Off to the Ball and then to Wales

After another week of class, I am finally settling into the routines of things. I am also starting to studying and re-realize the reason I am here is to attend uni. Although, I am still not sure if traveling or school takes precedence, I honestly think they are both very and equally important. I find it funny that some of the subjects I am taking in Bath I really enjoy, while I didn't like the introductory course I took at Purdue and vise versa. Classes are classes anyway you look at them, nothing too mind boggling.
Now on to the more exciting events of my past week! I decided to not take a Wednesday day trip because I was so wiped out from my weekend in London and I was still getting over my awful illness (it seems just as I was getting better, everyone else got sick...I hope it wasn't my fault, I'd like to blame the weather instead!). My Friday was a very filled day, I have the most lectures on Friday....it really is a horrible way to end the week! When I returned from classes, I went to this store called Iceland to do some food shopping. Almost everything in the store is frozen and costs roughly about a pound! It is very cheap...but not so healthy...but easy. I think I am most excited about returning to the states and cooking again, it is just too hard and expensive to cook for oneself and buy all the necessary ingredients to make a complete recipe. Then the excitement began as I planned my spring break and bought the plane tickets! The prices increased slightly from the last time I looked and when I actually bought the tickets more fees were added to the final price. Still, anyway you put it flying around Europe is much cheaper than flying around the US. It amazes me that flying place to place is even cheaper than taking the train. My final plan is to fly from Bristol to Valencia, Spain to Pisa, Italy then from Milan, Italy to Paris, France and then finally spend my last few days of vacation in Dublin, Ireland! I am super excited and I can already predict how fabulous my trip will be, I will remember it forever. If anyone has any suggestions or tips I'd love them!
Booking the tickets took much longer than I expected and I was meeting up with people to attend a Chemistry Ball rather soon. I showered, talked to Jamie and Aron, got dressed, and eat dinner all within an hour. I was pretty impressed I was able to accomplish everything. The Chemistry Ball, organized and supported by the university, consisted of students and professors eating, drinking, and dancing together. It still blows my mind that departments get together and throw parties, I don't think this would ever happen at home especially not supported by the university. The ball was so much fun and I got to meet so many other chemistry students! My favorite part of the night was probably when some random guy can up to me and another american student and asked 'Where did you guys come from?' My response was America! It may have been a 'you had to be there moment' but it was really funny! Since everyone has the same classes together (think more like high school classes than common US college classes), they get to know the people in their classes and when some strange person walks into the lecture hall they notice you! I also spoke with one of my professors and the first thing she asked me is if I was interested in any guys...that would not happen in the states. Then, she proceeded to tell me I have an accent, it was really weird hearing that when I view all the Brits as having accents! The night was filled with dancing...yes I danced my heart out and loved every minute of it. My only regret is that I work high heeled pumps and my feet hurt soo much by the end of the night...it was a huge struggle to walk home!
After getting approximately four hours of sleep, I was up and preparing for my trip to Cardiff, Wales. I was so afraid I was going to miss my train, so I woke up much earlier than I needed to....just in case! I also didn't buy my ticket before hand...just in case. The whole buying two tickets was not an experience I'd like to repeat. The train ride was a little over an hour...it's crazy to think it only takes an hour to get to another country...everything is so close here compared to home. It takes me ten hours to drive home from school. In ten hours, I could probably travel the majority of the UK. Once we entered Wales all the signs were written in English and Welsh, which was neat to see. I really wanted to hear people speak Welsh, but everyone speaks English or at least I didn't hear anyone speaking Welsh. Cardiff is the capitol of Wales, but it reminded me more of a State capitol than of a capitol of a country. There were two distinct parts of the town: the city center and the harbor. The morning was spent walking around the city center and venturing up to the legislative buildings and the beautiful gardens. A friend and I followed a walking tour of the city and saw/noticed much more than I think we would have seen if we were just wondering around. We stopped for lunch at this really neat place that just sold jacket pockets (baked potatoes) with various fillings. It is a common meal in the UK, but I hadn't experienced it here yet...I mean I have eaten a baked potato before, but this was so much better and very filling! Then, we made our way down to the harbor because I really want to see the water. I'm not sure what fascinates me about being on the coast and seeing the water, but I love it! It was beautiful and I think it was definitely worth making the walk to see the harbor. The remainder of the day was spent doing some light shopping/browsing and watching a rugby game. Next time I watch a rugby game I need to sit next to someone that knows and enjoys the game, so when I inevitably ask too many questions about the rules I can get answers. The crowds highlighted in the stadium appeared to be more enthusiastic than fans watching American football. It was also amusing watching an England vs. France game in Wales. The Welsh are not terribly fond of the English (there is a huge rivalry) and I happened to be watching the game with a bunch of French exchange students. To round out the trip, we found a local hole in the wall Welsh/British place to eat dinner at, of course after my infamous indecision skills of choosing a place to eat at. I didn't want to wait at one place, but by the time I actually decided on a place it took more time than if I just waited at the original place. I ordered a cottage pie, which I had really wanted to try and it was a great choice, it was in the same family as a shepherd's pie or maybe even the same thing, but just a little different :) For dessert I ordered an apple pie expecting a large piece of pie with huge amounts of apple filling. Instead I got a tart like thing smothered with custard (hot pudding substance), it was still yummy just not what I expected. Cardiff was a neat town to see, but I'm not sure I'd venture back there during my stay in the UK. I would like to see more of the countryside in Wales, if I have the time to go back. My last observation I'd like to point out about Cardiff is the large amount of American advertisements. It was weird, there was one place called USA Nails, a restaurant/pub with a New Orleans theme, and some other things that I can't remember off the top of my head right now, but there was quite a lot of American resemblance (something that I have not found to the same extent in England).
I think next up on the my travel list is Oxford or Birmingham. I would also like to visit Holland and Belgium in the near future, I am really craving some good chocolate! As soon as my exam schedule is posted I will figure out when I have more time to travel beyond the weekends. So nothing too crazy happened this past week...I just got to go to a Ball and spend a day in Wales...no big deal!  

