31 January 2014: Mail Time (and an impromptou display of emotions)

Today, while I was sitting in the library writing some more of my paper on John Donne, I checked my e-mail to see if there were any important messages to distract me from the current task at hand. There was one in my inbox that told me that I had received mail that I had to pick up at the reception desk of Halifax. Now, receiving mail is always fun, but when you're in college, it's the best thing ever. And when you're at a university in another country, the only way to react is by internally doing this:

So I briskly walked back to Halifax (after stopping at the store to pick up a sausage roll and some tooth paste) to go to the reception desk to claim what was mine. After signing a paper, the man at the desk handed me not one, but TWO pieces of mail!
Since I'm a grown adult woman, here's an accurate representation of my reaction:

((Sorry for the Gene Wilders thing at the end. It was either that or a Doctor Who one. The Internet is strange))

I put my food into the fridge, went upstairs, sat down on my bed, and just looked at my box for a moment.

I covered up the addresses for security reasons, but I was just so happy to see a piece of mail that was delivered to me! And with my house in the return address spot, no less!!

It was wrapped in a chicken parm box. Truth be told, I wish that there was some way for them to have shipped the chicken as well ;)

 Then, after I realized that I was acting like those people in "The Music Man" when the train came with their mail, I opened up my box. The first thing that I saw was an envelope with my mom's handwriting on it. "Miss Ellen," it read. I fought back a couple of tears.

When I opened up the card, I saw the following image. For some reason, I started choking up even more.

And when I opened it, I started to cry. Not in a bad way, mind you. For some reason, this was just the most emotional thing in the world. It's been exactly a month since I've seen my parents last, and even longer than that since I've last seen either of their handwriting.

I can't help but think back on the time when I was in the first grade and I referred to my parents as "mommy and daddy" and one of my also first-grade classmates looked at me and said, "You still call them 'Mommy and Daddy?' It's 'Mom and Dad.'" Shut up, classmate. No it's not.

In an attempt to save myself from being the world's biggest basket case, I decided to put the card to the side and see what they mailed me. Inside, I found the one thing that ever student in university who has to cook for him or herself loves the most: FOOD! There was a bag of chicken noodle soup that makes 8 servings, a bag of cheesy potato soup that makes 8 servings a couple of bags of instant mashed potatoes, and even some Lipton beefy onion soup so that when I'm feeling fancy (and rich!) enough to buy beef, I can make some skillet stew. (If any of my York friends are reading this and ever want some soup, let me know. I don't have enough tupperware to save eight things of soup, so I'll be rather generous with my parents' gift.)

Just look at all that food!!! Do you know how many meals that is?! I have big plans for those mashed potatoes and the frozen chicken I've got in there for tonight!!!

Only problem is that the recipe isn't in metric. Looks like I'll have to use some google converters when I get around to making this recipe!!!

I'll also probably have to get a bigger pot. And a sense of what a "cup" is in metric.

I know that you guys are probably raising your eyebrows right now and wondering why I think that this is such a momentous occasion. I mean, I'm in this great and wonderful historic city, meeting all of these new people and doing all of these cool thins, and I'm choosing to write about getting soup in the mail. I guess that it's just to show how appreciative I am of the fact that I've got so many people out there who love me. I am overwhelmed by the fact that my parents took the time to pick out food for me and write out a card just to show me that they're still here for me. (Shoot, I'm tearing up again!) And it's not just them. My friends at home make a point to Skype with me and keep me up to date on what's going on at Wooster and BW. My camp just told me that they'll let me work again this summer even though I'm going to miss part of June and my enthusiasm was only rivaled by the enthusiasm that my camp friends showed. People are always giving me advice about things that I should do in England and telling me stories about when they came over here.

My new friends that I've made over here have also really got my back. They understand the fact that I'm a bit of an introvert and just accept me for who I am. It feels so good to have been just accepted into this tight-knit house like I was always a part of it. There was a time in my life when I was growing up when I firmly believed that I was undeserving of people being nice to me. But now that I've got so many people in Cleveland, Wooster, Berea, Akron, Spain, England, Ireland, and everywhere else that are there for me...

29 January 2014: Betty's Tea Room

Today, two members of the Butler staff invited the three people at York from the Butler program to go to lunch with them at Betty's Tea Room. Betty's is a rather famous tearoom in England. People from all over the country come to York just to eat at Betty's. So when we found out that we were going to be taken there (and not have to pay for it...not the cheapest place in England), we were more than excited.

Of COURSE I didn't get the word "Betty's" in there...

Display in the window. Just look at those macaroons!

Along with the tea room, there's a sweet little shoppe where you can purchase different tea things.

