A Final Reflection

Well, I've been home from England for a week and a half. It seriously feels like I've been home for ages though. Its so easy to just slip back into routine, and my family has been so welcoming it feels like I never left home sometimes. But, I did leave home for three solid months and I often like to take the time to think about my time in England. First of all, I know that I've changed because of it. I should have never expected to study abroad and come home as the same exact person. The things I've seen and tried and learned will always be with me, and have affected how I see myself and my world. In England, I set goals for myself through the classes I took. In one course, "English Literature at Work," I became so much more aware of what I need to do to get what I want with my degree; this is something that has troubled me for ages. I developed a deeper understanding of the cultural differences of England to the US, but also a deeper cultural understanding in general, I believe. I developed a taste for travel; I want to see the world and meet people of even more different cultures. I developed an awareness of independence, critical reflection, and global outreach. I think I could say I got pretty much everything I hoped for with my study abroad experience. Of course there are a few things I still wish I had done or said, but I don't ever regret the choice to travel there. I sincerely hope that all the things I didn't accomplish but wanted to, are still in my future. I have a feeling I haven't said goodbye to England forever. 

Since I've been home, I've been enjoying my family's company, re-associating myself with Michigan weather, and slowly taking steps to making new goals and new dreams, just in time for the new year.  I am both scared and excited for the new year. I know CMU is going to seem a lot different after Kingston University, but all my old routines will easily engulf me if I let them. After choosing to study abroad in England not knowing anyone before I made the trip, it intrigued my sense of adventure and I definitely don't want to go back to routine. I have a small tip for anyone who is considering studying abroad -  Go. It is a wonderful experience. But, don't expect to be the same when you come home. Studying abroad is, at least it was for me, a growing experience. 

Home is where the hand is... and the family

Meeting my sister at the airport

I arrived home in Michigan two days ago now. My flight home was actually very smooth. Besides the monotony and physical pains of sitting in an airplane for nine hours, I had no problems with my flight. 
When I arrived in the O'Hare Airport, I went through passport control and customs in a breeze, it took no time at all and I was in the lobby with my family. My brother Jason, my mom, and my twin sister Kristi had all driven the long drive from Grand Rapids to Chicago to be there for me. I was SO happy to see them all. I even shed a little tear.

JIMMY JOHNS <3

My family was so thoughtful! They packed a cold Mountain Dew for me to drink once we got to the car and they took me to Jimmy Johns to get a sandwich. I'd been craving both for months!!! 
That night when I got home I was exhausted! I went to bed near to midnight at Michigan time, but it was almost 5 am England time. I woke up the next day around 7am and started feeling sleepy at 8pm that night too. Today was worse. This jetlag is really getting to me! Good thing I have a few days off before I go back to work. I would not want to be falling asleep in the concession stand! 

Yesterday, my first full day home, my family did our Secret Santa gifting. The entire family came over for a large meal and gifts. I got to hand out my souvenirs to everyone as well, which I was really excited about! It was so wonderful seeing my whole family again. My mom and dad, Jason, Jen, Paige, Jaydin, Raylan, Sarah, Kyle, Curtis, David, Jenni, and Kristi were all there! Going from having a house nearly to myself to my Michigan home was a lovely shock. There hasn't been a quiet moment since I arrived home, and I have to say I really missed that. 

Today, I got to babysit my two nephews for a while, and then my niece and two younger siblings came home from school. I loved spending the day with all of the kids. I really, really missed them. I was afraid my youngest nephew would have forgotten who I was since he was so young when I left, so I'm glad to have had nearly a full day with him and the rest of the munchkins. I just can't say how much I love being home! 

I loved coming home to my siblings' sign!

There's a lot that I miss from England, and I will never want to stop talking about my experience there. One of the first things people ask me is if I ever want to go back, and, without hesitations, I say YES!

Last Night Ponderings

So, tonight is my last night in London; it's pretty bittersweet actually - leaving one home for another. I feel like London has been like a second home to me. I'm going to miss walking to uni along Portsmouth Road and seeing the Thames River, especially in the early morning when the fog is over the river. I'm going to miss wandering around the Kingston shopping centre. I actually think I'm going to miss the rain too. I've decided I like the London weather better than Michigan anyway. It will be nice for all the cars to be on the correct side of the road though. That seriously still makes me dizzy. One thing that will be strange will be hearing everyone talk like me, pronouncing words like "tomato", "zebra", "status", "aluminium", "jaguar"... and I can say "pants" again without getting laughed at. 

