Sunday, September 26, 2010
Week 2!
This week was a lot different than being in the hotel. We started off Monday with another orientation type meeting, this one for the University. They talked to us about a lot of the same things I heard all last week, but we also found out about the Student's Union here, which is their form of student government. The Student's Union had a number of events this week for Fresher's week and lots going on at "Intermission," the bar on campus. The Marylebone campus that I live on is very different from being at Stonehill. Because its right in the middle of the city, it is basically a cluster of a few building surrounding a small courtyard with my dorm behind it. The buildings have a lot of classrooms, lecture halls, a library, a cafe, and a small bookstore. Its neat to be in the city for a change but I do miss that homey feel that the Stonehill campus has. Tuesday we were broken off into treasure hunt groups and given a series of questions to answer based on landmarks around London. My group was myself, a girl from Virginia, a girl from Germany, a girl from Denmark, and a girl from Sweden who had lived in London for several years before moving back to Sweden for University. It was nice to have her in our group because she knows London quite well. We got a nice tour around from her and then had a big dinner at an Italian restaurant near Covent Garden. Its interesting to meet so many people from around the world and hear about the different types of schooling that we are all used to. Thursday the university organized a boat trip on the Thames for all study abroad students. It was fun to see the sights of London from the river at night and there was a DJ on board as well. I'm very excited to start classes tomorrow and finally get into a routine here. Its been tiring trying to find everything that I need as well as sightsee and make friends all at once! I've enjoyed having time off to go out but I'm ready to start schoolwork...hard to believe I havn't taken classes since May! I will update you all to let you know how it goes! ♥
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
First week here
Its been so busy my first week here that I have barely had time to sit down at all let alone write a blog! But now that I have a minute I can catch you all up on how its been.
After leaving Logan with a slight delay, Bobby and I arrived at Heathrow last Monday morning and were able to find the rest of the kids from our program and get on a shuttle to the Thistle City Barbican Hotel where we stayed for the rest of the week. After not sleeping much on the plane, we were exhausted, but the people from Arcadia running our program encouraged us not to sleep until that night so that we could get better adjusted to the time change. Our first couple days here were very packed with meetings, a group scavenger hunt and a lot of walking around to get to know the area and the people in our program. We explored some cool local pubs near the hotel where we met some really nice British people. I've found that on the streets British people don't seem the friendliest, but get them into the pub and they open up right away! We had discussions ranging from American colleges, smart phones, beers and ciders to Jersey Shore and The Hills.
It wasn't until Thursday and Friday that we finally had some free time on our own to explore. Bobby and I broke off in a small group with some friends we made from our program to explore the area where University of Westminster is. We found our dorm, where classes are held, the gym, the students union and many other school buildings, none of which are too far from each other. We also explored Regent's Park which is very close to the dorm. It is an enormous park with incredible gardens, fountains, and even the London zoo. It definitely will be a great place to relax or study. As we were walking through the park we saw lounge chairs that looked really cool so we decided to sit down. Little did we know they cost 1.50 per hour to sit in! Less than five minutes later a park worker came over and charged us, but thats London for you, everything is incredibly expensive!!
A group of us also found a club to go to called "Aquarium" it sounded incredible, being the only club in the UK to have a pool in it! However, when we arrived it was pretty much just one large room and towards the bathroom there was a room with a not so great YMCA looking pool haha not quite what we were expecting!
Saturday we moved into our dorm at Marylebone. We went to explore Oxford street to shop for some bedding. After that I will never again go near Oxford street on a saturday! Primark, a large inexpensive department store was literally packed so tight you could barely move, with people grabbing at everything. I've never seen anything like it, the best way to describe it is Macy's around christmas time but about ten times more people all in one store.
These last few days have been more shopping for food and essentials while exploring the area and finding the best routes around. Its a lot of adjustment and getting used to but everyday I feel more and more comfortable. Classes don't start until next week so this week is called "Freshers Week" and is basically a week of events for all the incoming and international students. I will update you all soon and plenty of picture to come I promise!
♥
After leaving Logan with a slight delay, Bobby and I arrived at Heathrow last Monday morning and were able to find the rest of the kids from our program and get on a shuttle to the Thistle City Barbican Hotel where we stayed for the rest of the week. After not sleeping much on the plane, we were exhausted, but the people from Arcadia running our program encouraged us not to sleep until that night so that we could get better adjusted to the time change. Our first couple days here were very packed with meetings, a group scavenger hunt and a lot of walking around to get to know the area and the people in our program. We explored some cool local pubs near the hotel where we met some really nice British people. I've found that on the streets British people don't seem the friendliest, but get them into the pub and they open up right away! We had discussions ranging from American colleges, smart phones, beers and ciders to Jersey Shore and The Hills.
It wasn't until Thursday and Friday that we finally had some free time on our own to explore. Bobby and I broke off in a small group with some friends we made from our program to explore the area where University of Westminster is. We found our dorm, where classes are held, the gym, the students union and many other school buildings, none of which are too far from each other. We also explored Regent's Park which is very close to the dorm. It is an enormous park with incredible gardens, fountains, and even the London zoo. It definitely will be a great place to relax or study. As we were walking through the park we saw lounge chairs that looked really cool so we decided to sit down. Little did we know they cost 1.50 per hour to sit in! Less than five minutes later a park worker came over and charged us, but thats London for you, everything is incredibly expensive!!
A group of us also found a club to go to called "Aquarium" it sounded incredible, being the only club in the UK to have a pool in it! However, when we arrived it was pretty much just one large room and towards the bathroom there was a room with a not so great YMCA looking pool haha not quite what we were expecting!
Saturday we moved into our dorm at Marylebone. We went to explore Oxford street to shop for some bedding. After that I will never again go near Oxford street on a saturday! Primark, a large inexpensive department store was literally packed so tight you could barely move, with people grabbing at everything. I've never seen anything like it, the best way to describe it is Macy's around christmas time but about ten times more people all in one store.
These last few days have been more shopping for food and essentials while exploring the area and finding the best routes around. Its a lot of adjustment and getting used to but everyday I feel more and more comfortable. Classes don't start until next week so this week is called "Freshers Week" and is basically a week of events for all the incoming and international students. I will update you all soon and plenty of picture to come I promise!
♥
Thursday, September 16, 2010
I'm Here!
I made it to London! We're staying in a hotel until Saturday when I will move into my dorm so I havn't had internet at all. Finally made it to a little cafe where I could get some wifi. The first few days have been great but super busy with orientation activities. I can't wait to settle into my own room on Saturday. I will update you all with a longer post when I have a little more time to be online! ♥
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