Will and I decided to meet up in the parking lot outside of my house so that we could take the bus down together. Instead of going the usual way to the bus stop that I generally take, he took me through this muddy back path. I had no idea that that area was even back there! There was a great big field with a couple of horses, some little pubs, a few cute restaurants...I was shocked. How had I been living here for nearly a month and not known that this existed?! Perhaps I should leave my room and explore a bit more...

On the bus, we met up with Valerie, who had just gotten out of class. It felt really nice to reconnect with the two of them. We all talked about our classes, some of the difficulties we've been having, our houses, cooking...it was just really refreshing to communicate with people who are going through the exact same things that I am. It almost made me feel more confident. They even convinced me to buy a student rail pass!


 Even though I'd only met with them both over a few days back at the beginning of the month, I felt like I was meeting with relatives. There wasn't a moment of awkwardness whatsoever. It was absolutely lovely.

For lunch, I ordered a dish that's made out of shredded potatoes, cheese, and British Bacon. (I say "British bacon" because it's kind of like American bacon and Canadian bacon had a baby. Quite tasty though!) Although it was quite filling, it was absolutely delicious! To drink, I got a soda called Elderflower Bubbly. I'd never heard of it before and it sounded rather European, so I had to try it. It was nice for sipping, but I don't think that I'd ever sit down with a whole bottle of it.

My mouth is watering just lookint at it!

It's just so fancy! 

While we ate our lunches, we all chatted about York, upcoming Butler events, current events in the world, the weather, fashion, our home schools...just everything. I'm not sure how, but I even worked camp into there. You know what they say about camp counselors...meet one of us for 15 minutes and you'll know what we do with our summers.

After we'd eaten and I swore that I'd never be able to eat ever again, the waitress brought out the dessert cart. On it were the most delicious looking desserts I'd ever seen. When she described what each of them were, our eyes all popped. I ended up ordering some cake looking like thing with meringue and almond and hazelnut and yum and alskdjfalwejksf. We also each ordered some tea. I didn't understand most of the words on the tea menu, so I got a pepperment one.

Both were beyond fabulous.

It was so nice! It didn't even need sugar! But then again, I've always preferred my tea without milk and sugar. But still.

Oh yeah. There was a delicious sweet on top. And like a puddle of berries. And then she put some sweet cream on my plate as well.

 Now, I'm sitting in my room trying to write two papers, both due on Monday. *sigh* Oh well. I guess that you have to "study" when you "study abroad." ;)

23 January 2014: At The Cinema

It's no secret that I've really been missing home lately. It's funny. I've wanted to live in England ever since I was a little girl. I used to watch the old BBC shows on Saturday nights on PBS and think that the whole country just seemed so much classier and more polished. I would try to perfect my British accent so that if the Harry Potter casting agents ever wanted me to come and be in one of their films, I'd be more than ready for the task. So I almost feel like I'm letting my younger self down whenever I sit in my room going through old pictures and wishing that I was back at home.

Yesterday evening, as I was stalking my Summer 2012 Facebook album, a few of my friends knocked on my door and invited me to come to the cinema with them. They were leaving right that minute. Without hesitation (or knowledge of what we were even seeing), I put on my coat and shoes, grabbed my purse, and left.

Since the cinema is about fifteen minutes from Halifax, we had to get there by car. I realized a couple of minutes into the journey that the last time I'd been in a non-taxi car, it was when my parents were dropping me off at the Akron-Canton Airport all those eternities ago. And even though I was having a lot of trouble comprehending the fact that the driver was sitting on the right-hand side of the front, everything felt a lot more homey than it had felt in a while.

When we got to the cinema, we got our tickets to go and see Last Vegas. The man behind the ticket booth told us where our assigned seat numbers were. I commented that it was a bit strange that we had assigned seating in a cinema, and Tyler told me that that wasn't typical in most UK theaters.

((I didn't order these, but I'm happy that they exist. It's almost like a doritos locos taco. Almost.))



We sat down just in time to miss the previews, but we didn't miss a single second of the film. The second that it began, I couldn't stop smiling.

Even though this film primarily takes place in Las Vegas, a city that I've never visited, and all of the characters grew up in New York City, a place that I've only been to once in my life, I just felt like I was at home for a little while. Everybody was using American money and had American accents and were talking about American cities...I know that it sounds stupid, but it was just what I needed. Plus, it was a really cute movie that had the entire audience laughing out loud the entire time, so that's always a plus :)

In the car on the way home, I was much chattier than I had been. Instead of dreaming about my home friends and Taco Bell last night, I actually had a dream that I was hanging out with York people (and eating Heinz ravioli, for some reason...)

You know what? I think I'm going to be just fine :)

21 January: It's Been 3 Weeks

I've officially been in England for three weeks now, and I'm really starting to feel it. It's not that I'm not having fun. On the contrary, I'm having a great time! I absolutely love England and do not regret coming here at all. However, I'm really starting to miss home.