I'll be leaving for the airport in less than twelve hours. While I'm not looking forward to the nine-hour flight, I can't wait to see my family (well, some of my family) at the airport and the rest when I get home (Kristi, you better be ready for me because I will probably tackle you with hugs.) 

Studying abroad has been the most wonderful experience. I would do it again in an instant! I wonder where I'll travel to next....

Things I Miss

Yesterday, I Facetimed my family while they celebrated Christmas with my grandparents, who will be leaving for Alabama soon. 

I was afraid I would miss their call so I took my bowl of cereal to my room to have dinner while I waited for their call. When I first answered, it was so good to see everyone. All of the kids snuck their faces in front of the camera and I got to say Hi to some family members I haven't seen in a while. 

The connection failed a couple of times, so I made multiple 'phone' calls to different family members. Even though my family was a bit blurry and at one point sounded like garbled machines, I kept being passed around so I could watch everyone open gifts and getting along. It was a great Christmas party, a really special one this year, and I'm glad I got to take part in it in some way. My littlest nephew was eating wrapping paper, my little siblings and cousins can Facetime me now, and my grandparents got their first new bicycles! I was sad that I couldn't be there in person, but I'll be able to see them all in one week. I feel so lucky that I get to go home just in time for Christmas! I love it when the whole family gets together for an evening or day. I've got a a pretty big family, which makes my family the most important thing to me. While I'm incredibly happy with my study abroad experience, I do miss my family a lot and am ready to see them next Monday! 

One of the reasons I'm so excited to go home is to finally be in a family environment again. England has been fantastic and I don't really want to leave it, but I need to see my family again and be in my own house. It's been a bit difficult living in a strangers house for three months. I miss Sunday morning eggs before church, I miss my niece and nephews being over all the time, I miss walking all around the house and asking what everyone's doing, I miss playing Scene It or Cranium with my family, and I miss having home-cooked meals with the whole (or at least part) of my family. 

Watching Christmas via Facetime definitely made me a bit homesick. It's difficult not to think about home with the amount of studying I've been doing lately as well. It's that finals stress that never fails to come, but that's just part of being a student. I'm going to make this last week count though. There are still things I haven't done but want to do, so now is the time! I'm going to keep myself busy, so it will seem that I will be seeing my family in no time at all. 

Rock Show at Wembley!

Yesterday I went to see the British pop-punk band You Me At Six at the Wembley Arena in London. 

Wall of M n M's

The show was amazing! I went with my friend Matt who actually showed me the band when I first came to England. We went into London for the entire day and did some sightseeing and some shopping. It was great to walk all around London. Since I leave in 8 days, it may well have been the last time I see the beautiful city. We walked around Leicester Square, Covent Garden, Oxford Street, and everything in between. We even went into M n' M World; it was my first time and I had NO idea there were that many colors!! We got some crispy ones to snack on while we continued walking around London, admiring the old buildings. 

We took a lengthy tube ride to Wembley Park and were a few hours early. We decided to get a bite to eat before the show began, but the nearest restaurant was McDonald's - and it was packed. After walking a short ways and finding nothing better, we settled for some good 'ol McDonalds. 

We took our seats (Section N10, Row A) and they were great seats. We were about halfway back from the stage, near the audio control people (ok, I really don't know what they're called). We had a great view of the stage and the incoming crowd. It was beautiful!

We sat around for a bit waiting for the first act to take the stage. In the meantime though, we watched all the fans strolling in. There was even this group in front of us who were dancing before the show even started. They looked pretty silly to me, but I guess they were having a laugh to themselves. The crowd was smaller than I expected, but many didn't show up until the final act - You Me At Six.