Mind the Gap!

This past weekend I packed up some things and headed to London to check out sights and boy was it an adventure. Then again, I'm not sure anything I ever do is simple, but it always makes the story so much more interesting. My London adventure began last Wednesday, I went to the Roman Baths, which were so beautiful. I highly recommend seeing them if you ever get the chance. I assumed you walked in and looked around the hot springs, but there is an incredible museum built (mostly underground) around the ancient site. After the tour a few friends and myself were treating ourselves to dinner out in an attempt to finally try bangers and mash. Unfortunately, the item was only listed on the lunch menu, but more unfortunately I didn't have an appetite! I am always hungry and I always crave food, so I knew something was wrong. Then my hands started to shake and I got the chills, I went to be bed as soon as I got home and around 8:00pm the fire alarm went off...needless to say, I was not a happy person. 

On Thursday, I thought I had the flu and on Friday it turned into an awfully sore throat and congestion in my throat and nose. During this time of feeling awful and being sick, I was planning my upcoming weekend in London. I had already confirmed the hostel and bought the train ticket, so I didn't really care how I felt, I was going to London! I packed a little on Friday evening and set my alarm for 6:00am so I would have plenty of time to finish getting ready before my 7:13am train. Once my coughing finally subsided, I was able to get a few hours of sleep. Before I knew it, I got woken up by my phone, although it wasn't my alarm going off! One of my friends I was planning on meeting up with before walking to the train station called and asked me if I was almost ready. It was a few minutes after 7:00am and I was still in bed!!!! This was not a good start to my trip. I frantically got dressed and throw some essentials in my backpack. I then realized I wasn't going to make it and slowed down a little. I met up my friends who consequently also missed the train due to a miscommunication. We then had to buy a new ticket which costed about the same as my original roundtrip fare. So, yet another great start to my trip! 

