The Day to Day Life in the Manor

Well classes started yesterday and all has gone well so far. I made it to every class, got my homework done, have started work on a group project, and have still had time to plan out trips, explore more of the grounds, and remember how hungry I am.

British studies is a class like no other. With lecture early in the morning, you have to sit close or there's a danger you'll fall asleep. Then I have an hour to watch more Downton Abbey (I'm completely addicted). Then seminar. My professor compared my name to the word tomato. He said, "You have to pronounce the 't' like in lettuce." To which I respond, I'm not a vegetable and how do you jump from tomato to lettuce? He then explained how to say his name. It's fun because it makes us sound more British. After British studies I have theater on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday. I get to see four productions all over England and learn about the behind the scenes aspects of productions. Today we started our Tuesday/Thursday class schedule. I have Modern British Politics. It's going to be a lot of fun; however, if we look tired, we get docked points and he notices. Uhhh it's the first class of the day, I'm tired as soon as I roll out of bed let a lone climb down over a hundred stairs walk down a corridor and then another smaller corridor to get to the class room. But I guess I'll have to start having morning tea to perk up.

Oh food. I wish I could say we weren't hungry all the time. Everyone finds themselves in a constant state of hunger. The food is good but bland. The weekend was the hardest because there weren't a ton of gluten and dairy free options. Now though, I eat a gourmet meal basically. Everyone wants to be gluten free to eat the food I get. I just have to ask and wait for it to be prepared on a plate and then I get my vegetables and go. I have eaten more vegetables in the past week then I've eaten in the past two years I think. I also drink juice or tea at every meal because they don't serve a whole lot of drink options. The meals are spaced so that after you trek back and forth to your room a few times you're ready to go eat a cow. But we'll survive I'm sure once we get used to the times.

Last night we got to enjoy some traditional dancers and it was super fun to watch them. They had bells on their legs, and flag things, and sticks for swords. It was entertaining and a nice way to pass some time. I can't wait for activities to start because I need something to do. I'm dying of boredom most of the time and I've already planned trips and so much more. I may join the choir just to have something to do for an hour a week. I applied to be in the student government here because I want to stay involved even across the pond.

We all say the lift and have started doing things a little more British. We learned what some common phrases are and went over stereotypes. It was amazing to find out that non-Americans find Americans friendly, outgoing, honest, and so many more. It's very true. The professors will not directly tell you that you should completely rewrite something, they'll suggest you should revise a few minor things, expecting you to understand them. I cannot wait to see what little British things I pick up here.

We were sorted into houses and I'm in Gregory. It's after Gregory Gregory the founder of the manor. We are currently winning the house competition, although it's only just begun. It completely fits my personality as a house of artists, leaders, and diplomats.

I get to explore London this weekend and can't wait. I get to see Trafalgar Square, the British Museum, Hampton Palace, Runnymede, and so many other amazing places including the Houses of Parliament and King Lear at the National Theater. I'm excited to try out Leon which are all over London. It's a fresh fast food restaurant that offers gluten and dairy free food. I also want to go to a tea shop and start my tea collection and enjoy tea time. I have found this place called Cookies and Scream that I really want to try. It's a vegan and gluten free bakery of sorts that is basically completely edible for me! Hooray!

Tomorrow I'll head back into town to grab some snacks at a grocery store and will have plenty to share about exploring town this past weekend and tomorrow!


Bise Bise

I LIVE IN A CASTLE

First thing first- the plane ride. Getting to the airport early and trying to get life together with all the chaos that was occurring in Chicago made life interesting. But after we boarded we thought the flight would take off soon right? Wrong. We sat parked for a little over an hour all boarded and settled, then took off an hour late. Then the plane was ridiculous hot, yes hot. Not cold like usual but burning up so much so that everyone was sweating and the person next to me almost got sick. I had an aisle seat luckily because I needed to stretch out after hours of just sitting there. With little to no sleep during the overnight flight we then landed in London and then ventured to the border and to claim our luggage. Since I had a bright Vera Bradley patterned bag I spotted mine easily and was ready to get out of my hot, dirty clothes. Well no luck there we sat and waited for a little over an hour for the coach to take us to the manor. I accidentally fell asleep during the ride but the countryside I saw was amazing and we saw some sheep!!!! 

Pulling up to the manor is a sight like no other. You look out the window and see the amazing and rather large manor, which you are sure is a castle, and realize : I LIVE HERE. This isn't real, someone pinch me. 

