This is the post that will probably surprise nobody.
C and I are officially getting married!
The question everyone has been asking me (or at least every girl has been asking): How did he do it?
Answer: On the top of the London Eye. Last Saturday, we made a day of doing various Christmassy things in London, beginning with the Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, a late lunch in a pub, and the Camden Market. The Eye was our last stop of the day before heading home. What he told me was that we should get a picture of us on the top. So we just enjoyed the ride up, watching the scenery and enjoying everything lit up for the evening and with Christmas lights. At the top, we handed off my camera to another person in the pod for our picture. Of course, I forgot to turn the flash on before passing it over, but oh well. Then he ignored the camera... and the minute he began talking, I realized what was coming. After a brief second of panic (of the OMG he's doing it! variety, not a bad kind of panic), I ended up with a death grip on his jacket and shaking harder than I even realized was possible before. My grip was so tight he even had to push me backwards a little bit so that he could kneel to ask! I was shaking so hard I could barely even stand.
Now, for the other questions we've been asked:
Do you have a date?
Mid-2012, May/Juneish. That's about as close as we've gotten, there's a few other things to figure out too, like immigration.
Where will the wedding be?
California. The States gets about half the vacation time that England does (at most), so it will be far easier for his folks to get the time off. Most of my family would probably not be able to come at all if we had it over here. Plus with the exchange rate, the wedding itself will be less expensive in Cali.
Who's moving?
Ah, the oh so huge question. We haven't finalised that yet, will announce at some point in the future.
Of course, this has made it tough to focus on coursework when all I want to do is google wedding planning things! So I've been bribing myself all week with it, if I get so much work done, then I can google. So far it's worked :) We'll be looking at venues when we visit in January, so will spend the next few weeks looking up places to visit. In the meantime, he's coming down this weekend, so I better finish up my chores! I'm still getting so jittery when I think about it... and distracted by the shiny-ness on my finger! :D
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Thanksgiving and Snow
It has once again been too long since I last posted. Unfortunately it looks like it will have to be for a while, as Christmas is fast approaching and with it, final projects and papers. But on to the real update.
Thanksgiving in England was... well, pretty much like any other day, since it's not celebrated here. I just made some pumpkin pie, and enjoyed it with the Christian Union that I've been going to on Thursdays. The oven here in halls rather sucks, so some top patches got burnt, but it still tasted like pumpkin pie so it was okay. The next day it was back up to C's for his parents birthdays. Had a nice family dinner for them, then I made some more pie for them. It turned out much better coming from the better oven. His mom is a fantastic cook, so I was a bit nervous about it, but I knew I had done fine when she asked for a second piece and asked if I could make it a bigger one :).
It's also been snowing for a good bit of the last week, which was lots of fun. The uni even got closed for it on Thursday, which as that was my busy day, I was quite happy about. There were flurries going almost all day. Of course, one flatmate here is from Norway, so he just found all the snow hype to be funny; apparently that is normal fall weather for them. But I guess when it's unusual, especially this early in the year, it can cause some chaos. It was great fun though :)
My update about this last weekend, however warrants it's own blog post. So that is forthcoming (and soon, I promise!)
Thanksgiving in England was... well, pretty much like any other day, since it's not celebrated here. I just made some pumpkin pie, and enjoyed it with the Christian Union that I've been going to on Thursdays. The oven here in halls rather sucks, so some top patches got burnt, but it still tasted like pumpkin pie so it was okay. The next day it was back up to C's for his parents birthdays. Had a nice family dinner for them, then I made some more pie for them. It turned out much better coming from the better oven. His mom is a fantastic cook, so I was a bit nervous about it, but I knew I had done fine when she asked for a second piece and asked if I could make it a bigger one :).
It's also been snowing for a good bit of the last week, which was lots of fun. The uni even got closed for it on Thursday, which as that was my busy day, I was quite happy about. There were flurries going almost all day. Of course, one flatmate here is from Norway, so he just found all the snow hype to be funny; apparently that is normal fall weather for them. But I guess when it's unusual, especially this early in the year, it can cause some chaos. It was great fun though :)
My update about this last weekend, however warrants it's own blog post. So that is forthcoming (and soon, I promise!)
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
A Week in Alba
Beware, this is a long blog here!
First week of November was Reading Week, which of course meant that I took the opportunity not to catch up on reading, but to go with C on a week-long circle around Scotland. Okay, it was more like a slightly wavy line, but still, we saw the main places.
Actually getting there was a bit of fun itself, as we had to be up about 4 in order to catch our 7:05 flight. Yes that was a totally insane idea, but we booked through EasyJet, and it was the only one they had that day. After a few adventures getting to the hostel, we dropped off our bags in the lobby as it was only about 9am, far too early for us to check in. We then took about two hours walking up the Royal Mile, which we were only just off of, towards the castle. It wasn't a terribly far walk; we just took our time browsing some of the touristy shops along the way, especially once we found one that also had armor and such for sale. The castle itself was interesting, although I'll admit not excessively thrilling as there weren't very many indoor places we could see. The chapel was off-limits as it was being used for a wedding, and one of the buildings I think was closed for refurbishment. Several were also still in use as military garrisons. So we caught one of the early afternoon tours around, which mostly involved the history of the building: the many battles fought over it, especially once the Scots and English became ethnic groups and enemies, Mary, Queen of Scots giving birth there, etc. It is interesting and certainly a place worth visiting; but maybe only the once, at least for quite a while.
We headed to bed early that night due to the extremely early morning. Of course, the hostel happened to be having a Halloween party that night. Poor C had a really hard time sleeping through it; I was fine, I think living in the halls at school has helped me fall asleep with strange stuff going on.
The next morning, we headed out to hit up a free walking tour of the city. Which was awesome. The tour guides work for tips, which actually made it fun, because then you get the tour guides who, literally, are doing it for the love of the job. There is so much fascinating history around Edinburgh; unfortunately a lot of it comes from the dark times, but just glad those are mostly past. For instance, when they built the wall around Grayfriar's Churchyard, they required ashes to make the mortar. But, as trees were a scarce commodity, they turned to another source of ash: the remains of people who had been burnt at the stake as witches. So the wall is, literally, made from witches of old. We also got to see the grave of John Knox, founder of the Presbyterian faith aka the Church of Scotland. He was buried just outside St. Giles' High Kirk, as he had requested to be buried within 20 yards of it. Of course, they cleared the cemetery some years ago to build the church a parking lot. But they did follow his requests about where he wished to be buried, so he now lies under parking space #23, with a solitary yellow square stone as the only marker on his grave. Seems strange to me, you'd think they'd at least put him under the statue base that doesn't have a statue and make it a memorial of some sort. But I guess not...
That evening, we went back up the hill to the Scotch Whisky Experience for a brief tour of... to be honest, I'm not sure what. I was half anticipating a tour through an actual whiskey distillery, or even a reconstruction of one. Instead, the tour was more using projectors to tell you how the whiskey was made, while you rode through it in a barrel that rather reminded me of the carts on the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. Then we were ushered through to a room where we were shown a video describing four different types of whisky, after which we got to have a taste-test (and take the glasses home). As I am a non-drinker, C got to taste two different types rather than just the one. It was worth doing once, but to be perfectly honest, it wouldn't have been worth the tour fee if we hadn't gotten to keep the glass.
Day 3, Monday, we were up and out early (ish... had to be past 9:30 for the off-peak trains) and on our way to Stirling for the day. Right next to the train station was the main bus station with lockers, so we were able to stash our luggage while we wandered. First thing we did was Stirling Castle. Far more interesting to wander than Edinburgh, I thought, in part because the audio tour seemed better. Of course, given that it was the off-season, there were no live tours, so instead the audio tours guided you through. At times it was a bit stop-start-stop-start, but overall was interesting. The royal palace was being refurbished to it's 1500's style, so we weren't able to see that, but the rest of it was still impressive.
Then we headed over to go see the Wallace Monument. When we got there, we figured we'd have lunch in the cafe, as it was getting on in the afternoon. Unfortunately, we discovered when I went to go get tickets, they close earlier than we had thought they did, and stopped selling... while we were eating lunch. The lady then directed us to the nearest bus station, which we thought was right around the corner. Wrong. At the bottom of the hill wasn't far when in the cab coming up it, but took foooooorrrreeevvveeerr to walk down. And of course it was raining, so by the time we finally got to the bus stop and back to the bus station, we were both a bit tired, cranky, and irritable. Since all other interesting sites would have been closed by that time, we just got our things and walked back to the train station... where we ended up more frustrated. Apparently, the train prices we had seen online just that morning were considered advance tickets, and not valid to buy then. So, without much choice, we had to pay more than planned for the train to Inverness.
But once we got to Inverness, our moods started lightening. Outside the train station, we asked a cabbie if he knew where our hostel was. He was actually pretty nice, started giving us walking directions first, which surprised us coming from a cabby. But still being tired and cranky, we just took the cab as we were too tired to deal with possibly getting lost. Once we were dropped off though, both our moods started lifting. The hostel was very nice (by hostel standards, anyways), and felt more like you were just renting the room from someone who just welcomed you in than a hostel. Nice room, we had a view of the river, two churches, and the castle (not open to the public). The lounge was large, lots of tables around, as well as a small couch and chairs next to a fireplace. And the managers would come in, chat with you, get to know you a bit, do their own cooking in the same kitchen, even fold the day's laundry in there. It was perfect. She even reccommended the pub next door for dinner; it was a bit more than pub prices, but we discovered there was a restaurant upstairs... with nobody in it. So that was lovely too. The hostel was a bit cold, as they only had single pane windows, but that was really the only possible complaint. It just encouraged sitting by the fire.
