drive. There was also Butterbeer for sale... it was delicious! It was chilly out today so after a while we decided to finish the tour inside.

The last few rooms were more based on the people. It had models of the main characters, and even had the not as big characters (such as a mandrake). We then walked into the next room and saw Diagon Alley. The weirdest thing for me will be watching the movies now and knowing I had walked on the floor of Diagon Alley.

We walked through a hallway next that had some paper models of the different buildings used in the films. Then we turned the corner and saw Hogwarts. The castle is not life-size, like it looks in the movies. It is big, but not as big as people would think. In the room with the castle they had the theme music playing so it made all of us a little emotional (I didn't cry, but was sad the tour was over). Before the tour was officially over we walked into a room full of wands.... it was wands used by every cast member. It was crazy to see how many wands there were!

Hogwarts
Even though it was a fun day I was ready to go home when we left. I had to get up a 5 am this morning so I could sign up for summer classes (the time change is really horrible when you have to do things like that). I did go back to sleep after I scheduled my classes, but it was not enough! Even though it is only a summer class, scheduling it reminded me that I won't be here forever. I'm still in the mindset of how I was when I first got here. I thought after a while I would get really homesick and want to go home. Don't get me wrong, I do miss my family and friends, but there is just something about London I can't seem to get out of my head.

Monday, February 25, 2013

There is No Luck in London.... Only Fate

On Saturday we had our field trip to Oxford. It was not really what I expected it to be. We all thought we would get to tour Oxford University, but instead we toured the town and one of the colleges there. It was still cool to see the area, but it was a very long day. One thing I did like, though, is that we saw the room where they filmed a scene from Harry Potter! In the 4th movie there is a scene where they learn how to dance (Ron dances with Professor McGonagall if that helps your memory). It was filmed in a building at Oxford! We didn't get to go inside, but there were so many windows looking into it that you could see it was just like the movie.

The building Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was filmed in
The rest of the tour was interesting, but it was so cold that it was hard to focus on the tour guide. We realized we always seem to take walking tours when it is freezing outside. Hopefully that won't happen anymore!

On our bus ride to Oxford Maddy had looked up tickets to the One Direction concert that night just to look at prices for fun (it was the opening of their world tour). We found some that were cheap! We didn't really think we would go until we saw how cheap we could possibly get them. We researched the website we found them on and saw a lot of bad reviews so we kept looking at other sites for tickets for the next nights show. To our luck, we found two sets of two tickets that were two rows apart for a reasonable price. So of course we had to get them! I mean, who else can say they went to a world tour concert on it's opening weekend in London?

Kaley, Maddy, Kara and I in O2 Arena
We got to O2 Arena on Sunday and forgot that other people would be there. I know what you're thinking.... it's a One Direction concert, of course people will be there! We were just so shocked we got tickets that we didn't even think about other people. There was also a matinee show so the place was really crowded. Maddy, Kaley and I wanted Nando's for dinner, but when we got there it was packed so we found a random Thai restaurant and decided to eat there. When we got seated I looked around and saw someone who looked familiar. I looked at Kaley and asked "Kaley, is that Lou??" (Lou is One Direction's stylists). She looked over and said "Oh my God, it is!" Fate. That is all I can say about that. When Kara arrived we told her not to freak out, but Lou was here. Kara LOVES Lou and kept saying she wanted a picture with her. She worked up the courage when she was getting ready to leave and went over to ask for a picture. Kara said she was really nice and asked if she came all the way from the States just to see her!

Next item on our list was to get our tickets scanned to make sure they were legit. You know when you are going through customs at an airport and are worried something might be wrong on your passport and they won't let you in? Well, that is exactly how we felt since we bought them from a random website. All of our tickets scanned in and we hugged each other. We were officially going to see One Direction! In London, of all places!

We found our seats and were amazed by how good they were! From now on I am letting Kaley do any ticket-finding we may need... she did an excellent job! I sat by Kara and we saw that Maddy and Kaley were having some issues with their seats. Someone was sitting in them and were worried they might not be able to see the show. They got everything worked out, and another crazy thing happened. The lady sitting next to them is friends with Paul, One Direction's body guard. Again, this was fate.



How did we end up eating dinner in the same restaurant as Lou, getting amazing seats for the concert, and sitting by people who were friends with Paul? None of us know exactly how to describe how we felt during the whole evening because this kind of stuff never happens to us back home.

The concert was amazing! The boys were energetic throughout the whole show and we were dancing all night. It didn't seem like we were really there, though, because everything happened so fast. At one point Niall talked about how the tickets for this tour went on sale about one year ago and thanked everyone for waiting that long to attend the show. Kara and I just looked at each other and laughed. No problem, Niall! Waiting 20 hours for the show was very difficult, but it was worth it.



