From Blarney and the Claddagh to paella and flamenco

I feel like it's been quite a while since I've written my last blog, so here it goes! Since the last time I wrote, I've been doing a lot of traveling and spending a lot of time overwhelmed by essays, registering for classes for next semester, housing next semester, etc. It's been crazy but super fun!

From November 11-13, Alli and I took a trip to Ireland. It was a really fast-paced, whirlwind trip, but SO AWESOME!! We arrived in Dublin around 11pm on a Friday night, and I don't even remember what time we got to our hostel, but as you can imagine, it was really late. It wouldn't have been that big of a deal if we didn't have to meet for our tour at 6:50 the next morning! Needless to say, we didn't sleep much that night. Our tour the next morning was to Cork, Blarney Castle (and of course Blarney Stone), and the Rock of Cashel. The most exciting part of the trip: we got to kiss the Blarney Stone! That's definitely something I'll always remember. But in case I were to ever forget, I have a souvenir picture to remind me! ;)

Blarney Castle

Rock of Cashel

While in Ireland, I began the hunt for a Claddagh ring. I had wanted one for so long, and since I was in Ireland (home to the Claddagh ring), I might as well get one right? I am proud to say that I was able to find a beautiful Claddagh ring in Cork for only 25 euro... another highlight of my trip, and the best souvenir I could have possibly gotten in Ireland. I am so proud of it!

Before our flight out on Sunday, we decided to explore Dublin, since we really hadn't had a chance to before. We walked along the river, walked across the Ha'Penny Bridge, went to an awesome wax museum, had lunch at a place called Eddie Rocket's, saw the Book of Kells, and finally finished off our day wandering around St. Stephen's Green, eating gelato, and just generally enjoying the wonderful city of Dublin. Because seriously, Dublin is wonderful. I fell in love with Ireland, and I will be actively looking for my next opportunity to go! :) It's still my favorite place that I've visited so far.

After Ireland, we took a couple weeks off from traveling outside of the country and went on a couple of incredible ISA excursions to Beamish open-air museum (which was amazing!) and to York. But of course you can't keep us from traveling for long - this last weekend we got to explore a non-English speaking country for the first time in Barcelona, Spain! The first thing we did upon arriving in Barcelona? Went out to find the beach, of course!

And we couldn't possibly go to the beach without sticking our toes in the water:

Afterwards, we went back to a cozy little pub that we had found while trying to get to the beach. We got to enjoy some lovely tapas as well as the drink of the day: sex on the beach! Both were delicious, although the vodka was a little too strong for my liking.

On Friday, we went on a great city tour of Barcelona where we got to see all of the main sights of the city. I was especially excited about Parc Guell and La Sagrada Familia, and basically anything by Antoni Gaudi. His style is impressive! It's so different and fun, which is why I like it so much. 

Friday night we got to experience flamenco! It was amazing. I had watched videos of flamenco before in various Spanish classes, but it is so much more impressive in person! You can just feel the passion in it. We also tried the AMAZING paella for the first time! I was so hesitant to try it at first since I'm generally not a big Spanish rice fan (and I always thought paella just looked gross in general), but I am so glad I went for it. It was one of the best things I've ever had! Seriously. We were definitely spoiled with the food in Barcelona - Spanish food is delicious! I definitely see what the hype is all about. 

On Saturday, we took a tour to the beautiful city of Girona and to the Costa Brava. Wow. I felt like I was in some sort of beautiful Spanish storybook the entire time. I have a thing for pretty, narrow streets and alleys, and Girona had plenty of them. 

And of course Costa Brava = the beach. Need I say more? Never mind the fact that it is pretty much dead at this time of year, so it was super quiet and pretty peaceful. The little town of Calella, which is where we stopped along the Costa Brava, is so picturesque! I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves here.

That night, due to our tour guide's strong recommendation, we went down to the Placa Espanya to see the Magic Fountain in action. It was beautiful! Music was played and the fountain "danced" and turned colors. Incredible!

And finally on Sunday before we headed to the airport, we got to witness an intense game of futbol at the park. ;) It was pretty cool to get to see some locals play.