So moods sufficiently better, we were up on Tuesday to head over to the bus station for our three-and-a-half hour Loch Ness tour. All in all, that consisted of a drive down, a half-hour cruise on the lake, a wander through the ruins of Urquhart Castle, the Loch Ness Experience, and the bus back. Being Scotland in November, the country was green and gorgeous. Of course, it was also I think the coldest day that we had on our brief tour. It poured while we were on the bus and some while we were on the cruise, but thankfully let up for some of the castle wandering. The cruise was great fun (no, we didn't see Nessie for those of you who are wondering). The lake was choppy, windy, and foggy, which made it feel more like an adventure than a tourist activity. When the rain was a bit lighter, C and I even went up on the top deck. Of course, as soon as I stepped around the cabin with the boat's pilot, the boat dropped and a huge wave came over the bow, even up to the top deck and gave me a good splashing. Which C found hilarious. I was just grateful to be mostly waterproofed that day :P
Once we got to Urquhart, the sun began to come out. It was gorgeous to walk around, with the grass still wet and sun shining all over. Lots of great photo opportunities as well. The only thing really left of an indoors, was part of the gatehouse and one tower. We didn't climb the tower though; it was only 3-4 stories, but it was steep stone spiral staircases (say that three times fast), and given that it was a ruin and had been raining earlier? We didn't trust those stairs. We took one look at the steps worn smooth and decided no, that was too dangerous, if we slipped at all we'd probably die. So instead we headed back up to the visitor's center and the bus, which took us up to the Loch Ness Experience.
Okay, I think C and I have something against that which has been rated a five-star tourist attraction. Because the Whisky Experience and Loch Ness experience were both rated that high, but we didn't find either to be all that worth it. I've already gone over why for Whisky. Loch Ness was a similar idea. The idea was for them to essentially lay out all the evidence both for and against the existence of the Loch Ness Monster. You'd think it would be interesting; it wasn't really. Literally, all we did was get guided into one room, shown a video on some of the history of the legend, guided to another room, shown a different video, through several rooms. Granted, they all had different props and decorations relating to the video, but none that were really absolutely necessary. If it hadn't been part of the tour, it would not have been worth the money.
Then it was the bus back to central Inverness, and a quick grocery stop on the way back to the hostel so that we'd have dinner and some breakfast the next day. And the rest of the afternoon, we spent sitting in front of the fire. I tried to get some school reading done, but that only half worked. You see, the managers have a cat. Not only would she pester whoever was in front of the fire for attention, she liked to lay on my papers. First she started off on my book. After a while, I passed her over to C, when she promptly crawled off his lap onto my notes. It was so funny I just couldn't bring myself to move her again after that. All in all, it was a lovely evening in, and a perfect hostel to be at to have an evening in.
And once again, we were up and out somewhat early so we'd be sure to make it to our train on time. This time though, we were smart enough to book in advance. So we picked up our tickets, had some hot chocolate in the cafe (as well as a more substantial breakfast) and boarded the train for Thurso, at the northernmost coast of Scotland. It was a four hour ride, so I tried to get some more reading done, but that only half worked; it was my first time in the Highlands, and they were far too pretty. I couldn't stop taking pictures. And it was raining on and off, so we saw I think a total of four rainbows on that one ride.
We didn't really do much in Thurso; we were there just to visit my brother-in-law's sister and her family, who I'd met on their last two trips to California. Actually, they'd taken me to Disneyland with all of them, as I get the disability passes and could take the kids through the separate lines so they wouldn't have to wait as long. I know, probably a bit cheeky, but hey, they gave me a free trip to Disneyland :P (the first year... the second year was when I had a pass). So we mostly just stayed in and hung out with the family for two days, which was great.
Then Friday, we took a coach back to Edinburgh. We tried for train, but for some reason the advance ticket prices weren't showing up online, so a coach it was. And those were long. I don't know why I was so exhausted that day; was probably crashing from the long days before. But I slept a good bit of the way to Inverness, where we had a half hour break in which to get lunch before changing buses to go back to Edinburgh. And I slept for most of that trip, too. Although I do vaguely seeing C with his iPhone pointed at me. Next time I got online, I saw a picture of me sleeping against the bus window posted on his Facebook. Great. Oh well, by that time it had been up at least a day, so it didn't really matter. We went and checked in at a new hostel, as the one we had stayed at first was booked for the night, then had dinner and went up to the castle again as we were told we could see the fireworks show for bonfire night from there. Well, not quite, the Royal Mile buildings were in the way. We could hear it, and see some being let off in other areas, just not the main one. But it's okay, we just hung out in the mostly-empty area in front of the castle, mostly next to the gate where they had a couple of large torches lit. Real ones, even. So we stayed there and warmed up from the walk, then got dessert on the way back to the hostel for the night.
In the morning, before our flight, we did what we had tried to do on the first weekend: a tour of Mary King's Close. For a city that has a lot of hauntings, this is supposed to be the most haunted tour of them all. The Close is, basically, a street that was once open to the sky, but has been buried and forgotten for centuries. And it was fascinating. Looking back though, I wouldn't have wanted to do it at Halloween, when everyone was looking for a fright; some parts were creepy enough as it was. Guess it's a good thing it was completely booked up then.
We then took the bus back to the airport for an uneventful flight home. All in all, it was a fantastic week. Normally week long vacations fly by and leave me feeling like it wasn't enough time and was just too short; but somehow this one didn't. It felt like we spent a long time there, and got to see and do the main things there, even a few offbeat ones like Mary King's Close. So it was a great vacation, well worth every penny and the time that they say should have been spent on schoolwork. But I don't regret it. Absolutely nothing was wasted.
Of course, I am still trying to catch up on my reading. But it's okay, I will eventually.
First week of November was Reading Week, which of course meant that I took the opportunity not to catch up on reading, but to go with C on a week-long circle around Scotland. Okay, it was more like a slightly wavy line, but still, we saw the main places.
Actually getting there was a bit of fun itself, as we had to be up about 4 in order to catch our 7:05 flight. Yes that was a totally insane idea, but we booked through EasyJet, and it was the only one they had that day. After a few adventures getting to the hostel, we dropped off our bags in the lobby as it was only about 9am, far too early for us to check in. We then took about two hours walking up the Royal Mile, which we were only just off of, towards the castle. It wasn't a terribly far walk; we just took our time browsing some of the touristy shops along the way, especially once we found one that also had armor and such for sale. The castle itself was interesting, although I'll admit not excessively thrilling as there weren't very many indoor places we could see. The chapel was off-limits as it was being used for a wedding, and one of the buildings I think was closed for refurbishment. Several were also still in use as military garrisons. So we caught one of the early afternoon tours around, which mostly involved the history of the building: the many battles fought over it, especially once the Scots and English became ethnic groups and enemies, Mary, Queen of Scots giving birth there, etc. It is interesting and certainly a place worth visiting; but maybe only the once, at least for quite a while.
We headed to bed early that night due to the extremely early morning. Of course, the hostel happened to be having a Halloween party that night. Poor C had a really hard time sleeping through it; I was fine, I think living in the halls at school has helped me fall asleep with strange stuff going on.
The next morning, we headed out to hit up a free walking tour of the city. Which was awesome. The tour guides work for tips, which actually made it fun, because then you get the tour guides who, literally, are doing it for the love of the job. There is so much fascinating history around Edinburgh; unfortunately a lot of it comes from the dark times, but just glad those are mostly past. For instance, when they built the wall around Grayfriar's Churchyard, they required ashes to make the mortar. But, as trees were a scarce commodity, they turned to another source of ash: the remains of people who had been burnt at the stake as witches. So the wall is, literally, made from witches of old. We also got to see the grave of John Knox, founder of the Presbyterian faith aka the Church of Scotland. He was buried just outside St. Giles' High Kirk, as he had requested to be buried within 20 yards of it. Of course, they cleared the cemetery some years ago to build the church a parking lot. But they did follow his requests about where he wished to be buried, so he now lies under parking space #23, with a solitary yellow square stone as the only marker on his grave. Seems strange to me, you'd think they'd at least put him under the statue base that doesn't have a statue and make it a memorial of some sort. But I guess not...
That evening, we went back up the hill to the Scotch Whisky Experience for a brief tour of... to be honest, I'm not sure what. I was half anticipating a tour through an actual whiskey distillery, or even a reconstruction of one. Instead, the tour was more using projectors to tell you how the whiskey was made, while you rode through it in a barrel that rather reminded me of the carts on the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. Then we were ushered through to a room where we were shown a video describing four different types of whisky, after which we got to have a taste-test (and take the glasses home). As I am a non-drinker, C got to taste two different types rather than just the one. It was worth doing once, but to be perfectly honest, it wouldn't have been worth the tour fee if we hadn't gotten to keep the glass.
Day 3, Monday, we were up and out early (ish... had to be past 9:30 for the off-peak trains) and on our way to Stirling for the day. Right next to the train station was the main bus station with lockers, so we were able to stash our luggage while we wandered. First thing we did was Stirling Castle. Far more interesting to wander than Edinburgh, I thought, in part because the audio tour seemed better. Of course, given that it was the off-season, there were no live tours, so instead the audio tours guided you through. At times it was a bit stop-start-stop-start, but overall was interesting. The royal palace was being refurbished to it's 1500's style, so we weren't able to see that, but the rest of it was still impressive.
Then we headed over to go see the Wallace Monument. When we got there, we figured we'd have lunch in the cafe, as it was getting on in the afternoon. Unfortunately, we discovered when I went to go get tickets, they close earlier than we had thought they did, and stopped selling... while we were eating lunch. The lady then directed us to the nearest bus station, which we thought was right around the corner. Wrong. At the bottom of the hill wasn't far when in the cab coming up it, but took foooooorrrreeevvveeerr to walk down. And of course it was raining, so by the time we finally got to the bus stop and back to the bus station, we were both a bit tired, cranky, and irritable. Since all other interesting sites would have been closed by that time, we just got our things and walked back to the train station... where we ended up more frustrated. Apparently, the train prices we had seen online just that morning were considered advance tickets, and not valid to buy then. So, without much choice, we had to pay more than planned for the train to Inverness.