The first band came on, We Are The Ocean. This band had a good sound. I was fascinated with watching them on stage because they had two drum kits on the stage. I realized one was actually just used for percussion without the full set, but it was still really neat to see. The second opening act was Deaf Havana. This was another great band. I was really impressed with the opening acts. I liked them a lot! The lead singer of Deaf Havana was a riot too! He really got the crowd in the right mood. 

The Lights!

Finally! The last show of You Me At Six's tour, Final Night of Sin, was about to happen. The lights switched off and the crowd, which had now swelled to three times the size, went nuts! The band starts playing before the curtain is lifted, and just before the curtain does lift, fireworks blast from overhead. It was a beautiful sequence of one firework after another then all at once. I could tell it was going to be a great show from the start. One of the first songs they played was 'Loverboy', a personal favorite of mine. With three full albums, the band had a lot of material to choose from. I'd been listening to all of their albums for days and I loved being able to hear my favorite songs played live. Josh Franceschi, lead vocals, did a phenomenal job at entertaining the crowd as well. They are all wonderful performers! 

Lights and Flame on the stage

Throughout the show, fire, smoke, and confetti reigned both on and off the stage. The pyrotechnics were never-ending! The light works were great too. Colors swarmed the stage and the band, and the rock atmosphere was ignited! Speaking of rock atmosphere, the crowd was amazing. There was plenty of great moshing done, clothes were flung about, bodies were carried over the crowd, friends were on their friends shoulders while shouting the lyrics back to the band, and people were waving lighters and lit phone-screens back and forth. When the song 'Reckless' came on, Matt and I knew there was no way we could sit still. We jumped, shouted, fist pumped, and sang in our *ahem* best voices to our favorite song. The entire night was phenomenal. You Me At Six put on an amazing show, and I'm lucky enough to have witnessed it. And, I can't believe I got to see a rock concert at the Wembley Arena during my stay here; it was definitely a highlight of my time here! 

See the crowd

Rock on!

More Historic Britain

Yesterday I went into London with my CMU friends and we visited Abbey Road and The British Museum. 

When we got to Abbey Road, we weren't sure which zebra crossing was the one actually used in the photograph for the Beatles. So, we decided to take photos of the first crossing we saw. I mean, it looked the same as the one on the famous album cover. It wasn't. A kind local came up and told us we were in the wrong spot fo the famous photo recapture. It turns out we were just one crosswalk away, but we felt a bit silly. When we got to the famous zebra crossing, there were murals and writing painted and drawn all over the stone rails outside Abbey Roads Studios and along the road. There was even writing on the lampost. The stones were covered in fan art and letters people wrote to their Beatles heroes, and in middle of the street, taking haven on a centerpiece statue, people were lining up to take photographs of their friends mimicking the popular walk as seen on the Abbey Road album cover. There was only one problem with all of this: Abbey Road is a real road, with real cars, and real people trying to get to work, or school, or wherever else they need to be. And despite the crowds of tourists on this single crossing, cars don't want to wait for each person to pose in the middle of the street! 

After we made our own way across Abbey Road, we all headed to the British Museum. It's a free museum which is why we chose to go. It turned out to be a really neat experience. The museum is enormous and we could have never seen everything in the two hours we were there. Some of my favorite things to see were the Rosetta Stone, old Grecian sculptures, and the innovative and unique African crafts; the Native American room was really interesting as well. There were so many articles on display, it would take a person many trips to see everything. I really enjoyed visiting the museum, and I didn't even mind the crowds.

... Now I must get back to studying for my Spanish exam!

The Studying Bit

Well, Its that time of year - studying. Preparing for exams is much different in the UK than it was in the US. Instead of having quizzes, tests, essays, and presentations due throughout my courses, nearly everything is due at the end of my course (with the exception of two essays). I knew some of this stuff was coming, and I don't really consider myself a procrastinator, but suddenly it seems like I don't have enough time to complete it all. Granted, I will be leaving in December in order to arrive back to CMU in time for the Spring semester, whereas my British classmates will have a 'revision period' from about mid-December to mid-January, when assessments are actually due. I will be turning mine in early of course.