I also got to use my Spanish more than I had planned on or thought I would, which was awesome! It renewed my love for the language, as well as my motivation to keep studying it. It was encouraging when the locals could actually understand me, and when I could understand them when they spoke back. ;) Overall, it was such an amazing weekend in Barcelona! I'd definitely love to go back to Spain sometime too. It's beautiful there! 

Well, this coming weekend I'm off to Paris. This will be my last big trip before I head home! I'm pretty excited to get back home and see my family, but also feeling a little bit sad to leave Newcastle. It's been a great host city for the past 3 months, and it will be missed! I'll definitely be back though, it's just a matter of time. :)

London!

Well, I just got back from an incredible 5 days in London! Last week was my reading week, which means I didn't have many classes. I was finished with class for the week on Tuesday, so Alli and I decided to head out for London Tuesday night. We got to our hostel around 9:30pm and were able to get settled in and to sleep relatively early. Our schedule was SO crazy that whatever sleep we could get was cherished! 

On Wednesday, we woke up early and went down to breakfast, which consisted of toast, jam, and cereal - I should mention now that this happened daily. I didn't mind the simple breakfast though because they had nutella to put on the toast! :) Anyways, Wednesday we ended up seeing so much more than we had originally planned. Our first stop was Madame Tussaud's. It was incredible! Some of the wax figures were so realistic that it was actually pretty creepy. Whoever designs these figures has an amazing amount of talent! The picture below is David & Victoria Beckham at Madame Tussaud's. 

After that, we took the tube (which we mastered by the end of the week) to Baker Street and went to the Sherlock Holmes museum. It was really cool! I don't know much about Sherlock Holmes, but it was still really interesting to see the "Sherlock Holmes house." We also visited Westminster Abbey which was amazing, walked down to Abbey Road, went on the London Eye, and went on a Jack the Ripper tour. This was all in one day! 

Thursday was our first day trip away from London. We went to Bath, Stonehenge, and Salisbury Cathedral. Bath was a REALLY awesome city! I'd love to go back there sometime. The architecture is beautiful, and the Roman baths are just awesome. It really took me back to what it must have been like when the Romans occupied that area. 

Stonehenge was our second stop. I have to say that this is definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me! It's breathtaking and so mysterious. I think it's something everyone should try and see at least once in their lifetime! It's just another example of something that pictures can't do justice to. 

Our final stop was to Salisbury Cathedral. It was so beautiful! I particularly loved this fountain:

What made this fountain so awesome for me was the writing on all 4 sides:

"I have called you by name you are mine"

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you."

"And through the rivers they shall not overwhelm you."

"Do not fear for I have redeemed you."

Friday was another day trip out of London - this time to Warwick Castle, Stratford upon Avon, and Oxford, with a scenic drive through the Cotswolds. Warwick Castle was probably the most awesome castle I've seen yet; and I've seen a lot of cool castles! It was just beautiful, and the peacocks scattered throughout the castle made it even better. It was awesome! The peacock garden was my favorite part of the castle. It was gorgeous!

The peacock garden

Stratford upon Avon was a really cool city too, but really there wasn't much to see there besides Shakespeare's house. After we finished walking around through the house, we just kind of wandered aimlessly through the city looking for something to eat. There are plenty of good places for that too, even though we ended up choosing Subway. ;) 

Shakespeare's birthplace

After a scenic drive through the Cotswolds, we ended up in Oxford. We toured Christ Church College - including the famous dining hall - and wandered around the town for a while. Oxford is another really awesome city that I'd love to go back to sometime. 

Saturday, we woke up early (again) and got to the Tower of London before 9am, when it opened. We were literally the first ones there! It was great having the whole place practically to ourselves, if only for a short time. It was awesome getting to see the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, two things I have always wanted to see in London. There is such fascinating history there, and it's so exciting to actually be there learning all about it firsthand. We ate lunch at a cool little pub where I had fish & chips and tried the British dessert spotted dick for the first time. It was so good! We also went to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre before heading back to the hostel to get ready for MAMMA MIA live on the West End! I'm pretty sure this was definitely a big highlight for me. I was in disbelief that I was seeing Mamma Mia in London - something I have dreamed of doing! It didn't disappoint either, that's for sure! It was even better than I expected. There is just so much incredible talent! It's one musical that will make you forget any worry in the world and take you to a whole new place. To say it was amazing is an understatement! 