But once we got to Inverness, our moods started lightening. Outside the train station, we asked a cabbie if he knew where our hostel was. He was actually pretty nice, started giving us walking directions first, which surprised us coming from a cabby. But still being tired and cranky, we just took the cab as we were too tired to deal with possibly getting lost. Once we were dropped off though, both our moods started lifting. The hostel was very nice (by hostel standards, anyways), and felt more like you were just renting the room from someone who just welcomed you in than a hostel. Nice room, we had a view of the river, two churches, and the castle (not open to the public). The lounge was large, lots of tables around, as well as a small couch and chairs next to a fireplace. And the managers would come in, chat with you, get to know you a bit, do their own cooking in the same kitchen, even fold the day's laundry in there. It was perfect. She even reccommended the pub next door for dinner; it was a bit more than pub prices, but we discovered there was a restaurant upstairs... with nobody in it. So that was lovely too. The hostel was a bit cold, as they only had single pane windows, but that was really the only possible complaint. It just encouraged sitting by the fire.
So moods sufficiently better, we were up on Tuesday to head over to the bus station for our three-and-a-half hour Loch Ness tour. All in all, that consisted of a drive down, a half-hour cruise on the lake, a wander through the ruins of Urquhart Castle, the Loch Ness Experience, and the bus back. Being Scotland in November, the country was green and gorgeous. Of course, it was also I think the coldest day that we had on our brief tour. It poured while we were on the bus and some while we were on the cruise, but thankfully let up for some of the castle wandering. The cruise was great fun (no, we didn't see Nessie for those of you who are wondering). The lake was choppy, windy, and foggy, which made it feel more like an adventure than a tourist activity. When the rain was a bit lighter, C and I even went up on the top deck. Of course, as soon as I stepped around the cabin with the boat's pilot, the boat dropped and a huge wave came over the bow, even up to the top deck and gave me a good splashing. Which C found hilarious. I was just grateful to be mostly waterproofed that day :P
Once we got to Urquhart, the sun began to come out. It was gorgeous to walk around, with the grass still wet and sun shining all over. Lots of great photo opportunities as well. The only thing really left of an indoors, was part of the gatehouse and one tower. We didn't climb the tower though; it was only 3-4 stories, but it was steep stone spiral staircases (say that three times fast), and given that it was a ruin and had been raining earlier? We didn't trust those stairs. We took one look at the steps worn smooth and decided no, that was too dangerous, if we slipped at all we'd probably die. So instead we headed back up to the visitor's center and the bus, which took us up to the Loch Ness Experience.
Okay, I think C and I have something against that which has been rated a five-star tourist attraction. Because the Whisky Experience and Loch Ness experience were both rated that high, but we didn't find either to be all that worth it. I've already gone over why for Whisky. Loch Ness was a similar idea. The idea was for them to essentially lay out all the evidence both for and against the existence of the Loch Ness Monster. You'd think it would be interesting; it wasn't really. Literally, all we did was get guided into one room, shown a video on some of the history of the legend, guided to another room, shown a different video, through several rooms. Granted, they all had different props and decorations relating to the video, but none that were really absolutely necessary. If it hadn't been part of the tour, it would not have been worth the money.
Then it was the bus back to central Inverness, and a quick grocery stop on the way back to the hostel so that we'd have dinner and some breakfast the next day. And the rest of the afternoon, we spent sitting in front of the fire. I tried to get some school reading done, but that only half worked. You see, the managers have a cat. Not only would she pester whoever was in front of the fire for attention, she liked to lay on my papers. First she started off on my book. After a while, I passed her over to C, when she promptly crawled off his lap onto my notes. It was so funny I just couldn't bring myself to move her again after that. All in all, it was a lovely evening in, and a perfect hostel to be at to have an evening in.
And once again, we were up and out somewhat early so we'd be sure to make it to our train on time. This time though, we were smart enough to book in advance. So we picked up our tickets, had some hot chocolate in the cafe (as well as a more substantial breakfast) and boarded the train for Thurso, at the northernmost coast of Scotland. It was a four hour ride, so I tried to get some more reading done, but that only half worked; it was my first time in the Highlands, and they were far too pretty. I couldn't stop taking pictures. And it was raining on and off, so we saw I think a total of four rainbows on that one ride.
We didn't really do much in Thurso; we were there just to visit my brother-in-law's sister and her family, who I'd met on their last two trips to California. Actually, they'd taken me to Disneyland with all of them, as I get the disability passes and could take the kids through the separate lines so they wouldn't have to wait as long. I know, probably a bit cheeky, but hey, they gave me a free trip to Disneyland :P (the first year... the second year was when I had a pass). So we mostly just stayed in and hung out with the family for two days, which was great.
Then Friday, we took a coach back to Edinburgh. We tried for train, but for some reason the advance ticket prices weren't showing up online, so a coach it was. And those were long. I don't know why I was so exhausted that day; was probably crashing from the long days before. But I slept a good bit of the way to Inverness, where we had a half hour break in which to get lunch before changing buses to go back to Edinburgh. And I slept for most of that trip, too. Although I do vaguely seeing C with his iPhone pointed at me. Next time I got online, I saw a picture of me sleeping against the bus window posted on his Facebook. Great. Oh well, by that time it had been up at least a day, so it didn't really matter. We went and checked in at a new hostel, as the one we had stayed at first was booked for the night, then had dinner and went up to the castle again as we were told we could see the fireworks show for bonfire night from there. Well, not quite, the Royal Mile buildings were in the way. We could hear it, and see some being let off in other areas, just not the main one. But it's okay, we just hung out in the mostly-empty area in front of the castle, mostly next to the gate where they had a couple of large torches lit. Real ones, even. So we stayed there and warmed up from the walk, then got dessert on the way back to the hostel for the night.
In the morning, before our flight, we did what we had tried to do on the first weekend: a tour of Mary King's Close. For a city that has a lot of hauntings, this is supposed to be the most haunted tour of them all. The Close is, basically, a street that was once open to the sky, but has been buried and forgotten for centuries. And it was fascinating. Looking back though, I wouldn't have wanted to do it at Halloween, when everyone was looking for a fright; some parts were creepy enough as it was. Guess it's a good thing it was completely booked up then.
We then took the bus back to the airport for an uneventful flight home. All in all, it was a fantastic week. Normally week long vacations fly by and leave me feeling like it wasn't enough time and was just too short; but somehow this one didn't. It felt like we spent a long time there, and got to see and do the main things there, even a few offbeat ones like Mary King's Close. So it was a great vacation, well worth every penny and the time that they say should have been spent on schoolwork. But I don't regret it. Absolutely nothing was wasted.
Of course, I am still trying to catch up on my reading. But it's okay, I will eventually.
Monday, November 15, 2010
This One's For You, Rose
After my post about the view from my kitchen window, I was informed by one friend that she would like to see a picture of it. So here it is:
Of course, the trees had significantly more leaves on them when I took it so it was a bit more blocked off, but we could still see the cemetery quite clearly. The only thing I haven't liked about it so far was this morning, when I saw a people getting out of the cars of a funeral procession, I can only assume to walk to someone's graveside service.
Of course, the trees had significantly more leaves on them when I took it so it was a bit more blocked off, but we could still see the cemetery quite clearly. The only thing I haven't liked about it so far was this morning, when I saw a people getting out of the cars of a funeral procession, I can only assume to walk to someone's graveside service.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Student Protests: A Twist?
Okay, budget cuts are pretty universal right now: from homes to governments, everybody's making sometimes-extreme cutbacks. And the UK is no different than California in this. I did, however, find some interesting differences in the protests from the cuts made in California last year than the protests that have begun over the last couple of days.
To be honest, in Cali, most students seemed cranky, but not extremely bothered by it. Some people skipped classes to go to protests, a couple teachers cancelled class so that they (and any of their students) could go to a protest, but mostly, the school itself stayed out of it and most people, at least that I know of, did attend classes if they were held during a protest time. Actually, I take that back; the school administrations did send out e-mails letting us know that protests were occurring; however, that was the extent of it. They neither encouraged nor discouraged attendance, and did not cancel classes. But back to the students. At my school, a group of students took the "extreme" measure of storming and taking over the Humanities and Social Sciences building. Of course, it only lasted about twenty minutes. Once the police got there and asked them to leave, they did. Without fuss. That, for obvious reasons, did not make any news (how anticlimactic). The only reason I even heard about it was because there was an editorial about it in the school paper on a day I happened to be stuck on campus for four hours and needed reading material, that read, essentially, "Come on guys. If you're going to be militant like they were in the 60's, can't you at least follow through with it?"
So my verdict of Californian students' reactions to university fee hikes? Cranky, moderately annoyed, but not really bothered enough to do much about it.
The UK's new coalition government has been rolling out new cuts this year as well. (Though don't ask me to explain the coalition government bit, I'm not sure I understand it that well myself. Certainly not well enough to explain it). And of course, universities are getting hit as well. Organized protests have begun this week, and look what happened at one while I was in class: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11726822. (Yes I realize the irony of being in class at the time of the protests. I didn't actually realize there was one today). According to the "breaking news" scroll across the top of the BBC News page, 32 people were arrested in relation to the violence.
Okay, so let me lay out my thoughts here. In America, a country founded upon violent protest of a government's actions, students just get mildly cranky about tuition hikes, but not much more than that. In the UK, where they've never really had a violent revolution like the US or France has, students get so upset that they end up breaking into the Conservative Party's headquarters, in many cases even to their own surprise.
How ironic. The Americans, who protest just about everything, don't really bother much with university budget cuts. The Brits, who have a few more laws about the legalities of protesting, are the ones who end up full on breaking into a government party's headquarters.
Oh, by the way, I should point out that I am in a suburb of London, not London itself, so am a minimum 20-minute train ride away from where the action was. Just because I got a few concerned comments on Facebook, I thought I should include that fact.
In the meantime, I have a test in the morning, so have to finish up the last bit of studying and head to bed. Goodnight, world.
To be honest, in Cali, most students seemed cranky, but not extremely bothered by it. Some people skipped classes to go to protests, a couple teachers cancelled class so that they (and any of their students) could go to a protest, but mostly, the school itself stayed out of it and most people, at least that I know of, did attend classes if they were held during a protest time. Actually, I take that back; the school administrations did send out e-mails letting us know that protests were occurring; however, that was the extent of it. They neither encouraged nor discouraged attendance, and did not cancel classes. But back to the students. At my school, a group of students took the "extreme" measure of storming and taking over the Humanities and Social Sciences building. Of course, it only lasted about twenty minutes. Once the police got there and asked them to leave, they did. Without fuss. That, for obvious reasons, did not make any news (how anticlimactic). The only reason I even heard about it was because there was an editorial about it in the school paper on a day I happened to be stuck on campus for four hours and needed reading material, that read, essentially, "Come on guys. If you're going to be militant like they were in the 60's, can't you at least follow through with it?"