Then when you kind of accept it you get off the bus and meet the president of the school, then take a short walk through the main lobby to a great hall for a brief introduction all while trying to see every little detail of the immaculate ceilings and paintings and sculptures. It's so beautiful. Then we got to eat food and once we had a light, rather late lunch we got to see our rooms. I have three roommates, so four in total, on the top floor with a window that leads out onto a balcony we're not allowed to climb onto. One of my roommates I had met on the bus ride from the airport and I knew one already. Our room is GINORMOUS. It has so much space and a gorgeous patterned molding ceiling. Again the window has a view that is like no other of the word perfeci (perfectly in latin) and the English countryside. Once unpacked we got to explore the grounds and manor. It's rather easy to get lost but with a few days of practice it will become so easy. 

The grass is so green and fluffy and there are flowers still in bloom in the conservatory, there are lion statues all over which make me happy, plus trees galore and a pretty manor to admire from the outside. Although it's kind of chilly it's rather warm compared to the -50 I experienced last week. 

This weekend is about getting adjusted to the manor and all the people. The Bistro had open mic night which got people up and dancing and the days are spent with activities with our seminar groups going throughout the manor. Today we all enjoyed fish and chips and I even got a gluten free version. 

Off for more adventures and picture taking!!! 

Bise Bise

Nothing is Gonna Stop Me & The Essential Packing List

With all this "winter storm" talk, people are freaking out that I won't make it to England as planned. Pish Posh Tilly Wash. That's bologna. I will get to England as planned. There is simply no other option. There is a chance my flight is delayed (when do they ever take off on time anyway?) and we may sit on the tarmac getting deiced for a little while but I will be on that flight to London.

In other and more sunshine-y news, I am going up to the Chicago area early to shop. There may not be much room in my suitcase; however, my shopping obsession will not allow me to just drive by my favorite store and mall. As the final packing commences of cramming another umbrella, or just one more sweater into the exploding bags, I am rather calm. Although I thought I would be extremely anxious to figure out how to fit all this stuff in, I have the things I need and want packed. I need to find my umbrella though because rain is a thing that happens a lot in the UK I guess. Oh but I can't wait to dance in the rain in London and the grounds of the manor.

However awesome it might be most people are wondering how and what to pack. I being overly prepared have the list all ready for them when they ask. Things that I have as musts right now include a mesh shower caddy (I found one in the dollar section of target), a pocket hanging organizer (also an awesome find in the amazing dollar section), Command strips because who knows what amazing poster or print I will pick up, laundry detergent sheets that are all in one (Purex has some that are fabric softner, detergent, and a dryer sheet all in one & they're flat so they're easy to pack), an extra blanket because I assume it will be cold and that the blanket won't meet my standard of fluffiness, a stuffed animal because sometimes you need a cuddle buddy or an extra pillow, a small photo album to have pictures from home & faces you miss, scissors because you may need to cut off tags off your new clothes or cut your friend's hair, a tumbler and water bottle to have portable water for when you are traveling or in class, a pillow case for the extra pillow I plan on buying, and finally coloring supplies. It sounds like a crazy long list but all theses things will make my life easier.

This is really a fairy tale. Riding by coach to a Victorian Manor and having a carriage house and grounds to explore, and living and breathing the English air and life. I cannot wait for this journey to begin. Along with my five countdowns I have been mentally counting that this is my last whatever in the states before I live in what I refer to as a castle. I would love to pack up all of my friends with me and take them but luckily quite a few of my best friends will be there as well. How awesome is that? Travelling throughout Europe with your best friends?! I am so blessed. I CANNOT wait to go and experience it all!!!!

Soon I'll be boarding a plane and setting off to my fairy tale semester! I'm so ready!


Bise Bise

3 Bags versus 4 months of stuff

In just days I will board a plane, take off, and be flying to London. However unreal that all seems, the packing has taken over my life. I don't understand how to pack up four months of life into just three bags. THREE BAGS???!!!! How do I do that? This is why I hate the airlines. There is no way it's possible for someone to study abroad with just three bags. However, I guess people have because so many people tell me they have.

My brand new back pack is on the verge of exploding because I want to take all this art supplies and coloring utensils, and then I have to take school supplies I guess since I'll be at school. I mean I'll have to learn something in the torture that is traveling to London to see plays; including one of my favorite stories: Matilda.

My carry on bag, the fifth one I tried, is has finally decided it can hold anymore. What little it holds is hopefully enough to take some of the weight off of my checked bag. Which is literally filled to the brim. I couldn't but a feather in that thing without it tipping the scale to YOU'VE PACKED TOO MUCH. I may need to learn a lesson in the art of packing less but I remain a firm believer in the need for clothes because of the "what if" clause. What if I need to go to an extremely fancy restaurant? What if I NEED these shoes to match this outfit? Yeah I should probably take out anything that requires special outfits; however, I don't care. I want to take all of my stuff but I can't so I'll just cry about it.

