portobello market

saturday we went back to the portobello market in notting hill. we had a great time and saw lots of interesting food/clothing/gadgets..etc. luckily i only had 5 pounds in my wallet or i would've bought tons of stuff. i did have a great falafel with egg plant, hummus, and lots of veggies though and it was delicious. i can't wait to get another one!

the bucket list

wednesday night stef and i decided to brave the crowds at leicester square in an attempt to get a glimpse of jack nicholson or morgan freeman at the uk premier of the bucket list. we arrived at the theatre in the square around 5:30 pm as gates were being set up to keep the crowds away from the doors of the theatre. with nothing else to do we decided we would stand along the gates just to see what was happening. eventually a huge red carpet was laid down and tons of reporters arrived at the scene. soon after that many more people started to arrive. we asked a guard what time the stars were going to arrive and he said sometime between 6:30 and 7 so we decided our spots were too precious to give up so we continued to brave the cold and wait for the action.

around 6:45 several mercedes pulled up and morgan freeman got out of the car right infront of us! ok, maybe like 15 ft away, but still really close. he made a bee line for the door and the was all the crowds saw of him. more cars pulled up with the producer and other actors from the film but you could tell the crowds really wanted to see jack! about 30 mins later a few more cars pulled up and jack stepped out of the car right in front of us, sunglasses and all. everyone began screaming his name and cameras began flashing like crazy. with nearly 10 bodyguards by his sides he walked around the gates and signed autographs and shook hands. we never thought he would come over to us but he did and because we didn't think he was going to walk in our direction we didn't have anything prepared for him to sign..ahhh.

exploring the city

yesterday (mlk day), we went to camden town. camden is known for its huge markets and punkish crowds. we walked up and down rows and rows of clothing vendors selling everything from studded belts to vintage clothing. the vintage clothing was awesome but really really overpriced. there were also many food booths with lots of ethnic food. it all looked delicious and smelled good, too.

today after class stef and i ventured down baker street to the beetles store. the store wasn't too exciting but if nothing less at least we can say we were there. we also saw the sherlock holmes museum right next too. after that we walked through regents park. today the weather was very mild and the sun was shining so it made for a great park day. people were out feeding the geese and pigeons in full force. yes, actually feeding the geese! after walking through the park we made a short trip through st. johns wood (home to kate moss) and caught the tube to notting hill. notting hill is known for its great portobello street market, the best days for the market are saturday and sunday but we decided to check it out today anyways. there really wasn't too much still out by the time we arrived late in the afternoon but nottinghill in itself is a very picturesque neighborhood to walk around anyways.

homestay and windsor castle

This past weekend I went on a homestay. During the six month period I am here the exchange program I came with, Butler, offers one weekend excursion per month. This months was the homestay and day trip to windsor castle during homestay weekend. Friday evening our group left London for Surrey, just south of London. We all knew the names of our families and if the families had kids and pets. I didn't really think much into the homestay or get nervous, until we pulled into the parking lot to meet our families! I guess since I know so many people who have done homestays or people who have actually stayed with our family it didn't occur to me that they may have been nervous too to me their families! Kudos to everyone who has ever done a homestay for a period of time or even had the nerve to sign up for one!!! As we were getting ready to get off the bus I really began to freak out as I realized I was leaving all my friends and I was at the mercy of some random family for the next three days! When I got off the bus the director of the program introduced me to my host dad for the weekend and he took me to the car. I put my stuff in the back of the car and tried to get into the drivers seat..haha..whoops!

After a short drive to my home for the weekend I met my host mom and host 16 year-old sister. This was a very awkward moment (especially since I could hardly understand a word they were saying because their accents were soo thick, it was basically like a different language)!!! What was I suppose to do??? What room was I suppose to sit in??? Was I suppose to help prepare dinner???? After a little of the awkwardness wore off we all sat down to a very non-traditional british dinner of pizza, salads, and cokes. After dinner we all sat in the "lounge" as my host dad flipped through popular british tv shows on the "telly" and we sat and drank tea and ate lots of good chocolate.

On saturday my family took me to meet the butler group and we all traveled to windsor castle together. The town was so quaint! I felt like I was in a movie as we walked down the cobblestone roads with the castle sitting in the distance. Some of us also ventured over the Thames to Eton College (where the princes and a lot of really smart and rich people go to high school). Even with it being a saturday we were able to see some school boys running around in their very tradition uniforms of suits with coattails and shirts with big collars. We were able to walk through windsor castle and see the state rooms, doll house, st. georges chapel, changing of the guard, and a few other things.

Saturday night I returned home to my hostfamily and my mom made homemade curry and a few other things. It was delicious! We then all sat around again and watched crazy british tv and ate chocolate. Sunday we had a traditional roast dinner with yorkshire pudding..mmmm :)

All in all I would say the family visit was a great experience and I am very glad I had the chance to stay with a real british family. I know my experience wouldn't even compare with someone who would live with a family for an entire term but it was still great to get a taste of real british culture!