Once we arrived at Paddington Station in London we decided to walk (instead of taking the tube) to our hostel and drop off our bags instead of carrying them around all day. We got outside and it started to pour (which really shouldn't surprise me anymore but...I'm still hoping one day I'll wake up and it will be sunny out!) and of course silly me, I forgot an umbrella. We finally found our hostel and proceeded to find out we didn't have a reservation! I guess after they confirm your reservation they can also decline it! So at that point we were wet and had no place to sleep, but my opinion was that we were in London so we should tour around and everything would work out in the end, as it always does. 

So, we boarded the tube and went to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guards. By the time we got there the crowds were beginning to assemble. Since it was raining there were some many umbrellas overtaking the area. While we were waiting I happened to get a bloody nose! Luckily, some of the other tourists around me offered me tissues :) A few minutes later, the soldiers in their funny hats came marching in through the gates. A few of them switched places and we thought the ceremony was over because nothing much was happening, later we found out that the changing of the guards was canceled because of the rain and wasn't going to happen again till Monday. From the palace we walked around the streets of Victoria to scout out a place to stay the night. We didn't have much luck, but someone gave us a few recommendations of areas to look. We boarded the tube and went to Piccadilly Circus to have a look. As soon as we got there and walked a few blocks, we got a call from the people we were going to meet up with saying they found a hotel in Earls Court, it was expensive, but split between seven of us it wasn't going to be too bad. By the time we got to Earls Court the plan had changed and they found something in the Bayswater area (back around where the original hostel was located, I recommend looking at a map of London to understand the rat race we went on). We got there and checked out the room they already booked. The three of us decided to find a second room instead all squeezing into one room and sleeping on the floor. We got a pretty decent deal a few doors down from the other group's hotel. It was a large room with four beds and its own bathroom (shower and toilet) it also included a free breakfast (the next morning we found out our free breakfast included tea/coffee and toast, I wasn't expecting much, but I was expecting more than toast). We finally dropped our bags, grabbed a quick snack and headed to the westminster area.

When we exited the tube station, I was in awe! The view was magnificent, absolutely breathtaking, by far one of my most favorite parts of London. I looked out and saw the Eye of London across the river and Big Ben was straight in front of me. We walked a little ways down and saw Westminster Abbey and walked across the bridge to get a better look at the Houses of Parliament. Then we took the tube (you can take the tube everywhere, it is a fantastic system) to London Bridge. London Bridge is nothing really special, but standing on London Bridge looking onto Tower Bridge is a fantastic view. Tower Bridge is so unique looking, I just look at it and think 'London.' We walked along the river to get a closer view of the bridge and then traveled back to area where our hotel was in to find a pub for dinner. I ate a delicious lamb and mint pie and had a pint of ale (I am becoming a big fan of ale). Later, we decided to grab some dessert at the local Mickey D's and had a lovely encounter with a crazy homeless guy. He decided to take a nap on the floor until the medics arrived, he then promptly decided we was not longer dead/tired? The experience was weird to say the least! That concluded day one, we went back to the room and I attempted to fall asleep, but instead had a coughing fit for a few hours...super fun. I finally feel asleep and had one of the best night's sleep I had since arriving in England, the mattress at the somewhat sketchy hotel was more comfortable than my bed at uni! 

The next morning began with my very filling breakfast of toast. We then went to the Victoria and Albert Museum and dropped off our bags for a few hours (I don't think that is the intention of the cloakroom, but it was free. Fair enough, we checked out some of the museum before we headed out for a few hours). Then, we took a very scenic route through some residential parts of London to get to Harrods. Harrods is the most amazing department store I have ever been to! It probably fills up about a block and has absolutely everything you could every imagine and then more. My favorite rooms where the food rooms, more specifically the chocolate room. It was beautiful and everything looked so yummy (probably because all I had eaten so far was some toast). I think there were something like twenty-two bars/cafes/restaurants in the store. There were even multiple gift shops throughout the store. My question is who actually goes into Harrods to do everyday/general shopping because everything is extremely overpriced. 