As a camp counselor, I have to deal with this problem quite a bit, and I must say, I've gotten quite good at it. Usually, these conversations follow a simple formula, so I have all of my lines memorized. So I guess that the only person that can talk me through this is...me.

Camper Ellen: "I really want to go home."
Counselor Ellen: "Oh, honey, it's okay! You want to sit here and talk about it?"
Camper Ellen: *Nods and sits down* "I just really want to go home!"
Counselor Ellen: "But think about everything you'd miss out on! Don't you want to watch Eurovision and go to the clubs and go sight seeing?"
Camper Ellen: "Yes, but I still miss my friends!"
Counselor Ellen: "And I'm sure that they miss you, too. But it's okay, because once you get home, you'll have so many cool stories to tell them! And they would hate to think that you're sad! They want you to have a good time!"
Camper Ellen: "I miss my family, too!"
Counselor Ellen: "Your family loves you so, so much, and they don't want you to be sad either. And you know what's really cool?"
Camper Ellen: "Hmm?"
Counselor Ellen: "They trust you enough to send you all the way to England by yourself. They think that you're responsible and mature enough to be able to do this. Doesn't that make you feel so proud of yourself?"
Camper Ellen: "I guess so. But I still miss them."
Counselor Ellen: "What are you looking forward to doing most of all?"
Camper Ellen: "Harry Potter Studio Tour."
Counselor Ellen: "That's going to be a lot of fun, isn't it? That's actually what I'm the most excited for, too."
Camper Ellen: "But I miss the food at home. I miss mom's food."
Counselor Ellen: "But there's so many good foods here, too! You can't have all of the chocolates that you have here at home, do you?"
Camper Ellen: "No, I guess I can't."
Counselor Ellen: "And can I tell you a little secret?"
Camper Ellen: "Yeah!"
Counselor Ellen: "The second you go home, you're just going to want to turn around and come back."
Camper Ellen: "Really?"
Counselor Ellen: "Really. That's how I was when I first came, and now look at me. I never leave!"
Camper Ellen: *giggles*
Counselor Ellen: "Alright. It's super, super late and I don't want you falling asleep on your walk to campus tomorrow. You think you'll be able to fall asleep now?"
Camper Ellen: "Yeah. Thank you!"
Counselor Ellen: "That's what I'm here for! Goodnight!"

I know that you're probably all making this face right now o.O but I'm feeling a lot better.

I guess that everybody misses home sometimes...especially when they're all the way across the ocean...but as long as you remember how cool it is that you are wherever you are, then it'll all be okay.

      ((Camper Ellen. I was 14, but sadly, none of the "little camper Ellen" pictures are on Facebook))

19 January 2014: A Sunday Roast

Today, two of my friends invited me to get roast with them. I wasn't quite sure if roast was a slang term for lunch or if it was roast beef or something, but I still happily agreed to go. As we walked to the bus stop, I learned that in England, it's traditional to have a roast beef or roast pork dinner mid-day on Sundays. Since I haven't had real beef since I was in Cleveland (Unless we want to count whatever was inside of my pasty or that Whopper I had at the airport in Charlotte), I was more than excited.

When we got into town, we walked a bit until we found Melton's. When we walked inside, I smiled a bit. As cliche as this is going to sound, it looked just like the movies about British restaurants. Instead of checking in our reservations with a greeter at a desk, we walked up to the bar near the front of the restaurant and told him that we had a table for two o'clock. We also ordered our beverages at the bar before we sat down (although I only got a water).

When we got upstairs, the three of us ordered some roasts (Amy and I got beef and Fiona got pork), then talked for a while until our meals come. I loved getting to know my new friends even better. We talked about our jobs, our families, similarities and differences between our countries...you name it, it came up. I'm really starting to feel like I'm not such a stranger in this new country.

Then, in a moment that can only be described as magical, our meals arrived. The table fell silent as we each received our meals. on my plate, there were a few pieces of real actual meat, some cooked potatoes, gravy, and a large puffy pastry type thing with gravy all over it. She then put out a bowl of cooked carrots and cheesy cauliflower. I felt like I've never eaten anything so nice in my life. I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm having a lot of fun eating sandwiches, instant noodles, pasta, and microwaved baked potatoes. But it was SO refreshing to have an actual proper meal.

After we were finished with our meals, Amy and Fiona both ordered a sticky toffee pudding. I'd never had a "pudding," before, unless you count the American kind that comes in a little Snack Pack cup, so I ordered one as well.

I was not disappointed. We each got a dish that had a scoop of toffee ice cream and a large molten hot sticky cake-like item. It was super sweet, but not so sweet that it was inedible. None of us could help but smile as we ate the extremely rich and filling dessert. I somehow finished it down to the last bite.