So my verdict of Californian students' reactions to university fee hikes? Cranky, moderately annoyed, but not really bothered enough to do much about it.
The UK's new coalition government has been rolling out new cuts this year as well. (Though don't ask me to explain the coalition government bit, I'm not sure I understand it that well myself. Certainly not well enough to explain it). And of course, universities are getting hit as well. Organized protests have begun this week, and look what happened at one while I was in class: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11726822. (Yes I realize the irony of being in class at the time of the protests. I didn't actually realize there was one today). According to the "breaking news" scroll across the top of the BBC News page, 32 people were arrested in relation to the violence.
Okay, so let me lay out my thoughts here. In America, a country founded upon violent protest of a government's actions, students just get mildly cranky about tuition hikes, but not much more than that. In the UK, where they've never really had a violent revolution like the US or France has, students get so upset that they end up breaking into the Conservative Party's headquarters, in many cases even to their own surprise.
How ironic. The Americans, who protest just about everything, don't really bother much with university budget cuts. The Brits, who have a few more laws about the legalities of protesting, are the ones who end up full on breaking into a government party's headquarters.
Oh, by the way, I should point out that I am in a suburb of London, not London itself, so am a minimum 20-minute train ride away from where the action was. Just because I got a few concerned comments on Facebook, I thought I should include that fact.
In the meantime, I have a test in the morning, so have to finish up the last bit of studying and head to bed. Goodnight, world.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Stonehenge and Bath
This post is quite a bit late; for that, I apologize. And it's also been some time since I posted, but there is at least a reason for that: during the break, C and I took a week-long tour through Scotland. I have too many stories from that, but for now something I've meant to do for weeks. I know I've mentioned the Study Abroad trip to Stonehenge and Bath in previous posts, but have not given a full update on it. It was an incredibly long day though; we left campus at about 8:30am, and didn't get back until about 7:30 that evening.
Stonehenge was quite impressive. In the past, I'd always had the feeling that going to see it, the place would be either really awesome, or just a bunch of rocks, depending upon your mood when visiting. I was wrong. There is no way to not be in awe of it. See:
(Okay, it looks bigger in real life; those things are at least three times my height) Most of us took the full hour and a bit that the teachers gave us wandering around. Of course, you can't go into Stonehenge itself, as it's roped off to tourists (erosion, damage, all that other good stuff that tourists bring :P), but we could get very close at times. On the solstices, they let pagans in to hold their ceremonies though. A fact that I find, to be honest, very ironic. The whole idea is that it was a sacred site for the pagans way back in the day, when interestingly enough, Stonehenge dates waaay further back than the Druids. As in by at least a few thousand years. Of course, I also find the idea of modern-day Druids who claim to follow the old pagan beliefs as kind of ironic, as we really have no idea what the Druids really believed or practiced, only some guesswork. But that's another story for another day, if I even decide to put together a post on that. It'd be a bit of work, so at least not for a while, so please don't hold your breath :P
I do wish they'd had more about Woodhenge though. If you're not familiar with that, it's a more recent discovery of... well, essentially the same thing as Stonehenge but made out of wood. And it aligns with Stonehenge as well, so was probably also used for ceremonial purposes or solar calculations or whatever they were for. But all in all - definitely worth the trip out there to see it.
Bath on the other hand... interesting enough, but not really that thrilling. The Roman Baths were pretty interesting, but to be honest, after the walking tour which was long and mostly uphill, I was tired, achy, and rather cranky so was ready to go home. Walking around the pool itself, I almost wanted to jump in, knowing that it was hot water that was supposed to have healing properties. The museum seemed longer than it needed to be; I'm okay with seeing the main artifacts, but I really didn't feel the need to see every single bust or part of a statue that ever might have been in the Baths. When you come out, they also have an area where you can drink (a treated and sanitary version of) the waters. I didn't though, just because some others had before me and said it just tasted like bad-tasting hot water.
I also find it quite ironic that the city of Bath is very proud of the fact that Jane Austen once lived there - and hated it. Not a lot of places, at least that I know of, are proud to have been hated by a famous person. But as probably the only female on the planet who cannot stand Jane Austen, I didn't pay too much attention to that side of things.
And just for the sake of photos, here's me at the side of the pool. I really wanted to take a dip :P
Stonehenge was quite impressive. In the past, I'd always had the feeling that going to see it, the place would be either really awesome, or just a bunch of rocks, depending upon your mood when visiting. I was wrong. There is no way to not be in awe of it. See:
I do wish they'd had more about Woodhenge though. If you're not familiar with that, it's a more recent discovery of... well, essentially the same thing as Stonehenge but made out of wood. And it aligns with Stonehenge as well, so was probably also used for ceremonial purposes or solar calculations or whatever they were for. But all in all - definitely worth the trip out there to see it.
Bath on the other hand... interesting enough, but not really that thrilling. The Roman Baths were pretty interesting, but to be honest, after the walking tour which was long and mostly uphill, I was tired, achy, and rather cranky so was ready to go home. Walking around the pool itself, I almost wanted to jump in, knowing that it was hot water that was supposed to have healing properties. The museum seemed longer than it needed to be; I'm okay with seeing the main artifacts, but I really didn't feel the need to see every single bust or part of a statue that ever might have been in the Baths. When you come out, they also have an area where you can drink (a treated and sanitary version of) the waters. I didn't though, just because some others had before me and said it just tasted like bad-tasting hot water.
I also find it quite ironic that the city of Bath is very proud of the fact that Jane Austen once lived there - and hated it. Not a lot of places, at least that I know of, are proud to have been hated by a famous person. But as probably the only female on the planet who cannot stand Jane Austen, I didn't pay too much attention to that side of things.
And just for the sake of photos, here's me at the side of the pool. I really wanted to take a dip :P
And yes, there is a clothing disparity between these two pictures. Keep in mind, that pool was full on steaming, so the area was quite warm. Stonehenge was on an open plain, foggy, with a very biting wind blowing, so it was freezing out there.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Kitchen Windows
The view outside the kitchen window in my flat is not one that everyone would like. There is a wide space with open grass, then an iron fence that is partially lined with trees and bushes. Beyond that, is a cemetery.
I've already heard some people mention how depressing it is, having a graveyard as their view. But somehow, I find it neither morbid nor depressing. I find it oddly peaceful and calming. In a way, it helps me center a bit. A reminder that, in the long run, there is more to life than the many small problems that crop up along the way. Every single person in that cemetery probably had many times when life's little problems piled up to seem like huge insurmountable ones. But they don't matter now. What matters is that they lived, that they loved, and the legacy they left behind in their loved ones. They may be missed, but they are not totally gone; not as long as their legacy remains.
I've already heard some people mention how depressing it is, having a graveyard as their view. But somehow, I find it neither morbid nor depressing. I find it oddly peaceful and calming. In a way, it helps me center a bit. A reminder that, in the long run, there is more to life than the many small problems that crop up along the way. Every single person in that cemetery probably had many times when life's little problems piled up to seem like huge insurmountable ones. But they don't matter now. What matters is that they lived, that they loved, and the legacy they left behind in their loved ones. They may be missed, but they are not totally gone; not as long as their legacy remains.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
My Visit Thus Far: In Pictures
I realized recently that I have absolutely zero pictures up so far, despite being here for coming up on two months now. So this entire post will be based around pictures from the time that I left California for England.
First up, my flight!
On the runway, about to leave LAX, at a bit past 9pm
And the plane I came in on from across the terminal, at 3:30-4ish in the afternoon, ten hours later.
There are quite a few lovely pictures I have of MK; but none of them quite capture how just plain pretty it is there quite the way this one of the canal does.
And then, C and I went to London to meet D:
Taking a break in Hyde Park toward the end of the day
And a trio, all finally able to hang out together :)
And then came move-in day and the various Fresher's Week events. Beginning with, the walking tour of London:
The very typical photograph of the London Underground sign
A view from a quiet courtyard of Westminster Abbey. So peaceful when seen from here rather than the main area, with all the tourism and traffic.
I never was very good at taking pictures of myself; this is the best of my attempts at a self-portrait with Big Ben
And me with the three other girls who I walked around with, on a bridge over the Thames.
The rest of my pictures are generally going to be from trips specifically for the Study Abroad students.
The entrance to the Royal Pavilion in Brighton. Decorated Indian on the outside, Chinese on the inside. Or at least attempted Chinese, as nobody who worked on it had ever been to China.
I just like the juxtaposition in this photograph: The very old, with the moderately new. This kind of contrast is noticeable just about everywhere here. Like the marketplace in Kingston. It's over 800 years old, with quite a few old-looking buildings around; yet the things being sold are very modern, such as DVDs and BluTack.
And finally, Brighton Pier. It really was a lovely day out, surprised the instructor, but made for a pleasant day.
The only photos I have left are from Stonehenge and Bath. But as I have not posted about those tours quite yet, I think I'll put those photographs in with my post about the tours, when I do that.
In the meantime, the tours are through a class available only to Study Abroad students, and I now have to go finish a short essay on it before bed. Goodnight.
First up, my flight!
And then, C and I went to London to meet D:
And then came move-in day and the various Fresher's Week events. Beginning with, the walking tour of London:
The rest of my pictures are generally going to be from trips specifically for the Study Abroad students.
The only photos I have left are from Stonehenge and Bath. But as I have not posted about those tours quite yet, I think I'll put those photographs in with my post about the tours, when I do that.
In the meantime, the tours are through a class available only to Study Abroad students, and I now have to go finish a short essay on it before bed. Goodnight.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Classes, Pubs, and More Random Observations
And once again, it has been nearly two weeks since my last blog post. I'm doing well at this, really. I have a couple in the works, but they require some thought put into them, so they're taking a bit more time.