We then went back to the museum to collect our bags and checked out some more exhibits. Then, we took the tube back to the Piccadilly area and eat a late lunch in Chinatown. I have been to other chinatowns before, but I have never eaten in one (maybe I have eaten in the one in D.C. but I can't remember), so I was pretty excited. The food was really good, although you had to pay additional for a side of rice and the portions were smaller than I expected. After lunch, we explored the Piccadilly area a bit more and slowly made our way to Trafalgar Square. This was a very impressive area with many monuments and statues. At this point it was beginning to get cold and we were getting tired after two very long days, but we booked our train for 11pm so we still had hours to kill. Next time I will spend a few more pounds and buy a flex ticket that allows you to take the train at any time. To kill some time we went to Oxford Street and walked around, but all the shops were already closed. Then, we attempted to find the Globe Theater by London Bridge, but failed! It was rather dark out, so we were hesitant to take small roads/ally ways. Finally, we went to Waterloo and had a nice view of the other side of the Eye of London. At this point we traveled back to Paddington Station, grabbed some dinner and waited around for our train. We managed to cover a lot of ground over the weekend trip. 

All in all it was a very fun weekend, but it was very long and tiring. My feet hurt so much by Sunday night! I am not sure if I will be able to handle a trip every weekend, I may have to travel every other weekend. It just feels like since I am in another country, I should see everything! I plan on going back to London at some point to see a show and do some other things that I didn't get to do this time around. I feel as though I have a much better idea of the city now compared to a few days ago. I really liked London, it was different from any city I have ever been to. I think my favorite part was how distinctively different each area was. So my first weekend trip began a bit bumpy but turned into a success. I have learned so much for the next trip, I just need to decide where it will be! I am thinking Dublin or Wales. 

People don't wear pants in this country!

This past week was very hectic and stressful because classes started. I originally planned out an amazing schedule with mainly classes on Monday and Tuesday, a lighter day on Wednesday, lab on Thursday and no classes on Friday. After sitting in my first class on Monday morning at a wonderful 8:15 in the morning on a very lovely rainy day in Bath, my perfect schedule changed dramatically! The classes I intended on taking were not even close to the subject matter I would have taken if I stayed at Purdue. Since the chemistry degree in Bath is a three year program (compared to the normal four year degrees in the States) subjects are taught in different orders and in different ways. Therefore, it was difficult to figure out what courses I needed to take in Bath to be equivalent to the courses I would have taken at Purdue this semester. By the end of the week, I finally figured it out! For anyone that is interested, I will be taking a physical chemistry course, a physical chemistry lab, an inorganic chemistry course, a course on drug design, and a modern british society course to mix it up a little bit. So not the easy semester I intended on taking while abroad, but oh well.

Also, I am have found it surprising that there is a language barrier. I never thought language would be a problem studying in Britain because it is an english speaking country. Yet, I am finding it difficult to answer some of my problems because the little things are different. For example, the unit of concentration are mol/dm^3 instead of mol/L. Yes, I know it technically is the same thing, but when you learn something so basic one way it is difficult to think about it in another way. One of my classes is run as a workshop, which is basically a session devoted to solving problems, I found the questions really difficult. Not so much because of the math or knowledge needed to solve the problem, but just the wording used to ask the question. I am banking on the fact that over the next few weeks I will become more accustom to the little things.

It is also very different in the way the classes are set up. Many of the classes are taught by different lectures throughout the semester. Some of my classes meet once a week while others meet several times. I even have one class that meets twice in one day. The schedule changes weekly and the classes are never in the same room. The only plus side is that I am learning my way around campus quickly. So, enough about classes because the subject just drives me crazy. Hopefully, it will all settle down once I am actually registered in classes! I keep reminding myself that it is only week 1 and everything will become routine soon enough. It reminds me of the first few weeks of freshman year when everything seemed confusing because college was so different from high school.