After a few hours of dancing and having the best time of our lives the show was over. They ended with "Live While We're Young" and "What Makes You Beautiful," both very energetic songs so we were singing our hearts out! When it was over we just sat down for a while and tried to take in what had just happened... we had attended a One Direction concert on it's opening weekend. What??


We headed back to Waterloo to get the trains home, but there was none that were going to Surbiton (we didn't realize it would run different on a Sunday night... lesson learned). I am the only one that needed that train, the others needed the one to Kingston. Maddy just said I could stay with her so I wouldn't have to walk to the bus stop alone from the train station. Kara was already going to stay at Kaley's because she forgot her house key. But when we got to the bus stop the busses weren't running like they normally do, either! So when Kaley and Kara's bus had come Maddy and I decided to just walk to her house. When they were getting on Kaley yelled for us to get on. Without thinking we quickly jumped on. That is when Kaley informed us that we would just stay at her house with them to make sure we all got somewhere to sleep that night. Slumber party!!

Louis
Niall




















We used to think that everything happening to us here was just luck... luck that we had been to the same party as Liam and Louis within the first two weeks of being here, luck that we were two feet away from them at the Brits a few days ago and luck that everything that happened at the concert had gone so well. We quickly decided that this was all fate. If you thought that sounded corny, just wait for it. We really do think that it was fate for the four of us to meet here and become friends so we could experience this stuff together. London may be my lucky place, but fate has brought me to some amazing people.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Brit Awards

Let me just start off by saying the things I have been doing to see celebrities here is only because I don't have opportunities like this back home!

Today was the Brit Awards! This is similar to the Grammys. One Direction was going to be there so we had already planned on going. As a bonus Ed Sheeran had tweeted on Monday how he would be in London just for today to present an award at the Brits. This is the only time he would be here while I'm here because he is on tour in the US the rest of the time (of course... the one time I come to London one of my favorite british singers isn't here!).

We got to the red carpet around 1:30 and the stars were not supposed to start showing up until 4:30. We wanted to make sure we had a good spot! We ended up having second row at the red carpet... not bad! The red carpet was set up very strange. Only the VIP guests walked by the fans, the interviews were on the opposite side. The celebrities chose if they wanted to walk to the fans.

The first person we saw was Ed. I about died! I heard Kara say "Laura, it's Ed!" and I screamed and about jumped on Rachel. I just didn't know what to do with myself and I hadn't even seen him yet! Where we were standing we could only see the stars as they were about to head in the door for more interviews. But I saw Ed! I only saw him for a few seconds before he went in but I saw him. I did see him again when he was inside because the walls were glass.

The next big person was saw was Taylor Swift. The coolest thing about her is that she skipped the interviews to visit the fans! Since I was in the second row it was hard to ask for an autograph or picture with her so I just took pictures of her instead. My hands were cold, but I needed proof that I was actually seeing famous people here!
Taylor Swift
More famous people were walking into O2 Arena, but not many came out to the fans. Then the screaming started. One Direction had arrived. And the fan-girling began for Kaley and me. The first one I saw was Zayn. He walked right in front of us to sign autographs. Then Louis went right next to him! And then Niall came! I think I did some kind of yelp when I saw him, but thankfully there were so many girls screaming that he didn't hear it. He is my favorite so I had to focus on getting a decent picture of him. He was to the right of us and was directly in front of my at one point! Liam showed up at some point, but he was there for so little that I didn't even get a picture of him. Harry was the last one we saw, he is Kaley's favorite. He went down the whole line to sign autographs and when he left he blew the area we were standing in a kiss. Kaley was in tears she was so happy!

Louis
Zayn
Niall
Harry 
I had written my twitter name and number on two pieces of paper, one for Ed and one for Niall. There was no way for Ed to get it since he didn't come to see the fans but the girl in front of my took the paper for Niall. She almost got it to him but then he had to go. I was so close to having any kind of contact with him!

We waited longer for more stars to appear, but they kept going straight inside and not walking to the fans. We saw Rita Ora, Ne-Yo, Little Mix, Tom Daley (Olympic Diver), Robbie Williams, Mumford and Sons, Rizzle Kicks, Paloma Faith, Labrinth, JLS, Conor Maynard and so many others!

