Liverpool Trip

Today was the trip to Liverpool and it was such a great experience! The bus ride was about two hours but it was actually great to see the beautiful countryside. Once we arrived in Liverpool me and my friend Chelsea decided what we wanted to do and planned out a nice schedule for ourselves. We started at the Beatles Museum which is definitely one of the biggest draws of the city. We didn't hit a long line and the museum was really interesting. I don't know a ton about the Beatles but I really enjoyed learning more about the history of the band and seeing some great artifacts.

 

 

The museum was a great experience and I picked up a few post cards in the gift shop to post up in my room and remind me of the trip. After that we headed over to a famous cathedral in town. The view from the outside as well as the inside was breathtaking and it was definitely my favorite part of the day. We learned a lot about old cathedrals in my medieval history class and it was amazing to actually be inside one. The arches in the ceiling were unbelievable and the mosaic tiles in the windows were magical.

 

The cathedral is said to be the second largest Anglican cathedral in Europe and construction 1904. The cathedral is a great example of Gothic Revival Architecture which we learned a lot about in class. The tower stands 331 feet (100m) high and overlooks the city of Liverpool.

After wandering for a while and taking it all in, we decided to take the journey up to the top of the tower to see the city from above.

 

On the way up we got to see the bell tower which is the highest and heaviest peal of bells in the country. The view at the top of the tower proved to be well worth the journey.

 

The city is gorgeous from above and I am so glad we took the opportunity to see it. We spent the rest of the day traveling around downtown and going into a few shops.

 

Chinatown

 

An old church that suffered severe bomb damage during the "Blitz"

The shopping area downtown

 

There was a really great sunset before we left so we got a bunch of great pictures. Then we grabbed some burgers before we got on our buses to head back. Our day was packed from beginning to end with exciting activities and I can't wait to get to London next weekend and have exciting new experiences there!

Australia Day!

Yesterday was Australia day and it was so much fun celebrating with everyone! We started off by trying some special Australian snacks. The girls made some biscuits with vegemite and then also with cheese. I tried both but I would have to say that I prefer the all cheese. We then had buttered bread with sprinkles on it which I never would have imagined to be a popular Australian party dish. We had a great time trying the food and afterwords we went to an Australian bar called the Walkabout. They played some great Australian music and it was so much fun to celebrate with all of my new friends! I also had another class yesterday which was Drawing. I really like the teacher and it seems like it should be a very fun and hands on kind of class. I also had Fashion Styling and Photography today and I think it may end up being one of my favorite classes. We have to pick a brand by next week to set up our own photo-shoot for and make all sorts of mood and trend boards for the brand. It reminds me more of my classes back at Central except it seems like it will be a lot more studio work, which is fantastic. We watched a video about a famous fashion photographer which was incredibly inspiring. I can't wait to get farther into the class! I also had lacrosse this evening. The turnout was really great and I was happy to meet some more girls on the team. There was also a real coach there to help us out which was nice because normally the oldest girls just run practice. He was great and had some really helpful tips for all of us. Tomorrow all of the new kids move into our hall and we couldn't be more excited to meet some more international students. There are only four of us right now and we are getting anxious have some more people around. I have one more class tomorrow and then off to Liverpool early Saturday!

Georgia and Erin with their Australian treats!

Classes Begin

I have now had my first two classes and they were really great. I had Fashion Brand Analysis Monday. The class ended up being about twice the size that it was supposed to be, so the teacher sent half the group home and told them to come back the next week. My group, the group that stayed, will now not have to go next week but the week after and so on. I met some really nice people in that class and I am hoping to be in a group with them for our projects because I know that there is a lot of work done in our small groups. My class today was my Traditional Alcoholic Beverages and it was just like I imagined. For one thing, more than half the class was from the US which the teacher thought was quite funny. Our project in that class is to design and brew our own beer which actually seems like quite a project. We are also going on a field trip to a brewery or vineyard which should be neat. We learned a lot today about the history of beer and wine and I thought it was quite interesting how early on they were both produced. We went to a pub tonight for another international student gathering and it was really fun. I am still meeting a lot of new people and recognizing more and more faces. Tomorrow was supposed to be my first lacrosse game but it was postponed because the other team is still taking their final exams. Tomorrow is Australia day and all my Australian friends are taking a bunch of us out to the Australian pub here to celebrate. They also made some special Australian foods tonight for us to try tomorrow so I'm very excited! I can't wait for the rest of my classes and to travel to Liverpool this weekend!

