greetings from england: week one

my first post while in europe! (the first of many!)

i can't believe i am actually here, that i am actually studying abroad. i have been dreaming about this trip since i was in seventh grade. i never thought i would end up doing it. even though the timing couldn't be worse (the economy, my pregnant sister,) i am so glad i am here. this is something that will define who i am and who i become. to help me remember everything that happens, i want to use this blog as a journal. also, i want to use this as a way to connect to friends and family back home. rather than writing emails constantly, they can use this to check up on me. so i will try to post something at least every other day. i also want to do weekly highlights, so i can look back at them, see how far i've come, and how far i have left.

i also have a personal goal. i want to do something new, meet someone new or go somewhere new every week. by this i mean something i have never done before, not a variation on things i've done in america. i want to actually meet someone, have a conversation with them, and get to know them, not just exchange introductions. i want to actually explore the new place, not just pass through it for an hour or so.

in order to help me remember, i have set up a basic guide for me to follow with each post.

each post i will address:
what i've been doing
what i miss about home
what i am enjoying
people i have met
where i've been going


i am currently in guildford, england. i'm staying with family, until i can move into my flat in london on sunday. i spent monday traveling, and my plane touched down in london on tuesday morning. i haven't yet explored london, i have only driven through it. after arriving, i spent an uneventful half hour going through customs, i think i might have even skipped something... then it was straight to guildford, where i amazingly managed to beat jet lag and stay awake so i could go exploring with my cousin. to my delighted surprise, exploring meant "going into town" and shopping. i love british stores, specifically "topshop" which i guess we have in the us, but i have never seen it. all the clothes and shoes were so cheap, so cute, and so utterly desirable. i'm trying to save my money until i actually get to london, so i managed not to buy anything, despite the rows and rows of shoes that were desperately calling out my name. i did however cave when i found a dress to wear to the clubs. thanks to it being on sale, and my student discount, it was only 12 pounds!

so, here's days 1-4!! (21 september - 24 september)

day one was spent traveling, filled with tearful goodbyes and butterfly-full stomaches.

day two was passed in an excited, foggy blur. after i received my first passport stamp (left), my uncle met me at the airport and drove me the forty five minutes into guildford. i went shopping with my cousin, watched british soap operas, and knitted a sock. i also ate at my first british pub! the numerous choices in drink were very tempting, i finally decided upon a pear cider. the choices in food were not quite as good. in fact, they were terrible. i resorted to pasta carbonara. the food was mediocre, but the drinks were amazing. fortunately, i enjoy good drinks more than i enjoy good food!! i then went home and crashed, exhausted from jet lag. i laid on the couch while the family watched tv. british shows are hilarious, but mostly we watched the same shows i watch at home.

day three, i figured out how to convert my appliances! i know many people have done this before, but i have never needed to. i am very proud of myself as my computer, my phone and my hair stylers are all still working. i didn't short them out! i found the knitting store and buried myself in there for a while. i explored the town for a bit by myself, i rode the bus for the first time. i spent some time in the park by their house. i really need to start taking pictures.

day four, i woke up really late. everyone had already left for work and school by the time i woke up. i stayed in the house today and tried to get everything ready for the upcoming move. i figured out where  my flat and my school are. turns out they're quite close and connected easily by the underground. perfect! i'm also right by king's cross station, so traveling will be really easy. upon finding that out, i decided to plan out where i wanted to go!! once i have finished the list, i'll post it later. i also figured out which sim card i'm going to get. tmobile here has a pay-as-you go plan that has unlimited texts. hopefully they offer internet as well.


day five,  my cousin and i decided to do a pub crawl with all of her friends. it was so much fun, all the pubs are in one part of town so it's easy to go back and forth.  all of her friends were really nice and a little punkish. i felt very tame next to them. they all kept talking about my accent, which got even worse the more i drank. when drinking, my voice tends to get higher and higher. i knew my voice got really squeaky, but i had no idea i had an accent! i'm from arizona, which is one of the few states that truly have no accents. i've been told many times that we all speak like news casters, so it was weird to be told that i "speak funny". my cousin ended up getting too drunk and becoming sick, so one of her friends walked her home. i have quite a high tolerance for my size and decided to stay on. when given the option, i will never choose to end the night. because of this, there were some issues, stemming mostly from the facts that i didn't know how to call or text internationally, and i had no clue where i was. but it was all sorted out the next morning. i managed to find a safe place to stay the night, i just feel bad for making them worry.