The last few weeks have just been busy getting settled in with classes. There is much more free time here, although it's expected that you do more independent work and reading. Of course, in the time before my books arrived, that made life a little bit dull.
I have also discoverd that, while I do not enjoy the clubbing life (as my flatmates seem to), I do really enjoy the pubs. It's a nice quiet atmosphere in which you can meet up with people, have a drink (alcoholic or not), maybe get some food. I really wish we had this in the States; it's kind of a cross between a restaurant and a coffee shop. And they have phenomenal desserts there; at least at the ones that I've been to so far.
A few other interesting things that I've noticed while here:
-Traffic is always really busy, but nobody's pushy about it the way they are in California. In Cali, it's as though certain people feel entitled to the road, and therefore drive as though they are the only ones on it. Here, people are generally actually polite about their driving; they even know how to merge politely.
-Jaywalking. Here, it is completely legal, and even normal. If the walk signal is red but there's no cars coming, it's perfectly acceptable to ignore the signal and cross anyways. And I must admit it is quite handy, saves quite a bit of time. The only danger is, of course, accidentally looking the wrong way before stepping out into the street. I'm getting better at that, and looking right is becoming more habitual. And of course, remembering to look at the ground for a lot of them, since at some of the crazier crossings where the crossing areas have "look left" or "look right" painted on them (and even one of my British friends here has admitted to needing/using them). Of course, now that I've said I'm getting better, it would be just my luck to go down to the shops tomorrow and get hit by a bus. But I promise I'll try to avoid that.
-People also seem much more prone to, or accepting of, standing in the middle of walkways. Even groups of people in the middle of walkways. Store aisles or sidewalks, it really doesn't matter which. And foot traffic just goes around them, even though it does slow down some. Nobody gives evil stares at those blocking off part of the walkway, or deliberately brushes against them to make a point as they go past. They just go around. There's accidental bumping for sure, but it's hit or miss whether the person actually moves.
-Retail workers, and lines (queues) do not seem nearly as rushed. The workers do not seem as harried as they do in the states. It's okay to go a little slower when there's a line and take your time with the customer you are ringing up, rather than trying to go fast to keep the line as short as possible. It is also okay to sort a few things to be re-shelved if there is one or two people in line, rather than helping everyone in the line first and only doing other work when there is nobody in line.
-Charity shops, the equivalent of thrift stores, are also smaller, and far more varied in causes than in the States. California only seems to have Goodwill and Salvation Army, which take care of a variety of issues in different areas within the charity, and are huge stores. Here, however, they are small individual shops, for causes ranging from the British Heart Association, to cancer research, to a particular hospice.
The last few weeks have just been busy getting settled in with classes. There is much more free time here, although it's expected that you do more independent work and reading. Of course, in the time before my books arrived, that made life a little bit dull.
I have also discoverd that, while I do not enjoy the clubbing life (as my flatmates seem to), I do really enjoy the pubs. It's a nice quiet atmosphere in which you can meet up with people, have a drink (alcoholic or not), maybe get some food. I really wish we had this in the States; it's kind of a cross between a restaurant and a coffee shop. And they have phenomenal desserts there; at least at the ones that I've been to so far.
A few other interesting things that I've noticed while here:
-Traffic is always really busy, but nobody's pushy about it the way they are in California. In Cali, it's as though certain people feel entitled to the road, and therefore drive as though they are the only ones on it. Here, people are generally actually polite about their driving; they even know how to merge politely.
-Jaywalking. Here, it is completely legal, and even normal. If the walk signal is red but there's no cars coming, it's perfectly acceptable to ignore the signal and cross anyways. And I must admit it is quite handy, saves quite a bit of time. The only danger is, of course, accidentally looking the wrong way before stepping out into the street. I'm getting better at that, and looking right is becoming more habitual. And of course, remembering to look at the ground for a lot of them, since at some of the crazier crossings where the crossing areas have "look left" or "look right" painted on them (and even one of my British friends here has admitted to needing/using them). Of course, now that I've said I'm getting better, it would be just my luck to go down to the shops tomorrow and get hit by a bus. But I promise I'll try to avoid that.
-People also seem much more prone to, or accepting of, standing in the middle of walkways. Even groups of people in the middle of walkways. Store aisles or sidewalks, it really doesn't matter which. And foot traffic just goes around them, even though it does slow down some. Nobody gives evil stares at those blocking off part of the walkway, or deliberately brushes against them to make a point as they go past. They just go around. There's accidental bumping for sure, but it's hit or miss whether the person actually moves.
-Retail workers, and lines (queues) do not seem nearly as rushed. The workers do not seem as harried as they do in the states. It's okay to go a little slower when there's a line and take your time with the customer you are ringing up, rather than trying to go fast to keep the line as short as possible. It is also okay to sort a few things to be re-shelved if there is one or two people in line, rather than helping everyone in the line first and only doing other work when there is nobody in line.
-Charity shops, the equivalent of thrift stores, are also smaller, and far more varied in causes than in the States. California only seems to have Goodwill and Salvation Army, which take care of a variety of issues in different areas within the charity, and are huge stores. Here, however, they are small individual shops, for causes ranging from the British Heart Association, to cancer research, to a particular hospice.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Fresher's Week: It Is... An Experience
I have just realized that it has been nearly two weeks since my last update. Give me a week of events, and I guess time just gets away from me! *smacks wrist* bad blogger...
So on to Fresher's Week. It is, quite simply, a week after the regular move-in dates in which no classes are held. Rather, since schools here do not do online enrollments, they do in-person enrollment during that week (often requiring standing in four-hour lines), combined with various social events. Of course, these social events generally are themed parties at the pubs on campus, with drink prices greatly reduced. So essentially, if you want to participate in many of the social events during the week, you need to go clubbing. This is not me. I suppose it is fortunate, then, that all three of my roommates are. They hosted get togethers in the flat before going out at around 10:30 in the evening. So even though I am not a clubber and do not like staying out late, I still got a lot of the social activity, without the wild drunken partying.
There were a few other social events, too. Each dorm area had a BBQ meet-and-greet, and the offices for international and study abroad students hosted a couple other events. On Monday, they hosted a three-hour walking tour of central London, around Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament, as well as some of St. James's Park. Afterwards, all but four of us from the tours left to go to another event at Madame Tussaud's. So the four of us, two girls from New Jersey and a girl from Bulgaria, decided that we would instead walk back to Westminster Abbey and go see the inside. It's rather strange seeing monuments or stones in the ground, and realizing that these are people's actual graves. I could hardly bring myself to even walk through some of the areas where there were many of them, with no other stones between. It is a beautiful place to visit. "Fun" would not quite be the right terminology for it, but it is a place that is well worth visiting.
On Wednesday, the Study Abroad students (and only Study Abroad students) were taken on a trip to Brighton, and old seaside resort town once favored by George IV. For most of the day, we were given the leeway to do as we pleased: chill on the beach (which was pebbles, not sand), wander across the Pier, brows through the Lanes marketplace, whatever we felt like doing. In between free times, we were given a guided tour of the Royal Pavilion. It is the former home of George IV, which began as a four-room house, and was expanded and built up over years to become a huge home (probably small given that it was the home of a British Royal), with an Indian facade outside, and a Chinese theme inside. Of course, no one who helped build it had ever been to China, so as our tour guide has said that other Chinese tourists have told her, it's more like China Disney than genuine China. I figure, for people who had never seen the country, that's about as good as we can really expect.
Once home, however, I had an unwelcome yet familiar visitor: pain. I seriously overdid it on the walking that day. I was extremely bummed, and not just for the obvious reason that I was hurting enough to use my stick just to walk around the flat. It was also because I had been doing so well since arriving, walking more in one go than I ever would have dreamed of trying in California due to the heat and constant sun. In a way, I had been able to almost forget that I have lupus for a time. I had been feeling that I could do anything, that no amount of walking would be too far here due to the coolness and milder weather. I got a very sharp (no pun intended) reminder that day, that while I may be able to do more than I used to, I still have lupus. I am still a Spoonie. I cannot do it all, indeed often cannot do what "normals" do. As much as I wish it would, and as much as it has helped, a continent and climate change cannot 100% cure me. A fact that I need to remember. I certainly hope I've learned it well. Pacing is a process not easy to learn!
Due to my "life lesson" on Wednesday, Thursday was spent chilling out and recovering; then on Friday, it was back up to C's house for the weekend. It's just under two hours on the train to get there, but at least we get to see each other on the weekends. It's a heck of a lot better than being eight time zones and 6,000 miles apart :)
So that's about my impression of Fresher's Week: Some good purposes, some fun social events, and a lot of partying. In fact, not two hours ago, I heard one of my roommates with a friend, leave his room and head out of the flat and down the path, happily and clearly drunkenly singing their way to wherever they were going.
So on to Fresher's Week. It is, quite simply, a week after the regular move-in dates in which no classes are held. Rather, since schools here do not do online enrollments, they do in-person enrollment during that week (often requiring standing in four-hour lines), combined with various social events. Of course, these social events generally are themed parties at the pubs on campus, with drink prices greatly reduced. So essentially, if you want to participate in many of the social events during the week, you need to go clubbing. This is not me. I suppose it is fortunate, then, that all three of my roommates are. They hosted get togethers in the flat before going out at around 10:30 in the evening. So even though I am not a clubber and do not like staying out late, I still got a lot of the social activity, without the wild drunken partying.
There were a few other social events, too. Each dorm area had a BBQ meet-and-greet, and the offices for international and study abroad students hosted a couple other events. On Monday, they hosted a three-hour walking tour of central London, around Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament, as well as some of St. James's Park. Afterwards, all but four of us from the tours left to go to another event at Madame Tussaud's. So the four of us, two girls from New Jersey and a girl from Bulgaria, decided that we would instead walk back to Westminster Abbey and go see the inside. It's rather strange seeing monuments or stones in the ground, and realizing that these are people's actual graves. I could hardly bring myself to even walk through some of the areas where there were many of them, with no other stones between. It is a beautiful place to visit. "Fun" would not quite be the right terminology for it, but it is a place that is well worth visiting.