Olly Murs was also there! He basically ran out to the fans. By this point Rachel and I had gotten front row because the girls in front of us were lucky enough to have tickets to the show so they had to leave to find their seats. As Olly was making his way down the line I got my camera out to take a picture with him. He was so close, then his management made him got he other way. Just my luck! I wasn't to worried though because Kaley, Sarah and I have tickets to his concert in about 2 weeks!
Olly

As we were leaving it started to set in what had happend. I had seen Ed and One Direction, two of my favorite artists, in the same night in my favorite city. How did my life end up like this? I almost had to sit down in the middle of the floor and cry because I was so happy! But I didn't. I held it together (barely) and we went into O2 arena to find Nando's for dinner (I'm telling you, I am in love with this place!). This probably wasn't the best idea because Nando's in Niall's favorite restaurant so all I could think is that I was at his favorite restaurant while we were both in the same building. It was just too much for me to handle!

Kaley and I can't believe what happened!
We have only been here for a month and had done so much! It's weird to think that two weeks ago we were at the same party as Liam and Louis, but we had just seen the rest of the boys and Ed Sheeran. Kaley just kept saying that we were the luckiest girls alive and I completely agree! I absolutely love my life in London.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

I'm So in Love With London

I accomplished something big this week: I wrote my first paper! This is actually really scary for me. I know the grading system is different here so I'm worried for when I get that first grade back. Thankfully, the paper isn't due until next week so I have time to read it over again and make sure it is perfect before I hand it in. I still haven't started the paper I was hoping to start last week but I did find the articles to write it about so I made progress!

On Monday my only class was cancelled (thank you London Fashion Week for the long weekend!). Today we did another day trip! Kara and Kaley had not been to Platform 9 3/4 yet so we started our day off at Kings Cross! Yes, I did get another picture there. I will probably get more too when I take my brother and mom there!

From Kings Cross we went to find the British Library. We saw many important documents, and even hand-written lyrics from The Beatles! Then we took the Jubilee Line to the O2 Arena. The Brit Awards are going to be held there tomorrow night and we knew there would be rehearsals going on today, plus we wanted to see the area around it. The O2 was so cool! We thought it would just be an arena with nothing to see, but there were small shops inside and even a movie theatre! We also found the red carpet for the Brit Awards. Of course, we did a little photo shoot on it. While we were there we got hungry for lunch so Maddy and I headed to Nandos (I'm becoming obsessed... this restaurant needs to go to the States) and Kaley and Kara went to Frankie and Benny's. Ellyn met us at Nando's and then we decided to explore more of the city!
Outside O2 Arena
Walking the Red Carpet!




















We were going to find the DLR to take us to Greenwich but then decided to walk around the arena a little bit longer. That was our best decision because we found what they call an airline! It's basically cable cars that go over the river. We decided we would do it if it accepted Oyster cards. It did! So we got in a car and soared over the river. It was one of the coolest views I have seen. On the other side of the river was the DLR so we got on for a bumpy ride to Greenwich!
One the airline!
You know how I said the airlines gave me the best view I had seen so far? Well that was before we went to the Royal Observatory. This is where the Prime Meridian line is so we went to find that. Thankfully the line was at the top of a giant hill so we got our work-out on while walking. The walk was worth it for the view we got. Looking at the skyline with the sunsetting behind it was when it had sunk in: I was in love.... with a city. I know, it's only been one month but one thing led to another and I had fallen in love fast.

How can you not fall in love with a view like this?

Prime Meridian! I'm in two places at once!
Ok back to reality, this month had gone by so fast! I know I still have four months here but I am not ready to leave! My dad is thankful the plane ticket home is already booked because he isn't sure I would come home. Honestly, I'm not sure I would either! This city has given me so many friendships, opportunities and adventures that I could not get anywhere else! Whenever anyone brings up leaving we all just tune out that person because none of us are ready to think about that quite yet.







We left the observatory at a horrible time. We took the DLR to a stop where we could get on the Jubilee Line to get back to Waterloo. We happened to leave right when everyone was going home. I have never seen a tube station so full! We had to wait for about two tubes to go through before there was finally one that could fit all five of us! But we made it to Waterloo and from there Kara and I parted ways with everyone else and took a train to Surbiton. We quickly ran to get to our train because it was supposed to leave any minute. We jumped onto the first cart that looked like it had room and then I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked over and there was Peter, my host-dad! He told me sometimes he likes a change of scenery when he works and decided to go out today (he works at home usually). When I told him what we did today he said I have probably seen more of London than he has. That's so weird to me because there is still so much to see here!

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Non- Eventful Weeks Turn into Busy Weekends

My plan everyday this week was to get started on my paper so I don't have to worry about it later, but that hasn't happened yet. I mean I'm still doing fine since it isn't due until May, but I just want it out of the way.