When we left the restaurant, we took another route back to the bus stop. At one point, I turned my head, and there was a castle, like, right there! I keep on forgetting just how historical York is. You're just kind of going about your day, when suddenly: history!

I'm still smiling from that roast. It's amazing what one good meal with a couple of good friends can do to a girl's spirits.

15 January 2014: English Eating - The Freddo Frog

As a proud citizen of the Internet, there are many delicious looking English foods and sweets that I have stumbled across on a variety of websites but have been unable to consume due to the fact that they're not available in America. I mean, I've got to try and find SOMETHING to fill the Taco Bell shaped hole in my heart...right?

One such food is the Freddo Frog. I have come across this candy bar in two different contexts on the Internet. The first is whenever I stumble across the beginnings of World War 3 on popular blogging sights and the British and American bloggers are getting far too passionate in their discussions of who has the better candy selection. It usually boils down to the Americans getting shut down for not having Kinder Surprise Eggs (the food that I am the most excited to try) and Freddo Frogs.

The other time I've come across Freddo Frogs was when the price of these candies raised from 17p to 20p. The Internet was outraged. I would post a screen shot of one Internet user's rant about this price increase, but I'm trying to keep this a PG-rated blog.

All I can say is this: Don't mess with Freddo Frogs.

So when I was at the tiny grocery store by my house buying a couple of things that I needed and I saw a basket of these little guys sitting there, I knew that I had to try one.

 Notice the 20p. This is what got the Internet so angry. To be fair, I'd be angry, too. You should have seen me when they raised the price of Girl Scout cookies. I think that I went on a ten minute rant about how it's always been a sacred $3.00.

 I unwrapped the candy and smiled at how cute it was. Oh, and at the fact that it's like a muggle version of a chocolate frog. You know, I'm starting to wonder if this is where Queen Jo got the inspiration...

10/10 would recommend. Would buy again. This thing is delicious. Definitely worth the extra 3p.

(Life update: I just snapchatted a picture of myself and my Freddo Frog to a few of my friends here. One of them replied with, "Back in my day, they were 10p." Maybe this problem is worse than I thought.) (But still tasty!)

13 January 2014: "Real People School."

Today, I had my very first lecture and seminar at the University of York. Since the lecture was at 1pm and the seminar at 2, I naturally woke up at 8:30 so that I wouldn't be late. I guess it's good that I did, though, because there was a fire drill at 10:15 and I was wide awake for it...but that's another story entirely. Anyway, I made myself some cheesy scrambled eggs, checked the room numbers 30 times each, got ready, did some daily self affirmations in the mirror, checked the room numbers another 20 times, and left my house at 12:15. You know...so that I wouldn't be late.

After using the map skills that were drilled into me in preparation for my 4th grade IOWA test, I found the building that my lecture was in with 20 minutes to spare. I awkwardly sat on the edge of a bench outside of the room, opening my laptop again to make sure that the lecture was, indeed, in the room that I was sitting near. It was. When it was time to go into the lecture hall, I couldn't believe my eyes. The room was huge. There were layered bench seats with long bench desks that went up about 10-15 rows. The benches were long. Each could easily hold 30-40 people. At Wooster, the biggest class I'd ever been in WAS 40 people! I awkwardly walked up several rows, slid into the middle of one, and took out my notebook.

While the room filled up, everybody was talking. Then, without any cue being given by the lecturer, nor bell ringing, nor anything else that I could see, the entire lecture hall fell silent. The lecturer then began to speak, just diving right into the lesson. There were no notes written on the board, no power points, no nothing. I quickly realized that the teachers in my high school WEREN'T lying when they said that most college professors just spoke and you had to be responsible for writing down what was important. This task was especially hard for me not only because I'd never learned like that before, but because I had to watch her lips to make sure that I was understanding the accent correctly.

After an hour of this, it was time to go. As I closed my notebook, the room burst into applause. I was stunned. I'd never known that people actually clapped at the end of college lessons. I mean, it happens in movies all the time, yeah, but I didn't know that it was a real life thing. I quickly joined in the applause, then packed up my stuff to head to the seminar for that class.

The seminar was in a completely different building and was supposed to start one minute after the lecture ended, so I naturally spent the next 15 minutes following confusing signs, turning around, crossing over bridges (I'm not being dramatic here. My campus is covered in bridges), and having mild panic attacks until I arrived at my desired room. I was obviously a couple of minutes late, but the tutor for the seminar didn't care. The seminar felt a lot more natural to me. There were only 14 students in the class, which is still a bit big for my Wooster liking, but is MUCH better than that 200 person lecture. It was interactive, hands-on, and even involved group work. I felt MUCH more at home and am completely thankful that that seminar exists.