day six, we went to the devil's punch bowl in the surrey hills. it was some of the best scenery i've ever seen, and supposedly the rest of england is even better. i can't wait to see more. after last night, my uncle tried to give me a talk about safe sex. i cut him off rather quickly, explaining that i don't have casual sex and i don't date, so i truly just didn't know how to find my way home last night. he seemed almost offended by the thought of waiting until marriage, or at least a true commitment. he said he wouldn't judge me, but whenever someone says that, you know they are. he was also surprised that boys were okay with this.  i'm quite confused, because in america it is really common to wait for love. it isn't seen as prudish or odd, it is accepted. i refuse to get an std, to get pregnant or have my heart broken. sex opens you up to all those things.  now it is a little odd that i don't date, i have no problem admitting that. but i don't want to get distracted, i want to stay on track and accomplish all the things on my list before i settle down. for example, if i had a boyfriend, i would have never studied abroad.  so, in my head, it's really rational to avoid commitment. i still have crushes, and i'm open to possibilities; i still go on casual dates, but never anything serious. and oddly enough, boys are more okay with not having sex than they are with the "no commitments" clause.  however, i'm worried that i'm going to come into contact with an entirely different breed of boys in both london and paris.

anyways, here are pictures from the devil's punch bowl!

it was basically a huge hole in the ground, but it was so green! that's the second time i've worn my truffle cardigan. i wore it out last night as well. it's really comfy and really warm, my only problem is that it's already started to pill. after all the money i spent on that yarn, you'd think it wouldn't pill. i'm still totally in love with it though. speaking of knitting, my aunt has a monthly subscription to a magazine called "the knitter".  i've already found so many projects to make!

[eta] day seven, i hung out with my cousin. we went to see the castle ruins, and the alice in wonderland garden.  the castle was quite impressive, the first castle i have seen! it wasn't as big as i had expected, but i've been told the biggest ones are in scotland. the garden was nice but not as interesting as i expected, it was created in honor of  lewis carrol, who used to summer in guildford. afterwards, we hiked up a very steep road, reminicsent of the uphill slopes of san francisco. at the top, there was a large hill where we could see all of guildford. we sat on a bench and ate lunch. it was very peaceful, the weather was very bright and clear. according to lucy, the weather has been uncharacteristically enjoyable lately. usually, it's storming and cold. i'm hoping it doesn't change too soon. i saw the stereotypical british phone booth! it was so bright and red. i snapped a really quick picture. i hate looking like a tourist, but i just couldn't help myself. 

weekly highlights:

dates: 21 september 2009 - 27 september 2009 (i cut the week short, so this post would only be about guildford. that way, i'll post about the move and orientation all at once.)
sights seen: guildford, surrey, and the devil's punch bowl

somewhere new: guildford, england
someone new: i made a friend, her name is kelsey. i resisted the urge to tell her she has the same name as one of my dogs. we exchanged emails since i don't have a phone number yet.
something new: i flew across an ocean. that was a really big deal to me.  if that's not new enough, i made coffee for the first time, in a french press.

what i miss: dogs laying at my feet, legible street signs, navigable streets, and free music. turns out free streaming is pretty much only available in the states. here in the uk, you have to subscribe or buy if you want to listen to more than thirty seconds of a song. after days of searching, i finally found a streaming website. i've started listening to a band called wolf parade. i highly recommend them, they're a little raw and a bit off-key, but they can certainly make me cheer up! it's crazy, but just a few days without music and i was already going into a slump. is music necessary for your happiness, like it is for mine?

what i love: the coffee is amazing, i can actually stand the taste of it. i don't have to dilute it with flavorings. the weather makes it truly enjoyable to be outside, and everything is so green. i'm also really enjoying british soap operas and comedies. i'm sad i won't have a tv in london. the bottles here are different as well. they are tall and skinny and easy to pour.

what i'm not so sure of: the food is very different, the portions are so tiny and the jury is still out on whether i enjoy the taste or not. the humidity is what makes the weather so enjoyable but my hair is an unmanageable mess.

plans: i move to london on sunday. orientation starts monday and continues through the whole week, then classes start the monday after that. depending on my course schedule, i might start traveling right away. i have decided upon where i want to go, while in the uk. i'll post that list later. i want to go to the knitting and stitching show!! i'll probably only go for one or two days, i doubt i'll be able to make it to the whole thing. 

i'll start taking more pictures, my blog is so wordy.