Some courses have the typical exam and are finished in December. For example, next week I have a written exam in Spanish 3 and the following week I have an oral exam for that class. Likewise, I have a final exam for my British Life and Culture course in two weeks and a final presentation due this week. For my other two courses, I have to turn in final assessments, which are like portfolios of all the things I've done this semester. My assessments will mostly consist of exercises I've done in class but will have needed to revise throughout the semester, a couple of creative writing pieces, two critical reflections essays, and forms and essays that I've worked on throughout the course as well. I'm a bit nervous that everything gets turned in at the same time. This means, I must have kept track of each bit of paper I've done in class, but also that I have no idea how well I'm doing in the class or how my professor tends to mark his or her papers. This is much different from the US where a student can track his or her progress throughout the course by the grades he or she received on all class assignments.  Here's hoping for the best!

Study and education is quite different in the UK as I've come to realize. As mentioned earlier, little to no coursework is done throughout the semester, rather students are expected to create portfolios of their work for the end of the course. Some courses may even be a year long and the assessment is not turned in for the duration of the course. Also, classes are generally much more laid back. My professors have short presentations prepared for the class, possibly a handout or two, and classes meet between one and two hours a week. There is often the lecture and then the 'seminar' or 'tutorial' where students meet for a short period of time to discuss what was gone over in class. The majority of schoolwork is expected to be done outside of lectures. Professors do not delve into topics at the level they might in the US. Independent study is expected of students if they want to do well in the course. At CMU, when I went to the library for research, it was often for a paper topic or a specific lesson from the class, at Kingston my research has been more holistically focused on the course topic.

Education in the UK took a lot to get used to at first, since it is so independently-minded. It may be a matter of preference for the student how he or she prefers to study. I've found that I really like the US method of learning as compared to the UK. American universities tend to promote a 'well-rounded' student whereas university in the United Kingdom is more focused on producing 'experts in a given field.' Once a student has chosen his or her course of study in the UK, they will rarely focus on any other topics besides the one they have chosen. If a student is studying English, he or she would not take courses in Science or Math. However, in American university, a student is expected to have some knowledge of each study. Therefore, a student majoring in English will have taken a number of Science and Math courses in order to graduate. I think both methods have good and bad to them.

The British system is beginning to make more sense to me, and I think I could potentially choose a Masters course in the UK (only a year long course). It is quite different to what I have grown up with however. To any American students thinking of studying in the UK, I recommend you are aware of the education differences and prepare yourself for more independent study. It really is a great experience!

I can't believe I only have three weeks left in the UK and only two weeks left of uni. The time has gone by incredibly fast. I've learned a lot of valuable things so far and met some really great people. It will be difficult to say good bye.    

The Red Carpet

A lot of this week has been a blur due to a major lack of sleep. After arriving home from Dublin, I had to unpack my bags and then pack and get ready for an overnight stay in Leicester Square. My friend Kelly and I waited over 24 hours to see the Breaking Dawn Part 2 premiere in London. 

Kelly and I finally in our place at the premiere

When we first arrived, we joined a short queue next to the Raddison Hotel. We just missed the 500 cut-off point, so we didn't get wristbands or tickets. We still had a pretty good spot in line. After a couple of hours though they had us move behind designated barriers. Everyone rushed to get in front of one another so our 'spots' and ticktet numbers were useless at that point. Kelly and I still got really great places in line though. And this is where we had to camp out overnight. We were given about five feet of space to spread out. There was a short stone wall we could sit on, but it was uneven, cold, and really uncomfortable. The only thing I brought with me besides many, many layers was a thin blanket. That night, I did not sleep. Even with all of the layers that I was wearing, the night became so cold, I was begging for morning. At 5am McDonalds opened, so I had some hot cocoa and felt much better. Soon after we all got moved into one of two different 'pens.' Yes, we were put in pens. The put over 100 of us in each pen. Once we got settled in our spot. I went and sat in McDonalds for about four hours. When I came back to the pen, we were all standing again and we remained standing for the rest of the night, so about another eight hours. 

The waiting bit was pretty unpleasant, but it wasn't horrible either. Some of the people I met were incredibly nice, and I may even see some of them again. Some of the people I was waiting with were less friendly. A lot of bickering took place and even people chanting to kick someone else out of the pen. At least I had Kelly with me!