A Great First Weekend In Leeds

My first few days here have been amazing. Christina, Erin, and I keep saying how we feel like we have been here for months. We know our way into town pretty well now and also around campus. I also had the chance to take one of the double-decker buses to lacrosse practice yesterday which was great although I am still a little slow with my money which the bus driver wasn't fond of. Lacrosse was really fun. Everyone was so welcoming and kind and it made it very enjoyable even though I am definitely sore today. I got a ride back with one of the girls afterward along with three other girls and we all had a chance to chat. Two of the girls (named Millie and Sophie) live right by me so we grabbed lunch together. Later that night we went to the Old Bar in the student union and met up with some more international students. We had a great time talking about cultural differences and the funny different words that we use for certain things. I love being able to talk to people from all around the world in one sitting.

This is a picture of about half the group. Some of them are Brittish, the guy standing in the front next to me is from Singapore, and the girl with red hair is from Australia. There was also a boy from the Caribbean and girl from India in the mix. If you head down the road behind us you eventually get to the actual city of Leeds.

This is another picture from that evening of me, Christina (in the middle) and Erin (left) who is the girl from Australia that lives right down the hall. Today we just hung out and watched some TV. They love all the American television shows here. and then we went into the city this evening to see The Kings Speech which was especially great because we got to watch in England. Before the movie we spent about two hours in a cute little cafe just chatting and having some hot chocolate. I am having such a wonderful time and I can't wait to start my classes tomorrow!

Making New Friends

We have done quite a few orientation type activities now and they are so much fun. The first meeting was a lot of question games to get us all to talk and get to know each other. My table happen to have 5 or 6 Americans, a boy from Sweden, a girl from Pakistan, and a girl from Holland. It has been so great to be able to actually recognize faces walking around campus. Me and my flat mate (Christina) from Canada have befriended quite a few Australians somehow as well as some of the girls from my group who are from Wisconsin. It's great to have a little group of people to go out with. I think the study abroad program here has done a great job of making all of us international students feel like one big family. A lot of students moved out of our flat today which means that a bunch more international students should be moving in. Erin is a girl from down the hall who I met today (and is also from Australia). I also met the girl next door to her who is from Brazil. Me, Erin and Christina are thinking about signing up for a trip to London in two or three weekends to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Apparently London has the largest celebration in Europe and it's pretty amazing.

This is a picture of me, Christina, Jackie (from Australia), and Chelsea (from Wisconsin)

Another picture of Jackie and I

And a better picture of the tower at the entrance to campus.

The Journey to Leeds!

 

My flight went very smoothly From Detroit to Amsterdam although it was just over 8 hours and I decided to watch Social Network, Easy A, and Eat Pray Love instead of sleeping. Flying in over Amsterdam at night was spectacular with all of the lights of the city and the port gleaming up at us. My short stay in Amsterdam was very nice. The plane from Amsterdam to Leeds was a "city hopper" and tiny. We got to take a shuttle out to it and then walk up the ladder which I thought was pretty cool. There were about 7 of us studying abroad at Leeds on the plane coming from places ranging from South Carolina to Canada to Australia. It was really fun getting to chat with all of them while we waited for our taxi to our dorm. The taxi ride was beautiful and a little frightening at times.

 

Me and one of my flat mates that happened to be on the flight named Christina grabbed a cab together. We were definitely a little confused about the driver being on the other side as well as the car being on the other side of the road. We are still working on looking right then left while crossing the roads in Leeds. 

 

(our dorm complex)

Our dorm is beautiful and after we moved in we spent the day trying to stay awake and getting lost around campus. The getting lost definitely helped with the staying awake and I think we have now easily seen the entire campus at least twice.

There are so many gorgeous old looking buildings around the campus but my favorite so far is the building holding the giant white clock tower that marks the beginning of campus.

 I will have to take a better picture sometime this semester because this one doesn't quite do it justice. Overall, I had a great first day and I can't wait to keep exploring!

My Schedule Abroad

Time	9-10	10-11	11-12	3-4	4-5	5-6	6-7	7-8
Mon					Lacrosse Practice	Lacrosse Practice	Fashion Brand Analysis	Fashion Brand Analysis
Tues		Food
Wed	Draw	Draw					Lacrosse Games
Thurs				Fashion Styling &Photo	Fashion Styling &Photo	Fashion Styling &Photo (Lax P)	Lacrosse Practice
Fri			Color& Design