With my new schedule I have a free day on Wednesdays which is nice for day trips. After talking with lots of people here, it seems likes it is normal to only have 2-3 days of classes. This past Wednesday I took an adventure to Bristol. It was only a short 15 minute train ride away from Bath. I think this was my  first time going to a place and having no clue where anything was (I forgot to look at a map before I left). I brought my GPS, but unfortunately it couldn't pick up service and it was losing too much battery, so I shut it off and decided to use it in case of emergency only. Plus, it is kind of fun exploring not knowing what you might discovery along the way. Luckily, I had picked up a small tourist guide of Bristol so I had a map highlighting the main attractions in the area. The main purpose of this trip was to go shopping! Bristol is much cheaper than Bath because it isn't as big as a tourist destination and I still needed some essentials, like a pillow! I think we probably only made it about a 200 feet into the shopping area, it was so large with some many shops! My favorite discovery was Poundland (similar to a dollar store). Everything was a pound and the quality wasn't as bad as you would expect! I wish I had found this store when I went out looking for dishes. It is weird that some of the things that are so expensive in the states are so cheap here and vice versa. For some reason work attire is really cheap here! I plan on going to back to Bristol to do the more touristy things at a later point and time. This coming Wednesday I am planning on seeing the Roman Baths and Bath Abbey. This was originally planned for this weekend, but Bath gets overwhelmingly populated with tourists on the weekends (plus it was raining today...no big surprise there). Another upcoming Wednesday day trip is going to be Stonehenge!!! A lot of people have Wednesday off, so it should be an ideal day for short trips to places around the area.

This weekend was spent exploring Bath some more! We managed to find the Royal Crescent and the Circus, two pieces of beautiful architecture build in the late 1700s. Once you finally move beyond all the shops in Bath, the area is very lush and beautiful. We also explored more of the area off the main street, I finally feel like I have a good idea of Bath. Saturday evening was spent out at the Pub, which was very different than the Clubs I have been to since being in Bath. I think I like the Pub scene slightly better because it is more laid back and causal. (For those of you that have been to Nine Irish at school, all the Pubs look similar with tables everywhere and a collection of different seat, it is a really neat atmosphere) I find it weird that most students don't go out on the weekends and prefer to go out during the week! I think this is crazy and it is hard to keep up with the European lifestyle.

I am finding it very hard to cook over here. I really miss cooking fun meals with my roomies. I am finding that the food goes bad before I can eat it all. The food here is also rather expensive. My current diet consists of lots of pasta and pizza, which will get old very fast. I did finally eat fish and chips in a pub here and it was delicious! Although, I found out that fish and chips which I originally thought of as very British is very much an American stereotype. It is really neat sitting around and talking with people from other countries and finding out what they think of Americans as well as finding out cultural differences. I learned something new last night that did not help prove the "Stupid American" stereotype wrong. I always thought the United Kingdom flag was the same as the English flag, but it isn't! All the different countries in the UK have different flags and the UK flag is the one with a blue background with red and white strips and the flag of England is white with two red strips.

Lastly, I wanted to touch on the title of this post. The fashion over here is so fun (and interesting at times)! Women don't wear pants! The latest trend seems to be wearing sheer tights with short shorts, I wonder who thought this would ever be attractive? Legging are HUGE over here and I have yet to find a British woman that wears jeans. It is crazy! People dress up all the time, no matter the weather or occasion. Maybe I'll return with a sense of fashion.

Next up on the list of things to do is to go to London! I am currently in the process of planning a trip for next weekend, I never expected there would be so much planning involved. I assumed the hardest part would be deciding on how to get there: the bus or train. The bus drops us off at a more central location and is cheaper, but the train is faster...There is so much I want to do and see, I am not sure it will all fit into a weekend! Maybe I'll just have to make multiple trips. If anyone could recommend a good hostel to stay at or must see attractions that would be very helpful :)

I have finally arrived in Bath!

I have never written a blog post before, so here it goes. I am studying abroad at the University of Bath in England for the next four months and I though a good way to keep in touch with everyone from home would be blog about my adventures in Europe. So if you're interested please read and enjoy and  don't hesitate to ask questions. So now the story begins...