I'm not going to lie. I'm feeling completely overwhelmed from this whole experience. However, to quote The Mountain Goats...

11-12 January 2014: Goin' 2 da Club

As many of you can probably infer from my blog, I've been keeping it low-key and playing it safe since I've arrived in England. While this annoys some of you (Sarah Roman told me that if she sees one more post about me sitting inside and doing nothing, there's going to be consequences), it's really working out quite nicely for me. Contrary to popular belief, I'm actually quite shy. I know that hearing me say something like "I walked around the campus for a couple of hours, bought some eggs, and then came back to my room to watch Dance Moms" makes it sound like I'm not doing anything interesting, but to me, it's plenty exciting.

However, I did realize that my friends from home had a point, so when my York friends invited me to go to a club with them, I happily agreed to go. I rustled around my closet, scrounged together an outfit that both Louie and Meaghan approved of (via Skype, of course), got ready, and then had a moment of panic when I realized what I had agreed to do.

I'm an Ohio girl. I think there's a couple of clubs in Cleveland, but other than Bounce, I've never heard of any of them. I go to school in Wooster, where our idea of a fun Saturday night out is going to Walmart. Heck, until last night, this is the only club that I'd ever been to:

 What business did I have going to a club in York, England?

After I'd worked up the courage to leave the safety of my dorm room and hang out with my friends, I began to feel more comfortable. In fact, by the time the taxi came to pick us up at 11:20 PM, I was excited to go! I finally felt like I was doing something that "real" college students do.


When we got to the club, Club Salvation, I could not believe my eyes. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before. It was a rather dark place with a bar to one side, a DJ on a platform, a couple of hundred people, a fog machine, and rainbow lights. The music was so loud that you literally had to shout in people's ears to communicate with them. On the dance floor, everyone was all close and bumping around. My friends and I went to the middle of the floor, which at first terrified me, but soon made me feel excited.

As I danced (well, like swayed in tempo while bouncing my kneecaps a bit...a dance that I've perfected from four years of high school dances), I couldn't help but feel like none of it was real. Here I was, some corn fed Ohio girl who's too afraid to order pizza over the phone, out on a Saturday night at a crowded and trendy night club in England. That doesn't happen! Heck, I didn't even know that clubs were ACTUALLY like that! I thought that was an urban legend that Hollywood invented, like kids making volcanoes for science fair and middle school hall monitors that never go to class because they're too busy patrolling the halls. It was all completely surreal and I could not comprehend the fact that it was all happening to me.

During the night, I somehow attracted a couple of young gentlemen, which was flattering at first, seeing as how I don't think I've attracted a young gentleman since high school, but quickly became annoying. My friends saw my panicked look and rescued me both times. I really realized that these people have my back, which makes it a LOT easier to breathe over here. It's nice to know that there are people who are going to be there for you...even if you'd only met them a couple of days ago.

After we'd left the club (at around 2:45 AM, which was apparently early for my friends, even though it's probably the latest I've ever been out), we went to some greasy fast food place called Salt and Pepper's until our taxi arrived. The best way that I can describe it to the Wooster people reading is that it's like Mom's Truck Stop. From what I could tell, it was near a lot of York's clubs, so everybody in there looked like they had obviously just come off of a night of clubbing. I ordered some chips and was happy to see that they had malt vinegar in the condiment section. Unlike my friends do at Wooster, no one judged me in the slightest for putting it all over my fries, er, chips.

Right now, it's 11:40 AM the next day. I'm sitting in my bed with achy legs, a club stamped hand, and a long list of poems by George Herbert that I should be reading, but I could not be happier. Last night wasn't real, and yet, it was. Maybe it's time to stop being so afraid of life. Maybe it's time to go out there and live it.

    Selfie of me at the club. No, there's no weird photo effects on it. That's how the lighting worked.

9 January 2014: Feeling Like I Belong

Today when I woke up, I had a sore throat and the early signs of a cold, so I thought that today would be a crummy day. However, it turned out to be one of the best days that I've had since being in England...including all of the days that I spent exploring London!

At 11AM, my one seminar had a brief meeting with our tutor. Only six or so of us came, but it was nice to meet those people. The one girl and I chatted for a bit after, and they all seemed really nice. I'm a lot less nervous for class now that I know that I'll be in a kind environment.

After that, I went to the information centre (no, that's spelled correctly) to pick up my student I.D. It sounds stupid, I know, but getting that I.D. completely turned things around for me. From the moment I had that little plastic card in my hand, I really started to feel like I belong here. I walked around campus with a new sort of confidence, no longer feeling like some strange American who was bumbling her way through England, but like a York student.