I did accomplish something else, however. My trip to Germany is officially booked! Since Ellyn and I don't have class on Tuesdays we went to a cafe and found the cheapest (and most reliable) flight we could and a hotel. My brother Adam is coming with us, as well. He is coming to London during our spring break. On top of that, my mom is coming the second week of break, along with Mrs. Goncer (Ellyn's mom)! They planned our trip to Paris! The only disappointment to that trip is that they said we won't have time to go to Disneyland Paris. Ellyn and I are HUGE Disney fans and were quit sad when they told us this. They did suggest we could go on our own time, but we would rather spend our money on going to another country instead of going back to one we've been to.

Wednesday after class Kaley, Maddy and I planned some more day trips to take. I love the fact that we can travel to different places pretty much whenever we want to! At Central I had the freedom to go to different places, but there is not many places to go. Here you can go to Central London for a day, or head to other cities like Brighton, or go to the different museums (most of them are free!).

On Thursday (Valentine's Day) I was at the bus stop on my way to head to Uni when I started to talk to the other lady at the bus stop. She was impressed that I came two minutes before the bus was suppose to arrive and asked if I had a smart phone telling me when the buses came. I just happened to be very lucky that I came when I did! I told her that I had a pay-as-you-go phone because I am a study abroad student. Then she got interested in asking where I was from and what it is like back home. She asked how I liked the weather here and when I told her it was much warmer here she gave me a crazy look, so I told her how back home schools were getting snow days because of the snow. She then asked what I was studying and when I told her journalism she said that must be hard to get into. I told her it is, but I'm working hard at it. Also, the fact that I want to work for a magazine makes the competition even harder. She then told me it is very important to follow your dreams, no matter your age. Hearing that little bit of advice was just what I needed to hear, considering I did not want to go to class on such a nice day!

After class Kaley and I went into town to do a bit of grocery shopping. Considering that fact that it was Valentine's Day we decided to treat ourselves a bit with chocolate, milkshakes and a rose. We were fine carrying our roses when we were walking together but then when we got onto our separate buses to go home I began to notice the looks people gave me. Some people stared and some others just smiled at me. Kaley and I decided we probably shouldn't buy ourselves flowers again.

On Friday we had a tour of Globe Theatre with our British Life and Culture class. But before we got there Ellyn and I met Kaley and Maddy at Trafalgar Square for lunch! It's strange to me that saying things like that is normal.... Just having lunch at Trafalgar Square. What?? Still doesn't seem completely real!

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
We then set off to find the Globe Theatre. We had a bit of a long walk to find it, but we got to see more of London that we haven't yet! We walked by the London Eye, saw more little shops and even found a skate board area full of graffiti. When we found the theatre we found more Kingston students and then started our tour. We got to see some of the different seat views (including standing right in front of the stage) and saw a little museum after of costumes and props used in plays. After we went to the Borough Market, which is like a farmer's market. It was really cute! They sold a lot of cheese, which is kind of random. We went home for the night after that.

On our way to Parliament!
The next day we had a tour of Parliament! This trip was, again, with the British Life and Culture class (this class is amazing because of all the trips and history you learn of England!). Most people had this tour on Friday, but for people who had classes on Friday we got the tour on Saturday. It was cool to be able to go inside the building and see the different rooms. In my British Life and Culture class we had learned about Parliament this week, so seeing the rooms in person helped a lot. The tour was not too long, so after Ellyn, Rachel and I went to The Sherlock Holmes Restaurant for lunch. We had perfect timing because right as we finished people had to begin making reservations to eat there.

That night we had a "Valentine's Day Party" with some of our friends. We went to Ellyn and Kaley's house and had nachos, fruit and chocolate and s'mores (at least the closest we could make it because they don't have graham crackers here). It was Maddy's first s'more since they don't have them in Australia! She was surprised by how sweet they were but she liked them. I asked my mom to bring real graham crackers when she comes to visit me so hopefully we can make Maddy a real s'more soon!

After our tour of the Parliament Building
I came home today and got to skype my brother Aaron while he was out to breakfast with my parents. He is a senior in college and just had his last swim meet. All the kids in my family swam, but he is the only one that continued in college. It's so weird to think that we never have to go to another meet. It was good to "see" him since I haven't been able to skype him much since I've been here.