After an easy flight, I collected my bags and took a train to the central terminal in Heathrow Airpot. I weaved through the underground paths and finally found made it to the bus station. I attempted to stay awake on the bus ride, but that did not happen since I only got 3 hours of sleep the night before! During the portion of time I managed to stay away for I saw very lush areas and many horse farms. My first thought of England was pure amazement of how green everything was. As we approached Bath, I saw the city up on a hill and it was breathtaking. The town is sort of in a valley and the campus is up the hill. It is hard to explain it accurately and pictures do not do it justice. I also love the fact that a river flows in the middle of it (right by my dorm).

When the bus finally got into Bath, Jake (another student from Purdue) and I got slightly lost and finally asked the bus station for a map. It turns out, the building we needed to get to was approximately 500 feet away, maybe not even that far. I got my key and dropped off my stuff and then helped Jake bring his bags to his dorm about 1/2 mile away. Then I explored! I got turned around and lost, made some necessary purchases and finally found my way back to my room. I am slowly getting the feel of Bath and its surroundings. There are so many shops it is unbelievable and the cost of living is very high. I keep converting pounds into US dollars and I am driving myself crazy, I should probably stop doing that.

Later that evening, I went to my first Pub and ordered my first pint of beer. Sadly, it wasn't as exciting as I expected. Still, I crossed off one thing on my to-do list. In my first few days in Bath, I have not been served warm beer in Pubs, I'm convinced that is a myth. I have also enjoyed some delicious cider (way better than Woodchuck). To my surprise, this cider was sold in liter bottles in the grocery store. Another surprise from the grocery store was the ample amount of packaged food. It is going to be hard to motivate myself to cook when I can buy a pre-made meal for less money. I guess I will see how good they taste.

On Friday, I had my orientation at the Uni. If I remember correctly there are 105 exchange students from 24 different countries and only four people are studying chemistry. I met so many people! By the time I returned from campus, which is about a mile away from where I live, but across a river and up a hill (I am not sure how I get there if I don't ride the bus, which is rather expensive), I went out on the town for dinner and some drinks with my new found friends. We walked around for a while and again got turned around and finally decided on a Pub that was advertised as being a 'different kind of pub'. The food was delicious, I am not sure what everyone is saying about English food being bad (I mean sometimes it needs a little salt, but...). Europeans I have met tell me once I try other types of food and make the comparison, I won't like English food. After dinner, the group of us set to experience the nightlife of Bath!

The next morning (Saturday) I went to Windsor. Again, I slept on the bus because jet lag is messing up my sleeping routine. One of these days, I'll actually see what is between Bath and London, but I am pretty sure we took the highway. Windsor was very different than Bath, but still just as beautiful. I spent the first few hours in Windsor touring Windsor Castle, the residence of the Queen. I definitely recommend this sight if you travel to the London area. My favorite part was seeing the Staterooms (the inside of the castle), we even got to see portions that are currently used by the Queen. After the tour, I ate lunch at the Crooked House Tea Rooms and I saw the shortest street in Britain. It was called Queen Charlotte Street, so I am assuming Queen Charlotte wasn't too popular. Lunch was alright and the tea was amazing! Then, I walked to Elton College with some of my new friends and walked around the campus while ignoring the signs suggesting the campus was closed to the public. Then, I walked back to the area the near the castle and saw the Guildhall, the architect was instructed to include pillars to support the building, but he argued it was unnecessary. To prove his point, he added pillars that don't touch the ceiling, so they are not supporting anything, when looking at the building you can see the gaps between the ceiling and the pillar. Then, we walked to the front of the castle and walked down some of the Long Walk, it is quite an entrance. Picture will be uploaded in the near future, when I get around to it.

That is it for now, classes start tomorrow and I have to prepare because my first class starts at 8:15am. The whole higher education system is very different and I am not sure what I am getting myself into, but I am excited for the adventure that awaits me!