Now that the melodrama of packing has subsided some what, I am planning my first weekend in London. Finding places that are fun, free, and me proof is actually really easy. I'm excited to visit a place called Cookies and Scream that serves completely gluten and dairy free foods. That sounds like perfection. It will make me want to move to London even more because they have donuts, but I'm so excited to have so many gluten and dairy free options. Also I am fan-girling over art that I will get to see at the National Gallery. Seriously though who wouldn't be if they got to see Van Gogh, Renoir, and da Vinci all in the same place and feel the paintings come alive?! As an art major it's extremely exciting, that may be because I've witnessed some of the landscapes architecture they painted, but I've also studied them as well. I can't wait to see Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, and the Underground. There's just so much to London, thank goodness it's so close that we visit at least once a month!!!!

Off to planning those awful trips to London for class, how ever will I survive such torture?! Hahaha, I'm sure I'll manage somehow.


Bise Bise

I need new shoes... NOW

In under two months, I will be in London. I will be getting on a bus that will take me to the manor that I will call home for four months. I can't believe it. I have changed the background on my phone to a picture of the manor. I am so excited to go and fly over with my friends and experience all there is. I CANNOT WAIT. I am booking trips and planning details. I'm also shoe shopping for the perfect pair of shoes. It just adds to the idea that I'm a princess because
Cinderella is proof that a pair of shoes can change your life. So I am getting new shoes to help make this experience even more magical.

I am trying to figure out what I will eat as a Celiac and lactose intolerant individual. I found a local shop in the town the manor is closest too that serves gluten free fish and chips. I literally cried tears of joy because I had found food I could eat that was traditional. I also found a fast food restaurant that serves gluten free, dairy free, and all other sorts of healthy, delectable options. I am now going to start researching restaurants in other countries so that when I travel outside the UK I will not starve.

Paying for all these trips is so much pressure and too much to handle at times, so I'm trying to find money in every place I can. I applied to be an RA while there to gain work experience while abroad and to have my own room. I don't share my room well, especially with a random roommate. I know that I would get the person I can't stand. Not that I plan on spending an enormous amount of time in my room.

I'm ready for it to be here and to get to go all the amazing places that I want to explore!!!!!


Bise Bise

Teach me how to Travel

I cannot wait for my semester abroad to come. I can't wait to get on the plane and fly to London, knowing only that adventures await. However, I am slightly freaking out about booking trips and having fun. I know that I will regret not going everywhere I can, but how do I go everywhere I want to go??? There are so many amazing places to visit in Europe and nearby in Africa and Asia. I just want to see everything.

So far I have a list of places I HAVE to go to. They include London, Ireland, Paris, Paris again, Italy, the Netherlands, and EVERYWHERE. I can't narrow it down to just a few places because I literally would be O.K. with going anywhere. I am trying to find out where friends want to go so I can travel and have the most fun. My best friend and I talk about sitting at a cafe along the streets of Paris, people watching and reading and drawing and I literally die of happiness when we think about it.

Speaking of friends, I don't know how I'll survive without some of my sorority sisters and friends that aren't traveling abroad with me. I cannot wait to go but I also don't want to miss anything that happens here. I love this school so much. I know next semester will be amazing because I will learn more about life than anything. The British history, politics, and theater courses I will take will show me a whole new world that I never knew existed. There's so much to learn just from traveling, so someone please explain how do you limit the possibilities when they're endless??

A little over sixty days and counting until I learn how to embrace the world!!!


Bise Bise

Ironing the Details Out

We had our first official orientation meeting a few weeks ago and I was so excited that I just started calming down. We got all of the final paperwork that we need to get fully registered and class schedule registration. I'M SO STINKING EXCITED. I want to take an independent study because they aren't offering any art courses while I'm over there so I have to schedule meetings.

Other than classes we had to do a physical and tell them what medication we are on, what our dietary restrictions are, and other random physical necessary information. Well I don't know the name of my medication so I had to research it. Also my dietary restrictions limit my food options A LOT. But I'll live somehow. I am just excited to live there and travel.

My sisters and I just got new sorority sisters from recruitment and a few of them are traveling to Harlaxton with us. EEEK! And we are planning a trip to Disneyland Paris and I want to go to Africa and ANYWHERE THAT WILL LET ME IN AND BACK OUT. I can't wait to travel the world and throw what I know with my sisters. We're going to have so much fun and take so many pictures our Facebooks will be covered in Europe. <3

I am so excited I can't think straight; however, I have so much to do. I can't figure out how to manage all of it. I have to book the flight and pay for it. And I started working so that I would have money while over there because all of my money disappeared from bills, and an international student ID card, and so much other paperwork I just want to cry. I know it will be worth it once I do it but I can't handle all of it.

It's hard to believe that in 111 days I'll be in London about to start my semester abroad.



Bise Bise