On Wednesday, the Study Abroad students (and only Study Abroad students) were taken on a trip to Brighton, and old seaside resort town once favored by George IV. For most of the day, we were given the leeway to do as we pleased: chill on the beach (which was pebbles, not sand), wander across the Pier, brows through the Lanes marketplace, whatever we felt like doing. In between free times, we were given a guided tour of the Royal Pavilion. It is the former home of George IV, which began as a four-room house, and was expanded and built up over years to become a huge home (probably small given that it was the home of a British Royal), with an Indian facade outside, and a Chinese theme inside. Of course, no one who helped build it had ever been to China, so as our tour guide has said that other Chinese tourists have told her, it's more like China Disney than genuine China. I figure, for people who had never seen the country, that's about as good as we can really expect.
Once home, however, I had an unwelcome yet familiar visitor: pain. I seriously overdid it on the walking that day. I was extremely bummed, and not just for the obvious reason that I was hurting enough to use my stick just to walk around the flat. It was also because I had been doing so well since arriving, walking more in one go than I ever would have dreamed of trying in California due to the heat and constant sun. In a way, I had been able to almost forget that I have lupus for a time. I had been feeling that I could do anything, that no amount of walking would be too far here due to the coolness and milder weather. I got a very sharp (no pun intended) reminder that day, that while I may be able to do more than I used to, I still have lupus. I am still a Spoonie. I cannot do it all, indeed often cannot do what "normals" do. As much as I wish it would, and as much as it has helped, a continent and climate change cannot 100% cure me. A fact that I need to remember. I certainly hope I've learned it well. Pacing is a process not easy to learn!
Due to my "life lesson" on Wednesday, Thursday was spent chilling out and recovering; then on Friday, it was back up to C's house for the weekend. It's just under two hours on the train to get there, but at least we get to see each other on the weekends. It's a heck of a lot better than being eight time zones and 6,000 miles apart :)
So that's about my impression of Fresher's Week: Some good purposes, some fun social events, and a lot of partying. In fact, not two hours ago, I heard one of my roommates with a friend, leave his room and head out of the flat and down the path, happily and clearly drunkenly singing their way to wherever they were going.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
The First Wave
Tonight the first pangs of homesickness have started. I'm guessing it's a combination of the fact that I'm the only one in the flat this evening (two others have arrived, but they're at an event that I skipped because it ran too late), and the fact that it's Thursday. At home, Thursday nights was the church college group night. So at about this hour, we'd be chilling, talking, goofing off, possibly still talking about the night's discussion subject. Granted, it won't be beginning for about five hours if you take time differences into consideration, but that's not the most helpful thought right now. I still miss it. I think tomorrow I'll start looking up churches in the area to start checking out.
One shower later, and I'm already feeling much better. The shower itself, on the other hand... it's cramped. So cramped, in fact, that you can't step out of the water slightly while you wash, so the soap is washing off the washcloth while you are still using it. Guess I'll have to get used to turning the water off while washing. Not to mention the amount of it that leaked out onto the floor. Good thing I haven't gotten rugs for it yet. If that keeps up, I won't get them at all.
We got our official timetables for classes today after the international student orientation. According to how it currently is set up, I will be spending less than half the time in class than I would at home. On the other hand, I will be expected to do about twice as much work outside the classroom as I would be expected to by any California school. Three of my classes have one-hour lectures, followed by one-hour discussion seminars either immediately following or later in the week. That is shockingly little time in class when compared to California schools. The irony being, I have at least one class every day of the week, but Monday, Tuesday, and Friday I will only be spending one hour in any form of class.
Tomorrow morning will be spent running a few errands, getting things that I either forgot about or hadn't thought of earlier, and then the International Cafe, another social event put together to meet people.
And apparently the pope will be somewhere just across the river tomorrow. I knew he was visiting the UK thanks to the news over the last couple days and his remarks earlier about atheism, just had no idea he'd be that close. Actually, the only reason I know that is because one staff member commented that it was close enough that Kingston will be getting much heavier traffic! But I'm not too worried about that, I'm just using the bus. But in the meantime, I've taken a sleeping pill and it's kicking in, so it's time to sign off. Goodnight, readers.
One shower later, and I'm already feeling much better. The shower itself, on the other hand... it's cramped. So cramped, in fact, that you can't step out of the water slightly while you wash, so the soap is washing off the washcloth while you are still using it. Guess I'll have to get used to turning the water off while washing. Not to mention the amount of it that leaked out onto the floor. Good thing I haven't gotten rugs for it yet. If that keeps up, I won't get them at all.
We got our official timetables for classes today after the international student orientation. According to how it currently is set up, I will be spending less than half the time in class than I would at home. On the other hand, I will be expected to do about twice as much work outside the classroom as I would be expected to by any California school. Three of my classes have one-hour lectures, followed by one-hour discussion seminars either immediately following or later in the week. That is shockingly little time in class when compared to California schools. The irony being, I have at least one class every day of the week, but Monday, Tuesday, and Friday I will only be spending one hour in any form of class.
Tomorrow morning will be spent running a few errands, getting things that I either forgot about or hadn't thought of earlier, and then the International Cafe, another social event put together to meet people.
And apparently the pope will be somewhere just across the river tomorrow. I knew he was visiting the UK thanks to the news over the last couple days and his remarks earlier about atheism, just had no idea he'd be that close. Actually, the only reason I know that is because one staff member commented that it was close enough that Kingston will be getting much heavier traffic! But I'm not too worried about that, I'm just using the bus. But in the meantime, I've taken a sleeping pill and it's kicking in, so it's time to sign off. Goodnight, readers.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Britain: Where Even the Birds Are Polite
On Friday C and I went down to the open-air market to do some of my dorm shopping. Everything there was a fantastic bargain, so we got quite a lot of what I'll need for much less than I had thought it would be. We got lunch from one of the stands, but it wasn't very good, even for food coming from what was about the equivalent of a lunch truck. So we ate enough to tide us over and spent quite a while tossing the rest to the birds. Which was also a different experience to California birds. In Cali, when one bird grabs something and flies off, the others will fly after it and keep trying to steal it. And birds will get aggressive about wanting your food, trying to steal it off your plate or out of your hands. Here? Not so much. Even the birds were almost polite. When one got a bit of food and flew off, the others just let it go, then turned back to us and waited patiently. It was a little bit surreal. I've never seen birds behave with what might be called manners before.
Another interesting observation: The English are not extremely patriotic, at least not as openly and obviously as the Americans are. No flags outside houses or anything. Even C admits, they are basically not patriotic. Except, as it turns out, when it comes to their food. Imagine my surprise when, after hearing him talk about lack of patriotism, we walk into the nearby Tesco's and absolutely everything is labelled as "British salad" or "British minced beef" or "British juice drink", of course with the flag printed next to it. So they are not very patriotic... until it comes to their food. Apparently this is leftover food security from the mad cow outbreak several years back.
We'll be heading out in a few minutes, but later tonight I'll post a few pictures.
Another interesting observation: The English are not extremely patriotic, at least not as openly and obviously as the Americans are. No flags outside houses or anything. Even C admits, they are basically not patriotic. Except, as it turns out, when it comes to their food. Imagine my surprise when, after hearing him talk about lack of patriotism, we walk into the nearby Tesco's and absolutely everything is labelled as "British salad" or "British minced beef" or "British juice drink", of course with the flag printed next to it. So they are not very patriotic... until it comes to their food. Apparently this is leftover food security from the mad cow outbreak several years back.
We'll be heading out in a few minutes, but later tonight I'll post a few pictures.
Friday, September 10, 2010
A Visit to London, and Charity Shops
(Begun approximately 11pm, Thursday, September 9)
C and I went down to visit our mutual friend, D, in London yesterday. Now keep in mind that this is someone I have been IM'ing for round about five or six years, yet never actually spoken to IRL until yesterday. So on Tuesday, I made C call him to try to set up a time. He only managed to get ahold of D in the evening, about dinnertime. Of course they decided on the next morning, so we had a very quickly-planned trip, beginning with hitching a ride to the train station with C's dad on his way to golf.
Once we finally arrived, we had some drama trying to find D in the tube station, mostly due to us arriving in a different section, and lots of people causing us to miss each other. We spent a lot of time on the Tube, bouncing around the city. First place we went was Hamley's, which is, according to the guys, the biggest toy store in the world. And it is massive, six floors plus basement. But the toys were also massively overpriced, so only spent maybe an hour wandering through there.
After lunch, we hit the Tube again, this time going to the Natural History Museum. We spent several hours wandering through there and still only managed to cover half of it. The place is huge. At some point during our visit, we joked that D was our adopted child, since he is high energy and was bouncing around for most of the day.
(Continued Friday, September 10, approx 10:30am)
I was so exhausted last night, I couldn't think straight enough to finish my post. Such is the result of such a long day in London combined with lupus. I used up so many spoons that day, I didn't have very many left by the end of last night.
Anyways, to finish about London. After we got through half of the Natural History Museum, we walked around essentially to behind it, to the science museum. Unfortunately we only had about 45 minutes there before it closed, so didn't get to see too terribly much, but we did get to find out who the original Doctor Who was: the dialysis machine. Yes you read that right. The first woman to invent and use the dialysis machine named it Doctor Who. There is your trivia for the day.
When we finally got kicked out at closing time, we couldn't really travel anywhere. We had all bought off-peak travel cards for the day, and they got blocked off for two hours during what we in California would call rush hour. So instead we walked a couple blocks down to Royal Albert Hall and a corner of Hyde Park, with the Prince Albert Monument. Or Memorial. I can't remember which one it was right this minute. Chilled and goofed off there for maybe an hour, then started the walk down to the tube station to head home. Which was a lot longer than it looked like on C's iPhone map, but oh well. By the time we got there, we were allowed to travel again, so we rode together for a bit, then parted ways with D at his stop to head home. Took the tube back up to our stop to catch the train. I was so exhausted I fell asleep on the train home, which I so rarely do in any form of moving vehicle.