This week is going to be very exciting/eventful. Tomorrow my class is canceled (the perks of taking a fashion class in London... it might get canceled during London Fashion Week!), but I still have to go to Uni to meet my magazine journalism group so we can figure out our presentation for Wednesday. This week I am hoping to get more schoolwork done (or at least started) and get my laundry done. One thing about doing laundry here that bothers me is that it takes so long to do! It takes about two hours to wash the clothes and another two hours to dry them. I'm used to doing two loads in that time!

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Even on a Cloudy Night We Still See the Stars

I forgot another major difference.... the fashion here! Most college students back home live in sweatpants and t-shirts, but here is very different. People always look nice! I will see the occasional person wearing sweatpants, but it is usually a guy going to play football. Some girls here even wear fake eyelashes to class. It's so different! Most of the American students have been wearing leggings or jeans with a nice shirt. Oh, and the closer you get to Central London the crazier the style gets. In Kingston you will see the person with rainbow colored dreadlocks (I really did see this), but in the city you see many people with their own personal sense of style. Some of it doesn't look bad, but some of it is interesting. I think most of the study abroad students are still getting use to looking presentable for class everyday.

This is the drink to get! Make sure to get the Orange flavor... it's the best I've had so far. 
This weekend was more "chill" for me. Since I get done with class at two I went back home to organize my room... it's starting to get a little bit messy. Then I packed a bag and headed to Ellyn and Kaley's for the night! Maddy and Kara stayed the night, as well. We went to Pizza Hut for dinner (first pizza I had in London). We then headed back to the house for an interesting night. Since Maddy is from Australia she brought Vegemite to have with her breakfast the next morning (that is what many Australians eat on toast). Naturally, we thought that us Americans should try it at two in the morning. For anyone who is ever offered Vegemite, don't try it. It may look like chocolate but it is very deceiving. Maddy put butter on bread and then put the vegemite on top of that. It would have tasted fine if it wouldn't of touched my tongue. I drank a LOT of water to get the taste out!

Favorite candy here!
We were planning on heading into Central London on Saturday to go look at some of the free museums, but by the time we all woke up and started to get ready it was almost one. Ellyn and I decided to stay back since we wanted to get back fairly early (we didn't want to only spend three hours in town). It was also a bit rainy so we wanted to go back to Central London on a nicer day. We went to the grocery store and bought some snacks then went back to my house to have a Disney movie marathon. We had some of the things I am becoming obsessed with (bueno bars, quavers crisps, tea biscuits...). It was good to have a weekend that wasn't so hectic.

Today I saved for skype dates with my friends and family back home and to start an assessment that is due in May. There was a change in plans, though. I got a text from Ellyn that morning asking if I wanted to go to the BAFTA red carpet (British Academy of Film and Television Arts). In case you haven't noticed, I really love anything that has to do with celebrities! I had already heard that Jennifer Lawrence was in town for this award show so of course I was keen to go! Getting there was quit the challenge, though. Certain train stations were closed, other tubes were down and the Chinese New Year was being celebrated throughout London so it was difficult to find the red carpet. But for some reason whenever we can't find the building we are looking for while in town we always end up in Trafalgar Square. Always. Without fail. So once we ended up there we found a map that showed us where to go! We found a Starbucks on the way and stopped to get a warm drink because it was so cold.

First glimpse of the red carpet!
Then we found the red carpet.... at least we thought we had. All of the security was telling us that we would not be able to watch but we saw online that it was open to the public. So then I suggested we walk around the building to the other side to see what was there. And there it was... the red carpet! I know it really just a carpet that is red but seeing one in person is awesome. We found a spot to stand and the long wait began. Luckily we stood by some really nice people! The lady next to me put her umbrella over me so I wouldn't get wet and the guy behind us kept telling us who was there and what movie they were in (some of the people we did not know because they were only in british movies). All of a sudden I heard Ellyn yell "Oh my god!" so I look over and Hugh Jackman is getting out of a car right in front of us! I tried so hard to take a picture with my camera but my hands were so frozen that it didn't work out so well. He did wave at Ellyn, though. She is now convinced that the wave meant they are engaged and since I witnessed it in person I think that means I'm the maid of honor.

So for those of you who don't know, Jennifer Lawrence and Anne Hathaway are two of my girl crushes (along with Kate Middleton). I heard people start yelling "Jennifer!" and I looked over and saw her! AHHH!!! It was crazy! It was cold though so she was moving quickly to get onto the carpet so she could get out of the cold! I had already decided that if she were to get out of the car right in front of me I would yell to her "I volunteer! I volunteer as umbrella holder!" just to see what she would say because she obviously needed an umbrella holder on a night like tonight! Sadly, she didn't get out by me and when I saw her I couldn't even speak for a few seconds. I also saw Anne Hathaway, which might be the closest I get to seeing a princesses so it was another surreal moment for me (she was in Princess Diaries for those of you who do not understand).