Sunday was our final day in London. We kicked it off at the famous Camden Market, which was awesome! They had great clothes (and accessories!) for pretty good prices. I probably could have spent a lot of time and money in there, so it's a good thing we got out when we did. ;) We then met up with Alli's friend and got to see a more residential area of London. It was a really nice change! We ended our day at Oxford Street - another place I could have spent a LOT of time and money at! The shopping is phenomenal there! Overall, Sunday was a much more relaxed day than the previous days had been, and I was thankful for it. After that whirlwind tour of London, we needed it! There's a lot more I could write about everything I saw and experienced in London over the past 5 days, but I'd be here all night. Let's just say it was absolutely incredible, and I'm so happy I got to take some time out and experience all that I did. Next up is Ireland! Bring it on! :)

So, a month later...

First of all, I can't believe I've been in England for a whole month now. At times it feels like I've been here forever, and other times it feels like I just got here. One thing is for sure, I am definitely becoming accustomed to British life. The "weird" and unusual things that stuck out to me when I first got here are becoming much more normal now, and just a part of daily life. I'm definitely used to walking 15-20 minutes to class every day, and that same amount of time to get wherever I need to go in the city centre. It's great though, I really enjoy my nice walks to class every morning. It relaxes me. :) It's already getting to the point that it'll actually be weird going back to the US. Thankfully, I don't have to think about that for another 2 months! I love it here too much. :)

Classes are going great! It's awesome having 2 psychology classes and 2 sociology classes. They're all really interesting. It's true what they say about study abroad though, you learn a lot more outside of the classroom than you do inside. The basic academics are the same as they are back home, but the experiences outside of the classroom are ones I could never experience back home. I already talked a lot about my British Culture class and how incredible the seminars are, but seriously... they just get better and better! Our professor always makes sure to include questions that allow all of us to share how certain issues are looked at in our own countries and how that differs from Britain. I'm not only learning a lot about Britain, but about countries all around the world and especially about the U.S. I now have a much better understanding of how the United States is viewed around the world, and it is extremely interesting. Not to mention beneficial! It's great to learn to appreciate your own culture and where you come from.

Since I've been here, our ISA group has had excursions or cultural activities nearly every weekend. It's awesome to get a break from classes and go explore the area. On Saturday, we went to Bamburgh and the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. I think this was my favorite excursion so far. It was so beautiful! I stood in awe most of the time, and took tons of pictures that weren't able to do it justice. It's definitely one of those places you just need to see for yourself! Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the trip:

The island

The priory

My fish & chips dinner! They definitely gave you your money's worth.

Mead, a type of Lindisfarne honey wine. It was really good!

I thought this was awesome. It marks the beginning of the Christmas story in the book of Matthew, and it was made for those who were illiterate. 

Bamburgh Castle

View from Bamburgh

The beautiful sea!

Stunning! But like I said, pictures don't even do it justice. I'm already looking forward to the day I come back over here and explore even more of the country and whatever I don't get to see this time around. It's such an amazing place! What I'd really love is to bring my family over here and show them all that I have seen and been able to experience. Maybe someday! :)

Comparing Cultures

Well today was my first day of classes, and it went amazingly well. Better than expected! I'm taking one class that's particularly fascinating called British Culture. As I expected, it's my favorite class so far (I still have 2 more to take tomorrow). It's a class strictly for international students that basically teaches us a broad overview of, as you probably can guess, British culture. There are two parts to the class: lecture and seminar. During lecture time today, we didn't really learn anything - just got assigned our seminar times. I was assigned to the seminar at 2pm, and was dreading it all day long. Turns out, British Culture seminars are probably going to be my favorite part of the entire semester, not to mention the most educational. The entire class is divided into 4 different seminar groups, so my group consists of about 12 students. There's me of course, representing from the United States, then there is 1 from France, 2 from Spain, 3 from Japan, 1 from Germany, and the rest are from China. And, of course, our seminar leader/professor is British. My little group all got along really well right away. I feel like I made instant friends with them even before seminar got started. Everyone was so eager to learn about each other's culture right from the start, which made for some awesome discussion.