Once the event finally started it was about 5:30pm the next day. The red carpet was laid out and I got pretty excited. Working at a cinema has actually made me very curious about movie premieres. I've only seen one before and it was a very small scale red carpet event. The Breaking Dawn premiere was MUCH larger than the first premiere I've seen. I was a bit overwhelmed by the enormous crowd and the number of media present. They soon announced that Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner were on the red carpet and a few girls around me started crying with excitement. Kelly and I had a really good spot, second row at about the middle of the red carpet. I sat on a railing and took photos for my friend, and Kelly was able to get all of the actor's autographs. 

At the end of the event, I was beyond exhausted and ready to go home. It had been over 48 hours since I slept, and it had been even longer since I'd been in my own bed. I'm really happy that I got to witness a major movie premiere. It was definitely an experience I will remember, but it's also an experience I don't think I will ever do again. I certainly wouldn't camp out to see a premiere, but I'm still happy that I saw a real red carpet event in a major city.

My Irish Weekend

This past weekend has been the absolute craziest of my life, and mostly in a good way! 
I went to Dublin and then saw the Breaking Dawn Part 2 movie premiere. 

My friend Tonya and I left for Dublin late on Friday night and arrived there about midnight in the Dublin Airport. I had the unfortunate experience in which my eardrum popped while the plane was descending. Let me tell you, that is NOT pleasant. 

We arrived at our hostel, Abraham House, fairly easily. It's just a short walk from O'Connell Street. Even though it was late, Tonya and I decided we wanted to go out and see the city. We found a late night rock bar and each had a beer while listening to the 80s hair metal blare from the overhead speakers. It was such a nice little pub actually, I wish I could remember the name of it.

Our stay in the hostel was pleasant. It was my first experience in a hostel, but it was tidy and the staff was friendly. The next morning we went down for breakfast which was cereal and toast, my typical breakfast. Then we decided to spend the day shopping. The first mall we went to, The Irish life Shopping Mall, had only one store. Everything else seemed to have gone out of business. This might possibly be because of the number of Penney's and Carrolls around town. This is where Tonya and I bought all of our souveniers. Carrolls is an irish souvenier shop, and Penny's is Dublin's Primark. We did pretty well shopping-wise.

Trinity College Campus

The next day we we visited St. Patrick's Cathedral. We had to wait about 30 minutes to get into the cathedral, and then it was quite small. After seeing Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral, St. Patrick's seemed a bit dull. Next we went to tour Dublin castle, only to discover it wasn't much of a castle, and the only tour was for the state apartments, which we chose not to tour. Next, we made our way to Trinity College, which was very pretty. The best part of Trinity College though was seeing the Book of Kells. Unfortunately, we couldn't take pictures of this amazing exhibit.

On Monday, we toured the Guinness Storehouse and the Old Jameson Distillery. This was the best day by far. We had our first taste of Guiness and I had a Jameson and Ginger, which I'd been craving for some time. It was really cool to see how each beer and whiskey is made for its special flavor. The tours were really well put together and entertaining as well.

Each night, Tonya and I went out for drinks as well. We both love ciders so we discovered Bulmers, a delicious Irish cider. We had to make our way to the Temple Bar, a famed tourist location. The bar was SO packed. We could hardly move through the crowd and the drinks were quite pricey. At least I can say I've been there! The best pub was Madigans, where Tonya and I tried traditional lamb stew. It was SO good. Possibly the best meal of life. seriously. I had it with a pint of Smithwick's as well. Amazing.

My free Guinness Sample!

I really enjoyed Dublin, but at the same time I missed Kingston a lot while I was there. The flight home was much smoother, but as soon as I arrived home I had to unpack and repack my bag for an overnight stay in Leicester Square. The final Twilight film, Breaking Dawn part 2, premiered there, so my friend Kelly and I camped out on the concrete with about 1,000 Twilight fans to watch the celebraties walk the red carpet. I will post about that soon!!

Bittersweet

Sorry to post another blog post immediately after my previous one, but I am SO far behind on my blogging. I hope you will still read both and not get too bored.