Out view for the red carpet.
The other celebrities we saw were Daniel Day Lewis, Helen Boham Carter, Quentin Tarantino, Jennifer Garner, Ben Affleck, Amy Adams (another person who played a princess!), Chris Tucker, George Clooney (swoon), Bradley Cooper (double swoon), Helen Mirren (who had pink hair), Sally Fields, Eddie Redmayne, Jim Sturgess, Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Jessica Parker and so many more!








While walking back the the tube station we realized how cold we really were but it didn't even matter to us! We just kept asking each other "did that really happen?" Our joke is that people won't believe us! Since we didn't get any pictures of Louis, Liam or Tom Cruise last weekend and our hands were to frozen to take pictures tonight that people will think we are just making this stuff up! Next on our list of famous people to see: Emma Watson.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

USA vs England

Over the past few days I have began to notice some major differences between England and America.

My house! All the houses here are adorable.
In my British Life and Culture class we have a seminar every other week (to anyone who is thinking of studying abroad at Kingston I would recommend this class). I have my seminar with Ellyn! The seminar is full of Americans... of course. But the lecturer (what we call professors here) asked each of us what we miss back home and what we will miss when we have to leave. That really got me thinking of all of the differences. One thing I do miss (besides my family and my dog)  is graham crackers. I didn't even think that they wouldn't have them here! When I said that in class the lecturer said someone in another seminar said the same thing.... good to know I'm not the only one missing them! Other people were saying things like driving and having stores open late (everything closes at 6 here except for restaurants and pubs). I do miss stores being open late but I can do without the driving! The only time I miss having a car is when I have to walk home from the bus stop at night when it is cold and rainy.

Speaking of buses, the public transportation here is all new for me! At Central we don't use buses. Our campus is small enough that we can walk everywhere and I lived in a dorm the past year and a half so I could easily walk everywhere. Now I have to make sure I leave my house an hour before my class starts, take a 10 minute walk to the bus stop, then a 20 minute bus ride (if the bus is on time, which is why you have to get there early. Sometimes the buses here can be unpredictable). When I first rode the bus by myself I was paying such close attention that I probably looked a little paranoid. Now I can listen to my iPod and not miss my stop... I am beginning to feel like a local! It's weird to think that seeing a double decker bus for the first time was a big deal to me and now it is what I ride to Uni everyday. Also at CMU I am use to getting to class about 10 to 15 minutes early, but here if you are even five minutes early people give you funny looks. In most of my modules the lecturer will not show up until the time the class is suppose to start. I can't help but be early when I ride the bus, though! I learned to always keep a magazine with me, though, so if I do get there too early I can go and sit in the library and read for a little while (which is perfect because according to my magazine journalism lecturer we don't read enough magazines).

So now onto the things I miss back home (mostly food.... I'm not a good cook so I've been living off of cereal and sandwiches lately). I already mentioned missing graham crackers, but going off of that I miss s'mores. I found out they don't have s'mores in Australia! Maddy and Sarah (both from Australia) were very confused when a bunch of Americans were trying to explain what it was. I also miss my mom's cooking. I know everyone says their mom is the best cook, but really my mom rarely makes something I don't like. The week before I left she made all of my favorite meals and it was amazing. I especially miss her homemade chocolate chip cookies! If you're reading this, mom, I want to learn how to make them when I get back. Fun fact: at the Bentalls Center in Kingston they have an "American Food" section. Home sweet home.... at a very expensive price!

Another thing I miss is always having somebody to talk to. Whether I was at my house or in my dorm back in the States there was always somebody around. There are people in my house here, but I am only allowed in my bedroom and the kitchen. The rest of the house is more bedrooms, an office or the tv room, which they use to watch tv as a family. When I am at my house I usually just stay in my room since I can't do a whole lot in the kitchen (remember.... I don't really cook). BUT thanks to skype, Facebook and Twitter I am always talking to my family and friends back home!

Now onto the things I am beginning to like (or become obsessed with) here! There is a drink here called a Lucozade. It's an energy drink but it is also carbonated. I don't drink a lot of pop, but this drink is amazing! My favorite flavor is the orange, but there are so many more to try! I also learned to listen to whatever Ellyn says to try. She kept talking about a Bueno Bar so I decided to try one. Best decision of my life (besides deciding to come to London, of course). It is made by the same company that makes Nuetella (if you knew my obsession with Nuetella last year then you would know how amazing this Bueno Bar is). I can't even describe how it tastes besides the fact that it is heaven in your mouth. Seriously. If you ever come to England get one right when you get off of the plane. As of today I am beginning to love the restaurant Nando's. When I first went I must have gotten the wrong thing because when I went for dinner today it was so much better! There is one in Washington D.C. I think but they need to put them all over the States!