I added new pictures under London II and under Windsor and Surrey. Check them out!

class begins

After a month long winter break I finally began class today. Stef and I left for our 10 am at around 8:15 this morning to ensure we would get there on time. After waiting for the bus, train, and walking to get to the University we finally made it after an hour and in plenty of time. Once we arrived and had some breakfast at the school cafe we both realized neither of use had our schedules and we had no idea what our class was called or what room it was in. So we walked into the undergrad office told the office assistant that we were exchange students and had both forgotten our schedules. She kindly told us where our class was and that it was called Tourism Policy. What a great start to a first day!

Our class had about 20 students with three of them being Americans. The teacher was extremely nice and helpful and went out of her way to make sure we understood what was going to happen througout the semester. The class lasted three hours but we had a few "tea breaks" haha and the time seemed to fly by. Hopefully all of our classes will be as interesting as Tourism Policy and all of our teachers as kinda as Nancy.

This past weekend we had time to do more tourist things. We walked through the entire National Gallery and attended the Russian Winter Festival in Trafalgar Square. The festival was quite the site. The papers said there were nearly 70,000 people in the square. They were all singing Russian songs and waving Russian flags so we felt a little out of place. The festival also had Russian food tents and beer tents. We didn't stick around too long.

I feel like I'm adjusting more to life everyday but little things here and there are still very frustrating. Yesterday I went to refill a prescription. I had a letter written by an American doctor and followed all the directions my program had stated I needed to do in order to get the medication filled over here. When I got to the pharmacy the lady told me I must first register at the surgery (doctor) , get a checkup, and return to her with the prescription on British paper. So today I called the surgery and found out I must pay to register, get a check up, and pay 30 pounds ($60) for each prescription I need written on British paper each month. Grrrrrrrrr. I guess this is just something that you have to deal with while studying abroad!

I would upload more pictures but I only have a few from the Russian Festival and it takes a horribly long time to do it so I think I will wait till later...so check back!

Take Care Everyone!

With an entire week of time to kill and a few free days last week my friends and I have had plenty of time to begin exploring this gigantic city. I have shin splints from walking so much! I thought I walked a lot at IU but apparently I don't. I guess once school begins we won't have so much time to just wander around aimlessly exploring different stores and parts of the city :(tr

On Monday we walked in and out of stores on Oxford St. Wow! London has so many awesome stores. Stef and I tried on lots of stuff and looked at tons of awesome hangbags. But in the end we left empty handed. We decided we shouldn't go "shopping" very often considering we can't afford to buy anything. I did make one purchase though, blankets!!! After sleeping on a blanketless bed all weekend I was able to find some affordable and comfortable blankets and pillows at a store called Primark. It sort of reminded me of a Kohls. We had asked someone where to get bedding and we were surprised to find the store had clothes too..affordable clothes! So if we do need to shop we will be going to Primark.

Yesterday I had an advising appointment at my school. I found out that I will be taking all four of my classes at the Marylebone campus near Regents Park. I also found out I only have classes on Tu, W, and Th! Stef and I have the exact same schedule and classes so we will be able to take four day weekends together if we ever would like too.

Today I went to the British Museum with a few friends from Butler. I'm really not a big fan of museums like that but I did look at a few things.



After the museum Stef and I walked all the way around Hyde Park...yes, we were veryvery tired. We also saw Buckingham Palace and the Wellington Arch. They both looked amazing in the dark with all the lights and cars around.


My New Living Quarters!

Hello from LONDON!

I am in London and I FINALLY have the internet! After a crazy week of traveling, orientations, meeting new people, and seeing new places, I am settling into my new home in North London. During the past week I stayed in a hotel with other students studying with the Butler program. Not everyone is going to school at Westminster but we are all going to school somewhere in Central London. At the end of orientation on Saturday I was dropped off at Furnival House (my new home until June!) near Highgate. Out of all the friends I made throughout the week none of them were put in the same housing as me so I began making more friends again yesterday!

So far I have been having a really good time but the whole experience has been a lot different then what I expected. I really thought London would be similar to other US cities. I was so WRONG. Everything they do here is different. They eat different food, talk differently, act differently, dress differently, drive differently....and this list could go on and on. I am not saying this is a bad thing but I feel like many of these things can be overlooked by tourists but not by people who are trying to live like the locals. All in all, adjusting to the British culture and ways may be more of a challenge then I thought. I know over time I will become more familiar with all of the British ways but figuring everything out at one time seems to be a little overwhelming!

During orientation we had some time to do some exploring and saw many of the major tourist spots. A few of my favorites were Oxford Street, Hyde Park, and the views over the Thames. We made a quick stop into the National Gallery while at Trafalgar Square and stumbled upon VanGoughs Sunflowers. What an amazing surprise. The painting was totally different in real life.

Tomorrow I have orientation for the Univ. of Westminster but classes don't start until next Monday. I suppose we will just continue to explore London and everything about it!