We finally got home about 9pm, and I spent a good bit of the evening soaking in the bath and resting, trying to prevent a pain flare-up for the next day. And it worked, I was only moderately achy. C's parents drove us down to Bletchley, where most of the charity shops are, to see what shopping I could get done for the dorms. For my US readers, that's a thrift shop. We only ended up going through two of them due to time, but got some good deals on cups and gloves. And, best of all, I found one of those boxes of ten puzzles for just over £3. Box is pretty beat up, but now I just get to work them and find out if any pieces are missing. I'm excited, normally you can't get even one puzzle for that little.
We'll be heading uptown in a bit to do some shopping. I move into the dorms on Weds. so there's a decent amount to get and do. But I will have time to settle in and get necessities before class, so at least it's not a major rush. In the meantime, I should finish getting ready to head out. Until next time!
C and I went down to visit our mutual friend, D, in London yesterday. Now keep in mind that this is someone I have been IM'ing for round about five or six years, yet never actually spoken to IRL until yesterday. So on Tuesday, I made C call him to try to set up a time. He only managed to get ahold of D in the evening, about dinnertime. Of course they decided on the next morning, so we had a very quickly-planned trip, beginning with hitching a ride to the train station with C's dad on his way to golf.
Once we finally arrived, we had some drama trying to find D in the tube station, mostly due to us arriving in a different section, and lots of people causing us to miss each other. We spent a lot of time on the Tube, bouncing around the city. First place we went was Hamley's, which is, according to the guys, the biggest toy store in the world. And it is massive, six floors plus basement. But the toys were also massively overpriced, so only spent maybe an hour wandering through there.
After lunch, we hit the Tube again, this time going to the Natural History Museum. We spent several hours wandering through there and still only managed to cover half of it. The place is huge. At some point during our visit, we joked that D was our adopted child, since he is high energy and was bouncing around for most of the day.
(Continued Friday, September 10, approx 10:30am)
I was so exhausted last night, I couldn't think straight enough to finish my post. Such is the result of such a long day in London combined with lupus. I used up so many spoons that day, I didn't have very many left by the end of last night.
Anyways, to finish about London. After we got through half of the Natural History Museum, we walked around essentially to behind it, to the science museum. Unfortunately we only had about 45 minutes there before it closed, so didn't get to see too terribly much, but we did get to find out who the original Doctor Who was: the dialysis machine. Yes you read that right. The first woman to invent and use the dialysis machine named it Doctor Who. There is your trivia for the day.
When we finally got kicked out at closing time, we couldn't really travel anywhere. We had all bought off-peak travel cards for the day, and they got blocked off for two hours during what we in California would call rush hour. So instead we walked a couple blocks down to Royal Albert Hall and a corner of Hyde Park, with the Prince Albert Monument. Or Memorial. I can't remember which one it was right this minute. Chilled and goofed off there for maybe an hour, then started the walk down to the tube station to head home. Which was a lot longer than it looked like on C's iPhone map, but oh well. By the time we got there, we were allowed to travel again, so we rode together for a bit, then parted ways with D at his stop to head home. Took the tube back up to our stop to catch the train. I was so exhausted I fell asleep on the train home, which I so rarely do in any form of moving vehicle.
We finally got home about 9pm, and I spent a good bit of the evening soaking in the bath and resting, trying to prevent a pain flare-up for the next day. And it worked, I was only moderately achy. C's parents drove us down to Bletchley, where most of the charity shops are, to see what shopping I could get done for the dorms. For my US readers, that's a thrift shop. We only ended up going through two of them due to time, but got some good deals on cups and gloves. And, best of all, I found one of those boxes of ten puzzles for just over £3. Box is pretty beat up, but now I just get to work them and find out if any pieces are missing. I'm excited, normally you can't get even one puzzle for that little.
We'll be heading uptown in a bit to do some shopping. I move into the dorms on Weds. so there's a decent amount to get and do. But I will have time to settle in and get necessities before class, so at least it's not a major rush. In the meantime, I should finish getting ready to head out. Until next time!
Monday, September 6, 2010
I Made It
I'm here, safe and sound and all in one piece. The jet lag has been actually not as bad as I thought it would be. I've been mostly okay during the days, but getting wiped at nights. It's improving though. The last few days have been spent just chilling and meeting C's friends.
But strangely enough, I don't feel like I've moved to a mostly foreign country at all. I feel natural here. Like I belong. Granted, it is strange not being able to drive, but overall it's not that different. Or at least it doesn't feel that different. So far, anyways.
There's a few interesting differences that I have noticed though. Besides the obvious driving on the opposite side of the road and accents and such. Like:
-Cabs don't take credit/debit cards. Technichally they're not cabs specifically, just any regular car with a meter added. But they're cash only. At least here in MK they are.
-Lack of toilet seat covers in public restrooms. Now, this might bother quite a few girls that I know/have come across in Cali. But I've had to get used to using public restrooms in Mexico before, and not in the nicer areas either. So it's not a big deal, just interesting that they aren't offered.
-Bathroom sinks. In homes, the sinks in the bathroom have two separate faucets, one for hot water and one for cold. In kitchens, it's one faucet for both the hot and cold knobs. Bathrooms though, either freeze your hands or wash them fast so they don't burn.
So not a lot that's a huge difference, at least not that anyone would immediately think about. Just a quite a few little things making me go "hey, that's different". But so far no huge shocks. It's been a fun few days, so am really looking forward to the next week or so, and then move in day on the 15th. Wishing everyone the best.
But strangely enough, I don't feel like I've moved to a mostly foreign country at all. I feel natural here. Like I belong. Granted, it is strange not being able to drive, but overall it's not that different. Or at least it doesn't feel that different. So far, anyways.
There's a few interesting differences that I have noticed though. Besides the obvious driving on the opposite side of the road and accents and such. Like:
-Cabs don't take credit/debit cards. Technichally they're not cabs specifically, just any regular car with a meter added. But they're cash only. At least here in MK they are.
-Lack of toilet seat covers in public restrooms. Now, this might bother quite a few girls that I know/have come across in Cali. But I've had to get used to using public restrooms in Mexico before, and not in the nicer areas either. So it's not a big deal, just interesting that they aren't offered.
-Bathroom sinks. In homes, the sinks in the bathroom have two separate faucets, one for hot water and one for cold. In kitchens, it's one faucet for both the hot and cold knobs. Bathrooms though, either freeze your hands or wash them fast so they don't burn.
So not a lot that's a huge difference, at least not that anyone would immediately think about. Just a quite a few little things making me go "hey, that's different". But so far no huge shocks. It's been a fun few days, so am really looking forward to the next week or so, and then move in day on the 15th. Wishing everyone the best.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Off To The Airport
I am officially leaving.
It is strange. I'm thrilled, obviously. The butterflies started about two hours ago. I won't be here again until January. I'm not sure what to make of this.
I have spent the last few days in a frenzy of packing, meeting friends, and visiting both grandmothers. And now the frenzy is coming to an end. I will have two glorious weeks to spend with my boyfriend's family before moving down to the dorms. And I am more than ready.
But it's now time to go. My dad is loading my suitcases into the car. So long, California. I'll miss you.
It is strange. I'm thrilled, obviously. The butterflies started about two hours ago. I won't be here again until January. I'm not sure what to make of this.
I have spent the last few days in a frenzy of packing, meeting friends, and visiting both grandmothers. And now the frenzy is coming to an end. I will have two glorious weeks to spend with my boyfriend's family before moving down to the dorms. And I am more than ready.
But it's now time to go. My dad is loading my suitcases into the car. So long, California. I'll miss you.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
It's Starting To Set In: Visa and Car Sale
It's finally starting to set in that this is really happening. I leave in three days. And it's only begun setting in over the last two days.
Part of the reason I think it's finally setting in, is that my visa has finally been approved and is on it's way back to me. It will be here on Monday. I spent Thursday afternoon and all of Friday morning desperately trying to get in touch with the British Consulate in Los Angeles, where my application was submitted. I finally faxed a letter explaining what had happened and asking why I had heard nothing.
The backstory: My application was opened on August 3 when all my documents arrived. A couple days later, I recieved an e-mail saying I'd forgotten to check the box to pay the postage to have it mailed back. Oops. Okay, so I responded with my credit card information for it to be charged. A week goes by, and I recieve the same e-mail again. I check my statement, and sure enough it hasn't been charged. So I re-send the information and the card is charged the next day. Then... nothing.
When I finally got through via the letter I faxed, I recieved the following e-mail:
Dear applicant,
We have received your faxes and your application will be assessed today. We have also confirmed that your credit card was charged on 12th of August.
If all documents were submitted, you will receive an automate email today, confirming your visa has been issued and including the UPS tracking number.
Regards,
XXXX XXXX
Visa Section Los Angeles
Now, tell me this doesn't sound like "Whoops! Our bad! We'll get right on that!" So from what I can infer, after the postage fee was charged, my application simply never got bumped out of the "incomplete" pile. A few hours later, I recieved the e-mail confirming that my visa has been approved and the tracking number. So lots of time, stress, and one emotional breakdown later, it is finally on it's way.
The other thing helping it set in that Yes, I'm actually leaving, is that my car has finally sold. Which I am actually kind of sad about. It was a great car, I just couldn't afford to keep it while I spend a year not driving it. But I think it's gone to a good home, and the money from it (that's left after I pay off the loan!) will be helping pay for my housing. So it's okay.
Everything is finally starting to come together. The two biggest things have been taken care of over the last two days. Sure, I still have to get together the last bit of the loan to pay for housing; but overall, I just have a long list of minor things to do. They'll get done soon. And then... I will be off to LAX and landing in London. And the year that I have been looking forward to for so long will commence.
In the meantime, I must now go get ready for my leaving-the-country party. As I will not be coming home for Christmas, just wanted to make sure that I can see everyone before I go.
Part of the reason I think it's finally setting in, is that my visa has finally been approved and is on it's way back to me. It will be here on Monday. I spent Thursday afternoon and all of Friday morning desperately trying to get in touch with the British Consulate in Los Angeles, where my application was submitted. I finally faxed a letter explaining what had happened and asking why I had heard nothing.