My schedule got fixed (finally) so I now have one class on Monday night, two on Wednesday and one on Thursday and Friday. I am done earlier now on Friday, which I wanted in case I want to travel somewhere on the weekends. Also, in my magazine journalism class we got into groups to make our "magazine" for the semester. We had to think of an idea for what it would be about. The lecturer is kind of strict and wanted us to think outside of the box. One of the girls in our group came up with an idea of a magazine about coffee. Our other ideas were a teachers magazine and an art magazine. Thinking the lecturer would not like the coffee idea we saved that one last to tell her, but when she heard it she got really excited and said it was a really good idea. So now we are making a magazine about coffee!


One last story: Maddy's 20th birthday was on Wednesday! So on Tuesday Rachel, Kara and I went to the store (after doing laundry... it's a day long process here) to buy her a cake. Trying to find a "2" and "0" candle was quit difficult, so we ended up just getting a "1" and "9" because it was the closest to 20 we could get. A lot of our friends have British Life and Culture together on Wednesday so after class we went to Sarah's flat (apartment) and threw Maddy a surprise party! She had no idea and was so shocked by it! One thing I found interesting is that she was surprised that nobody let her buy anything on her birthday. You know how in America if it's your friends birthday and you go to dinner everyone pitches in to buy that person dinner? Well, apparently they don't do that in Australia! She didn't understand why we paid for everything.... we just told her that Americans were raised to be nice.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

The Posh Life

I had Uni classes the rest of the week.... my schedule still is not completely worked out so I went to the modules I am registered for and the ones I'm hoping to ge switched into. Basically, I've been an awesome student and going to extra modules. The classes on Thursday and Friday are ones I am trying to switch out of. There was one on Thursday morning I went to that I am trying to get into, which is a song lyric writing class. My friend Kaley told me she was in it and it sounded interesting. The professor is Scottish, too! I also had a Media Industries module later that day. On Friday I had the seminar for that class. I also had a module called Global English. I thought it would be about how English is used throughout the world, but it is actually about how English is taking over the world as an easy way to communicate with other countries! It is very interesting so far. I decided if I can't get my time table (schedule) changed then the classes I am enrolled in now will be fine. They are interesting and do not seem to hard so it will be good! The only bad thing about this schedule is I am use to being done by  noon on Fridays; right now I am not done until four. The biggest difference between Uni and CMU is that there is not as much work. It's not like we are slacking, though. We still do a lot of readings, but there are not any tests until the end so there is not as much studying to do (once we start getting more material, though, I will be studying so I don't get behind). Also, they have a lecture and seminar for each class. Back home you only have a lecture.

Random story: Kaley, Ellyn and I went grocery shopping on Thursday and one of the workers asked me if I was finding everything ok. When I said yes he got excited because I was American. He started asking me questions about where I am from and when I said Michigan his first thought was Detroit.... which he somehow connected to President Obama. He let us continue our shopping but then found us again to ask if college is really how it is in the movies with all of the sorority and fraternity parties. We told him how there are sororities and fraternities, but the parties are not usually that crazy. Again, he let us continue our shopping. When we went to the check out lanes he saw us, gave us a wave and said he hoped to see us soon. He was very excited and caught off-guard to meet Americans!

I really like Big Ben and wanted to post this picture of it :)
Ok so let me start off this paragraph that I am a One Direction fan and not ashamed of it! I mean five cute boys who can sing, what's not to love? My friends and I had heard last week that there was going to be a party at the club called Funky Buddha that Liam's friend was hosting for his birthday (Liam is from One Direction). Knowing there was a slight chance of Liam being there we decided to go! Right from class I took one of the Uni buses to the Kingston Uni Hill campus and from there walked to Ellyn and Kaley's house. I had never ridden a Uni bus before because there is not one near my house, so I was a bit worried I had gotten on the wrong one (but I didn't! I am figuring out the public transportation here). I did walk right past their house, though, so Ellyn had to go outside to meet me so I could find it easier. Rachel was already there and Kaley and Maddy walked in a little bit later. We did our make-up and some us did our hair there before we decided to head into the city before it go to dark. We met up with some more people at the train station then had to wait a little while before the train actually came. Little did we know there was a delay. Once we finally go on the train, the usually 20 minute train ride took an hour and 10 minutes. Because we didn't want to be late we started getting ready on the train (fixing our make-up, figuring out what to do with out hair.... we looked like a small beauty shop taking over a few rows). We got off the train, found the hostel we booked for the night and finished getting ready. When we checked in the worker asked us where we were going. When we told him he asked us if it is a "posh" club. When we said yes he told us we better change (we were still in leggings and sweaters we wore on the train). Trust me, a night where we have the possibility to see a celebrity is the perfect excuse to try to look you're best!