Beautiful moustache

After our shenanigans at the Hippodrome in Kingston, Kristi and I had to rush to meet our parents at the London Zoo the next morning. It wasn't peak season for the animals and it was quite cold at the zoo. Therefore, it wasn't the best zoo experience I've had BUT it did have the best seahorses I have ever seen. They were moving about and nicely visible. Often, the seahorses are hidden behind bright lights, jets of bubbles, or tall grasses. I was fascinated by the amazing sea creatures! The next greatest thing at the zoo was a monkey with the best grown mustache I think I've ever seen. It was seriously impressive.

After the zoo, my family and I browsed Camden Market. The booths were small and a lot carried the same items, but it was cool to be at a market and experience the bartering they do there. Camden Town was unbelievably crowded that day. We actually had to queue about twenty minutes just to get back on the tube!!

Kristi getting a tour of my house. And not wanting to leave again.

The last day my family was visiting I decided to take them all to Kingston to see where I've been living the past few months. We had to wait nearly an hour for a bus to my house which was a major disappointment when I wanted to show my parents the best time in my current home. We finally made it to Cosy Cottage, where I am staying and I gave them a quick tour before we headed back into town for a bit of shopping at the Bentall Centre. I showed my sister my favorite shops, but mostly my family was all shopped out. We went for dinner at the Kings Tun because I just had to show my family my favorite pub. The Kings Tun has good-priced food and drinks and I always have a good time there. We all had drinks, and sat in the pub for a good hour before ordering food. My friends Cat and Matt showed up at the 'Tun' to join us for a late dinner and dessert. 

My parents went back to the hotel to sleep before their early flight, but Kristi stayed back with me for a short bit so we could hang out with Cat and Matt as a little 'going away' event. We watched a movie at my place and had a chill night before Kristi took an eight hour flight back to Michigan.

It was so great to spend my Enrichment Week with my family! I was sad to see them go, but I knew in six short weeks I would be home for Christmas and I would get to see them all again. 

Castles to Cruises to Cheese

For the fifth and sixth days of my half-term break. My family and I visited Windsor Castle, took a River City Cruise on the Thames River, and toured Tower Bridge.

Ready to explore the castle!

On November first, we visited Windsor Castle. Finding our way to Windsor was a mighty

challenge. Ironically, it was quite close. The castle was actually so much larger than I expected it to be. I know it was a castle, but they really are so much bigger outside fairytale books. Besides being a bit chilly, we had beautiful weather that day and  were able to capture some really awesome pictures. The Castle was the most unique experience. We walked on the cobblestone paths and into the state apartments which are the intricately designed yet incredibly grand rooms such as the King and Queens reception rooms, and the dinning room. They were so ornate and beautiful. We even saw the dolls house, an enormous dolls house complete with a jewels room (made with real miniature jewels). We arrived home early after the castle, but the family and I really needed it. It was already a long week!

On the next day of half term, we went on a River City Cruise and toured Tower Bridge. My friend Matt met up with my family and I in Central London that day. The river cruise was nice. We went early and had the afternoon sun on us during the thirty-minute ride. We were able to get unobstructed views of a lot of the major architectures of London, and we even had a speaker guide us through the history and significance of many of the landmarks. The boat dropped us very near to the tower bridge entrance, so we went up and toured the beautiful bridge that day as well. Kristi, Matt, and I decided to take the stairs instead of the lift and it was a great workout getting to the top of the bridge. The bridge exhibition showed a lot of photographs of famous bridges. This was cool for a few photographs, but it got boring pretty quickly actually. The best part of this was the view. It was slightly obstructed by the beams of the bridge structure, but, if angled correctly, we could get some nice panoramic pictures of Central London. My favorite part of the tower bridge exhibition was seeing the steam engine at the end of the tour. I can't recall ever seeing a steam engine as large as that (to lift the drawbridge).

Matt, Kristi, My dad, and I happy to go on a cruise! A river cruise anyway.

The view of Tower Bridge from the Thames

After we did our bit of touristing in Central London, Kristi, Matt and I went back to Kingston so I could take me sister out and show her a bit of how I spend my weekends in Kingston. We went to the club Hippodrome. It was Big Cheese night, which means the DJ plays a lot of classic favorites and he even takes requests. My sister and I jammed to Barbie Girl, The Spice Girls, McFly, and a lot more great music.