The backstory: My application was opened on August 3 when all my documents arrived. A couple days later, I recieved an e-mail saying I'd forgotten to check the box to pay the postage to have it mailed back. Oops. Okay, so I responded with my credit card information for it to be charged. A week goes by, and I recieve the same e-mail again. I check my statement, and sure enough it hasn't been charged. So I re-send the information and the card is charged the next day. Then... nothing.
When I finally got through via the letter I faxed, I recieved the following e-mail:
Dear applicant,
We have received your faxes and your application will be assessed today. We have also confirmed that your credit card was charged on 12th of August.
If all documents were submitted, you will receive an automate email today, confirming your visa has been issued and including the UPS tracking number.
Regards,
XXXX XXXX
Visa Section Los Angeles
Now, tell me this doesn't sound like "Whoops! Our bad! We'll get right on that!" So from what I can infer, after the postage fee was charged, my application simply never got bumped out of the "incomplete" pile. A few hours later, I recieved the e-mail confirming that my visa has been approved and the tracking number. So lots of time, stress, and one emotional breakdown later, it is finally on it's way.
The other thing helping it set in that Yes, I'm actually leaving, is that my car has finally sold. Which I am actually kind of sad about. It was a great car, I just couldn't afford to keep it while I spend a year not driving it. But I think it's gone to a good home, and the money from it (that's left after I pay off the loan!) will be helping pay for my housing. So it's okay.
Everything is finally starting to come together. The two biggest things have been taken care of over the last two days. Sure, I still have to get together the last bit of the loan to pay for housing; but overall, I just have a long list of minor things to do. They'll get done soon. And then... I will be off to LAX and landing in London. And the year that I have been looking forward to for so long will commence.
In the meantime, I must now go get ready for my leaving-the-country party. As I will not be coming home for Christmas, just wanted to make sure that I can see everyone before I go.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Visas, Packing, Financial Planning
I leave the country in just over a week, and I think the reality of this still hasn't quite set in. I also think that this is in large part because my visa has, unfortunately, still not arrived. I was told by the father of the kids I babysit that my Congressman's local office can help in situations like this, and have contacted them. And they are helping, getting in touch with the Embassy and, apparently London, as my application was sent there from the embassy. It's a slightly disconcerting thought that my passport is in London while I am still in California, but if that's what's needed, then that's what's needed. I recieved a call from my caseworker there this morning for extra information. Unfortunately, I was really tired and don't recall much of what was said, except that she was going to try to get in touch with the Embassy in Los Angeles, so I'm not sure how this is going. I only hope it's going well.
I've been getting the compulsion to start packing over the last few days. I guess it's understandable; I will be trying to fit my life into three suitcases, two full-sized and one travel-sized. But as it's still over a week until I go, I'm trying to delay myself. Most of the things I will need to pack, such as clothing and toiletries, I will need to keep out until the day or day before I leave. Instead, I've started listing what I will need to pack and trying to organize it by which suitcase it will belong in. It slows the compulsion for a while; unfortunately, it can later also make me want to just start already.
Financial planning is also starting to get sorted. Bank of America has an agreement with Barclay's in which BofA customers can use their debit card at Barclay's ATM's with no fees, so I have set that up. Also working on getting the last of the student loans done, so that housing will be completely paid for.
It's amazing how many little things start popping up in the final week before a long-term trip. My to-do list for each day is long enough to be almost frightening, but yet nothing should take extremely long on its own. And then my mood seems to follow the list, in which I am partly overwhelmed, yet still somehow not quite as motivated as I should be to get it done. I'm not quite sure what to think of my mood the last two days.
I've been getting the compulsion to start packing over the last few days. I guess it's understandable; I will be trying to fit my life into three suitcases, two full-sized and one travel-sized. But as it's still over a week until I go, I'm trying to delay myself. Most of the things I will need to pack, such as clothing and toiletries, I will need to keep out until the day or day before I leave. Instead, I've started listing what I will need to pack and trying to organize it by which suitcase it will belong in. It slows the compulsion for a while; unfortunately, it can later also make me want to just start already.
Financial planning is also starting to get sorted. Bank of America has an agreement with Barclay's in which BofA customers can use their debit card at Barclay's ATM's with no fees, so I have set that up. Also working on getting the last of the student loans done, so that housing will be completely paid for.
It's amazing how many little things start popping up in the final week before a long-term trip. My to-do list for each day is long enough to be almost frightening, but yet nothing should take extremely long on its own. And then my mood seems to follow the list, in which I am partly overwhelmed, yet still somehow not quite as motivated as I should be to get it done. I'm not quite sure what to think of my mood the last two days.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
On Doctors and Moving
I had my last appointment with my rheumatologist before I leave this morning. It's a strange feeling, knowing that I won't be seeing that office again until sometime next June or July. For the past three years, I have been going in there in frequencies varying from every three months, to every two weeks. She is the doctor who diagnosed me, treated me, and got me back to the place where I am healthy enough to go live abroad for a year.
I will not be without care; at least not for most of my trip. I will be able to get set up with a rheumy while I am there. It may just take a few weeks, which I think is what is causing the strange feeling. In a sense, I am between doctors. I can still call Dr. P until I leave; but the office visits and chats with the nurse and office manager are on hold. It is new and unsettling, but at the same time exciting. It means that one more stop on the path to England has been passed.
And so, to Dr. P, as well as T and S in the office, I thank you. You are the reasons I am healthy enough to go.
I will not be without care; at least not for most of my trip. I will be able to get set up with a rheumy while I am there. It may just take a few weeks, which I think is what is causing the strange feeling. In a sense, I am between doctors. I can still call Dr. P until I leave; but the office visits and chats with the nurse and office manager are on hold. It is new and unsettling, but at the same time exciting. It means that one more stop on the path to England has been passed.
And so, to Dr. P, as well as T and S in the office, I thank you. You are the reasons I am healthy enough to go.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Introducing Me
The first question I have always asked myself when I stumble across a new blog is, Who is the person who is writing this? So I find it only appropriate that my first post be to answer this question. I am a 22-year-old girl from Southern California who will be leaving in two weeks to take a year-long study abroad at Kingston University, just outside London. For privacy's sake, I will be referring to people by their first initial here. As such, I am simply D.
So, why am I taking a study abroad? Quite simply, because I want to. I have wanted to for years, ever since I found out this type of program exists. I took myself to England when I was 18 and a senior in high school for my spring break, and fell in love with what parts of the country I saw. Granted, I already had an obsession, but actually being there only made me want to go back, over and over again. So, why not live there for a year?
Of course, I now also have the added incentive of dating someone who lives in the UK. My placement in the country is an hour-and-a-half train ride from his home. While many people think that is a lot, it is the closest I could have been placed, and is much better than the eleven-hour flight that has been required to connect us for the last three years. It is a change that we are both beyond thrilled about.
So who am I? There are so many facets to cover. I am a Sociology major with a concentration in Social Work. I am still in the process of deciding where in the social work field I want to work, though am leaning toward a battered women's shelter or anti-human trafficking campaign. This past school year, I took a course in Braille Transcribing, and will be working on the manuscript for my certification this upcoming year. I suppose you could say that I am a helping type person, who wants to help others through their situations in some tangible way.
I am a chronic History Channeller, especially regarding English/European and Biblical history. I enjoy creating period clothing and have attended many Renaissance Faires. I have tried to get into reenactments, but unfortunately that has never worked out.
I also have Systemic Lupus Erythmatosis, also known as simply lupus. It is an autoimmune disorder that, to put it simply, causes the immune system to go into overdrive and attack healthy tissue. This can cause problems varying from minor skin rashes to joint pains to organ involvement. I am extremely grateful that I am stable enough to take this trip. It affects my daily life, but I refuse to let it define me.
I often work with children, whether babysitting or in daycare settings. For the last three years, I have worked at my parent's church providing daycare for the Mothers of Preschoolers program (MOPS) and different covenant groups (Bible studies) that met during the week.
Right this moment, this is all I can think of to post about myself. As far as background information goes, it should be sufficient. I hope that this has piqued your interest and that you will return to follow my adventures and my thoughts as I embark on a year living in the beautiful UK.
So, why am I taking a study abroad? Quite simply, because I want to. I have wanted to for years, ever since I found out this type of program exists. I took myself to England when I was 18 and a senior in high school for my spring break, and fell in love with what parts of the country I saw. Granted, I already had an obsession, but actually being there only made me want to go back, over and over again. So, why not live there for a year?
Of course, I now also have the added incentive of dating someone who lives in the UK. My placement in the country is an hour-and-a-half train ride from his home. While many people think that is a lot, it is the closest I could have been placed, and is much better than the eleven-hour flight that has been required to connect us for the last three years. It is a change that we are both beyond thrilled about.
So who am I? There are so many facets to cover. I am a Sociology major with a concentration in Social Work. I am still in the process of deciding where in the social work field I want to work, though am leaning toward a battered women's shelter or anti-human trafficking campaign. This past school year, I took a course in Braille Transcribing, and will be working on the manuscript for my certification this upcoming year. I suppose you could say that I am a helping type person, who wants to help others through their situations in some tangible way.
I am a chronic History Channeller, especially regarding English/European and Biblical history. I enjoy creating period clothing and have attended many Renaissance Faires. I have tried to get into reenactments, but unfortunately that has never worked out.
I also have Systemic Lupus Erythmatosis, also known as simply lupus. It is an autoimmune disorder that, to put it simply, causes the immune system to go into overdrive and attack healthy tissue. This can cause problems varying from minor skin rashes to joint pains to organ involvement. I am extremely grateful that I am stable enough to take this trip. It affects my daily life, but I refuse to let it define me.
I often work with children, whether babysitting or in daycare settings. For the last three years, I have worked at my parent's church providing daycare for the Mothers of Preschoolers program (MOPS) and different covenant groups (Bible studies) that met during the week.
Right this moment, this is all I can think of to post about myself. As far as background information goes, it should be sufficient. I hope that this has piqued your interest and that you will return to follow my adventures and my thoughts as I embark on a year living in the beautiful UK.
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