Rachel and I at Funky Buddha
Funky Buddha is one of those places where you have to call ahead to even get onto the guest list to get in. It's is much nicer compared to Wayside back home. We walked there and then had to stand in line for a little while before we were let in. While walking in Kaley and I both hear people at the door whisper into a phone "No sign of Liam yet." We were on look-out mood for the night! Once we were in we paid, put our coats in coat check then went to the bathroom. For how nice the club was you would think it would have a little more space in there! You had to ask the bathroom attendant for toilet paper and once you were done and came out to wash your hands she would turn the water on for you and give you paper towel. We later found out we were supposed to tip her... oops! But then we went downstairs to where the club was. Lesson of the night: if you plan on wearing new shoes anywhere (even to school) break them in first! We haven't even gotten to the dance floor yet and my feet were killing me. Kaley's were, too, so every once in a while we would have to lean on each other to give our feet a break (we even took them off a few times when we were out of the eyes of security). At one point we found a ledge upstairs that we sat on but then got asked not sit there by a worker. Apparently the only way you can sit down there is if you rent a couch.... for 500 pounds (or $784.95). Who has that kind of money?? We just danced all night and eventually my feet got numb enough that my shoes didn't bother me. We saw Andy Samuels (the birthday boy) multiple times that night! We first saw him walk into the club and one time he was standing right outside the VIP room while Kaley and I were walking down the satires and we were the only ones there so he saw us (he isn't really famous but he knows famous people so that's still kind of cool, right?). We danced all night! Eventually my feet hurt so bad that it hurt to walk and Ellyn had hurt her foot, as well, while dancing so we decided to wait outside for the rest of our group because we were planning on leaving soon anyway. Little did we know we should have stayed. Apparently Liam and Louis (also from One Direction... bonus!) came out to the dance floor right where we were. My timing could not be worse! So Maddy, Rachel and Kaley got the see them and basically danced with them because they were so close. Not going to lie... I was jealous. The only thing that made my night better was when Rachel told me Liam was close to us at one point. The camera guy was filming a video and apparently he was filming Liam! Ellyn and I saw the video being recorded and jumped a few times to try to get in it so I might be in a video with Liam (works for me!). I can still tell people I was at the same party as them, though. We went back to the hostel that night exhausted.

Trafalgar Square
We woke up the next morning and got out of the hostel by 10 and went to find some breakfast. We had the Jack the Ripper walking tour that day but not until 4 pm so we still had a lot of time. We went to the M&M store and made our way to Trafalgar Square. We started to walk towards Buckingham Palace when we saw a lot of trailers lined up. We found a security guard and asked him what it was for. He told us Tom Cruise was filming a movie here! I think he said it was called "All You Need Is Kill." He told us exactly where they were filming, too. We walked to where he said and found the movie set! No sign of Tom Cruise, but we got to see part of a scene being filmed. It was really cold so we went to find a Starbucks to sit in until it was time to leave for the tour.


Knowing I get scared easily this tour was probably no the best choice of mine. It freaked me out! It was very interesting but it almost scared me to walk anywhere (considering I have to walk to and from the bus stop everyday). At the very end the tour guide was talking about one of the victims and he said she was found right in "this spot" and pointed to where I was sitting.... as if I wasn't already scared enough!

"All You Need Is Kill" Movie Set
From the tour Lorraine and I went to meet up with more of our friends from camp. There was a surprise party! It was good to see more people from camp... even though they were all from the United Kingdom it was like seeing a part of home again.

I feel like every Sunday will be a struggle to try to get ready for Uni the next day (unless my time table doesn't get fixed then I won't have class until Wednesday). And today is the Superbowl. I am rooting for the 49ers because my brother, Adam, use to like them when he was younger. They are showing the game somewhere in Kingston but it is from midnight until 4 am.... I am already exhausted from this weekend! If I don't watch it I'm sure there will be plenty of Facebook and Twitter updates about the game.

This weekend showed me how many different opportunities I have from back home. I already knew London would give me plenty of opportunities to travel and explore different cultures, but I never thought I be at the same party as celebrities, see a movie being filmed and get to be in one of the best cities in the world.