Tonight, just as I was finishing up another section of the book I'm reading for my one class and thinking about going down to the kitchen to heat up some pasta, some of the people in my house invited me to get Chinese food with them. I happily agreed. We all hung out for several hours, playing games, eating food, and laughing. I cannot even begin to tell you how much better I feel now that I've got some friends at this school. It's been so long since I've let down my guard like that. I had fun explaining how the cities in "Glee" are not all within walking distance, telling them how Cleveland works, learning some new words ("So what exactly IS a quid?"), and learning yet again how much better British television is than American.

Not even 10 days into this trip and I'm already starting to feel like I belong. It's a wonderful, wonderful feeling.

 Oh. And this was marked down to 1 pound. So I got 80 teabags for a pound. Or a quid, as it were. :)

January 8th - Joining the Community

Yesterday, I had my International orientation. I met a girl from Germany and another girl from Italy, but I was too shy to really talk to them properly, so I had another night of eating peanut butter sandwiches alone in my room while skyping with friends from back home. I'm not going to lie, the past week had been pretty rough. As I told my one friend, I've been in a very large and loyal friend group since I was 14. It's weird starting from the bottom again.

When I was a freshman in college, I had my core group of friends in my year and it was awesome. However, the people who really showed us around and taught us what Wooster was all about was a group of seniors who lived in a place called Reed House. They all "adopted" us and really helped us through that difficult transition period of our lives. My friends and I often discuss how lost we'd be without Reed House.

Luckily from me, one of the graduates from Reed House, Katie K., happens to be in the masters program at York this year! She and I met up in the city and she showed me the ropes. I officially love the city of York. All of the shops are cute, there's a DELICIOUS pasty place where you can get one of my favorite foods ever for a pound, there's history everywhere, and it's a nice manageable size. It's essentially an "Ellen-sized London." I was really grateful that she was there to show me around, or else I probably never would have left my dorm.

However, when I was coming back, I got off at a weird stop and got lost for a bit before I found the shuttle to take me to the stop that I had wanted. On that shuttle, I ran into the two girls from orientation. I found out that the girl from Italy is going to be in one of my classes and I THINK the seminar group that goes with it, so I'll actually know somebody in there! 

While in town, I bought a pot and a pan, so I can finally cook! While I was doing some reading for one of my classes, there was a knock at my door. A few girls in my house introduced themselves to me and invited me to go down to the kitchen to cook and eat with them. I happily joined them and was relieved that I'd finally met the girls on my floor. Everybody in the house seems really nice, and I can definitely see myself becoming friends with them.

We had a bit of a funny conversation at dinner, though. I was asked where I was from, and I said, "Ohio. Right where they're having that big freeze right now. Coldest it's been in 20 years." They asked me how cold, and I said that it was -10. The one boy nodded and asked how hot it gets in the summer. I told him 90, and he looked confused for a second before saying, "Oh. You use Fahrenheit, right?" I'm like "oh yeah!" So we used an app to calculate the Celsius version of Ohio's weather to better illustrate just how cold it is right now.

I must get back to this reading...I didn't know about the website where it's posted until yesterday and have quite a bit to do for class...but to quote Annie, "I think I'm gonna like it here!"

                                Cafe Nero is the UK's version of Starbucks. Much better!!!

                          My delicious pasty. I think I got the steak and potato one. It was perfect. 

                                                                Oh, you know. York.

January 6th

Yesterday when I woke up, I realized that I was alone in England without knowing anybody, so I kind of refused to leave my room all day. Well, no, that's a lie. I went to the bathroom twice and took a shower at night. But I never changed out of my pajamas, ate peanut butter sandwiches from the bread and peanut butter that I already had in my room, and talked to my American friends on Facebook. The general response that I got from them went something along the lines of, "What do you MEAN you're in England and you're just hiding in your room? How do you expect to make friends when you won't go outside?!" I realized that they had a point. I'm here, so I'd might as well live it up.

This morning, I woke up at around 10, got ready, and set out to explore the campus. As I crossed the parking lot to get from Hallifax College (The place where I'm living) to the main campus, I ran into my one friend who's here through the same program as me. I was instantly relieved. We exchanged phone numbers and added each other on Facebook, so now I can at least contact one other undergrad. I then walked around the campus, making myself get a little bit lost so that I'd be able to figure out how to get around.

Campus is huge! All of the buildings are large and modern. There's lakes and bridges and covered walkways and paths that go through academic buildings. Since it's exam week here, all of the students walking around me were stressing out a bit, but they all seemed friendly enough, which is good.

It said on my schedule that all of my classes this term are in Heslington West. As I followed the signs around to try and find Heslington Hall, I became slightly discouraged, wondering where this building could be. When I finally found Heslington Hall, I was stunned. It didn't look like the modern buildings. It was an old, beautiful building with a duck pond outside of it and a large tree sculpture garden. (When I got back to my room, I found out that Heslington Hall and Heslington West MIGHT be different places, but here's to hoping that it's the same thing!)

Tired of eating sandwiches but unable to cook anything "real," (since I don't have any cooking supplies), I bought a frozen chicken korma with rice and made it in the kitchen microwave. I'm no stranger to microwaving food, but seeing as how this was my first hot meal in a couple of days, it was very welcome. Plus, it's the first thing that I've "cooked" since I've been in England. Baby steps, I guess ;)

                                                      Hopefully my new building!

                                   There are birds EVERYWHERE! Meaghan would freak out.

                                                          Just gangs and gangs of birds.

                                Never thought I'd find a campus half as beautiful as Wooster :)

                                                              My first hot dinner!!!!!!!!

Tomorrow is the International Student Orientation. I'm really excited to finally learn what this place is all about!!!

January 4th, 2014: FINALLY IN YORK!

This morning, the two other York people, a staff person, and I all got onto a train at Kings Cross Station to York. We arrived at around 11:30 and were met by someone who works with the international students here. We were signed into our rooms, received our bedding packs, and got our first tour of the campus. Despite the dampness (it IS January, after all), it’s an extraordinarily beautiful place. I’m absolutely in love. We took a bus into the town, walked around the wall, got some lunch at a British tea room, and just explored the city a bit. I must say, I prefer York over London by a long shot. This is my kind of city.

            After we were finished exploring a bit, the two other York students and I took a bus back to campus. We went to an on-campus grocery store to pick up a few essential items. I got all non-parishable things, because I’m not sure what the refrigerator situation is yet. Looks like it’s cereal, canned pasta, and peanut butter sandwiches for the next few days!! 

            When I got back to my room, I spent two hours trying to figure out how to get onto the Internet. I finally figured it out, and life is good :) Now to finish eating this can of Heinz Spaghetti...

                                                        ((Gotta get back to Hogwarts!!!))

                                                            ((Kings Cross Station!!!!!))

                                                         Finally in York, England!!!!!!!!!!

                                                       The wall that surrounds the city :D

                   The English Tea Room where we had lunch. I had a jacket potato with cheese.

January 3, 2014: I REALLY Needed The Internet (Oh, And London)

Early Morning

            (At some point, I’m going to start writing the date in British…)

            Last night, this time zone thing really kicked in. My first night here, I was so exhausted from traveling and all that jazz that falling asleep was effortless. However, last night, my body was all, “Dude. It’s only 7PM.” Don’t get me wrong. I was DEFINITELY tired enough. However, after I took my shower and crawled into bed, I stared at the wall for over an hour, trying to sleep. It didn’t work. I played a couple of iPod apps to calm me down. Didn’t work. Tried every “fall asleep game” on the planet. Nope. Got up to get some water. Nope. Ate one of those Ben’s Cookies (Which I’ll have to say are the absolute best). Nope. Finally, around 3AM, my body let me fall asleep.

            Now, I’m waiting until my noon meeting with the two other York people. After that, we’ll have a 1pm lunch, and then, the day is ours for exploring! It’s my last day in London, so I can’t wait to see what adventures I find : )  Even though I’m more than happy that I’m not living in this big ol’ city for the next six months, I have to admit that I love being here for a few days at a time.

            It’s just like that song from “Sweeney Todd” says: There’s No Place Like London.

January 3, 2014: Evening

            What. A. Day!

            Since the meeting was so small, I was able to chat a bit with the Butler staff. We were all talking about how much the lack of wifi is bothering us. I said something along the lines of, “yeah, I just wish that I could tell my parents that I got into London safely,” and one of the staff was like “You mean you haven’t talked to your parents yet?!” and she let me e-mail my mom off of her phone, which made me feel loads better. I’m not sure if she got it yet and I haven’t heard if there was a response (mainly because I didn’t see her at all after the meeting), but at least I’ve let America know that all is well in England.

            After lunch, one of the other people going to York and I decided to do London in an afternoon. It was all so exciting. We navigated our way out of the sketchy Soho area that we’re in now and went to the places that clean-cut humanities majors from small private liberal arts college like to explore. We went to the British Museum, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, Parliament, saw the London Eye, saw Westminster Cathedral… it was all so incredible! As we walked back through a park, we decided that maybe we’d like London a bit more if we had been staying in that half of town instead of the area that we’re in now, but I suppose that that’s why we’re going to York and not staying here, because the other people on our trip all seem to love this part of London. Now, I’m laying on my bed in my hotel room, far too exhausted to even think about finding something to eat. I might just be a huge noob and get some Burger King to go and bring it back to the room…but right now, my feet hurt far too much to even think about making that adventure.

                                                                  The British Museum

                                                   Obligatory picture of the Rosetta Stone

                                                                 Selfie with Big Ben!

                     What's more British than a double decker bus with One Direction on it?!?!?!

                                                    Outside of Buckingham Palace

                                            The Union Jack flying over Buckingham Palace

           

Later:

            Dinner turned out to be some trail mix, some crackers, and a Ben’s Cookie. (I think that I’ll take a couple of the vitamins that mom packed for me as well…) Right now, I’m trying to re-pack all of my things so that I’ll be ready to board the train tomorrow. We’re meeting in the lobby at 8:15 AM so that we can get to Kings Cross with enough time to visit platform 9 ¾ (eee!!!) Looks like I’m bringing my Harry Potter scarf in my backpack tomorrow ;)

            After the adventure that I had today, I do admit that I’ll miss London a bit…but I REALLY can’t wait to get to York!
 

January 2, 2014: Day 2 Without Internet (And In London)

            Today, a couple of other girls and I set out after a morning of meetings and our lunch break to purchase some cheap phones. I ended up going with a cheap plastic Nokia 105 that has a 10 pound a month pay-as-you-go plan, which I figure is as cheap as it gets. The only problem is that I’m not sure how to get the case off of the back to get the SIM card in there, so if I don’t figure it out by tomorrow, I think that I’ll walk back to the store before lunch to figure it out.

            Still haven’t been able to find any Internet yet, so I hope that my parents aren’t worrying about me too terribly much. It’s really hard not being able to communicate with my family and friends at all. But at the same time, if I was able to, I would have called home to ask daddy if I was making the right choice for phones or which plan I should go with and all that jazz. It’s almost as if London is forcing me to be an independent adult who makes her own independent adult decisions. A bit of a harsh push into reality, but I feel like it’s one that I desperately need. 

            While we were walking around London, I saw a place that my good friend Sarah Roman had told me about called Ben’s Cookies. She fell in love with them when she went abroad a year ago and wrote me a lengthy wall post before I came over here about how I had to go there and buy an 8-cookie tin. My friends and I decided to stop and check it out. I purchased a four-cookie tin (Sorry, Sarah! It’s only my second day in Europe and I don’t want to spend 12 pounds on sweets just yet), but I’ve yet to eat any of them. However, one girl that I was with purchased a cookie and ate it right away and told us that it was the best thing ever and it’s well worth the hype. I can’t wait until I finally cave and dig in! I feel like it’ll be tonight haha.

            I found out this morning that there are only 3 people from my program going to York. I guess that it’s a blessing and a curse. While it would be nice to know more than two people when I go over there in a couple of days, it’ll be nice to be forced to make British friends and to interact with non-Butler people. Besides. The two Butler-York people I met were quality, so it’s fine. And I’ll know Katie Kowicki as well, so it’s not like I’ll have NO friends!

            Can’t wait to get some wifi access. I might pop into McDonalds tomorrow to see if I can connect to some of theirs.

January 2, 2014: Evening

            Tonight, IFSA-Butler took us to Wimbleton (yes, like the golf place) to see a pantomime theater production of Aladdin. Our bus got there a couple of hours early, so a couple of friends and I went to our first (well, my first…I can’t speak for the others) British pub. Since I don’t want to spend too much money, I just got garlic bread for dinner. After that, we went to the theater. It was like nothing I’d ever experienced before! Not only was the entire thing laced with British humor (including a few jokes that shocked the overly politically correct American in me…you can’t make some of those jokes in a production meant for children in the States!), but the songs were all popular radio tunes. You’ve got to love a show that ends with the company singing “Live While We’re Young” by One Direction!

            On the way home, we drove through London at night and saw a few iconic spots from the comfort of our bus windows. I must admit, my brother and older cousins all rubbed off on me a bit, because when we passed up Big Ben, I muttered, “Look. A clock. Because we don’t have THOSE in America.” (Parks and Rec, anyone???) The London Eye looked pretty when it was lit up all blue, but I’d never pay 17 pounds to ride it. Heck, I probably wouldn’t go up on that thing even if they paid ME that kind of money! In the words of the Internet, “2 spoopy no thank you.”

            I never knew how much I depended on the Internet until the past two days. It’s weird to think that I’ve only been without it for so short of a time. I really think that I only miss being able to communicate with my family and friends back home. Don’t get me wrong, I miss the Youtube and stuff, but I think I’d be a lot better if I could say “hi” to mom, dad, Joe, and all of the other people that I enjoy associating with. I mean, it’s a lot better now that I have a roommate and stuff, but it’s still strange. Like, what if my goldfish are dead? What if something happened to one of my friends? What if a family member is sick?

            I would have never survived on the island on Lost.