Once seminar got started, we were each given a sheet of paper and were told to make a list of stereotypes each of our cultures had about the UK, British culture, British people, etc. Once we made our lists, we all shared what we had, and they were all basically the same. "British people are reserved." "British humor is dry." "It's always rainy." Then we had to make a list of things that we noticed about British culture once we actually got here. Again, there were a lot of similarities, but then we got to discuss how British culture is different from our own cultures. I wish I could explain how awesome it was to share interesting things about U.S. culture and see everyone else be so intrigued by what I had to say. We also had to name at least one distinctive thing about our culture, so I was explaining how basically everyone in the United States has ancestors who immigrated there from some other country. The girl from Germany was extremely excited by the fact that a lot of our ancestors are German. :) My professor was really surprised by that too. I guess it's never even crossed my mind that people from other parts of the world don't know that about the United States. It was a great feeling to be able to openly share things about my culture and then learn more about theirs. It's amazing how much open discussion like that makes you appreciate your own culture that much more while learning to appreciate others at the same time. There are actually stereotypes I had before today that I don't have anymore, and that's after just one class. I'm definitely looking forward to learning so much more and coming home with a much more open mind! Just from today, I learned that when meeting people, always go in with an open mind and never let stereotypes interfere with your thoughts about them. Get to know someone before judging/assuming anything! That's something I hope to keep with me for the rest of my life. 

One Week In

So, I've been in Newcastle just over a week now, and I'm loving this city more and more. (By the way, I have quite a bit to say, so bear with me!) :) I love getting out and walking around the main areas of the city centre without having to worry about being run down by traffic (it's all pedestrian zones). In fact, I love that I am within walking distance of the city centre! It makes getting everything I need really simple. Of course, what is considered to be "within walking distance" here is far different from that of the U.S. - back home, if something was a 15 - 20 minute walk away most people would hop in their cars. That being said, I've noticed that U.S. cities tend to not be quite as pedestrian friendly and more spread out, so it's understandable. I've already become used to walking everywhere, and it's such a nice change of pace. I'm also enjoying the much cooler weather! 50's and 60's feel so much better to me than 90's and 100's that I've become used to in Texas. I've also noticed that British words are very easy for me to pick up. Haha! I'm not sure that I'll necessarily come back with an accent, but I'm already using "lift" instead of "elevator" and some other, more "British-sounding" words.

I also got to experience my first proper afternoon tea this last week. It was lovely! We had English breakfast tea with a bit of cream, a large variety of appetizer-sized sandwiches (some being tuna & mayo, prawn & mayo, ham, cheese, and turkey... just to name a few), and wonderful desserts. There was quite the variety of cookies and scones! The British generally have afternoon tea every day between 2 and 5pm, and also have what they call "elevenses" at around 11am which is basically afternoon tea, but in the morning. I could definitely get used to that! ;) 

Speaking of food, I'm just starting to get accustomed to LOTS of sandwiches and pastries. There isn't very much meat here, which is something I'm not used to at all. I basically have something sandwich or pastry-like for every meal. It's really good, just way different. And a good way to open me up to trying new foods! :) Alli - a girl in my ISA group - and I have become pretty good at finding the best places for sweets in Newcastle too. There are two places in particular that are very worthy of noting here: Shakeaholic is an amazing shake place. You can get pretty much any kind of shake here, from Starburst and tic tac shakes to Nutella, poptart, and peanut butter shakes. They've got it all! The second place is called Cake. It's a cute little cupcake place that has all different flavors. I had the peanut butter cup one with a cup of hot chocolate - it was amazing!

I've also been to the coast (which was awesome!) and have taken a walk around the Ouseburn Valley, which was really pretty. I've seen and toured beautiful castles and cathedrals, which was able to take me back into a whole new time period. I get to walk by this every day when I walk from campus to the city centre and it still just about takes my breath away:

As far as school goes, I've been having quite a few problems getting my modules (classes) sorted out. Since British students focus on only one subject from the time they're about 16, they don't have much trouble with their classes conflicting time-wise since they're all in the same department. Since I (and other study abroad students) am taking subjects from a variety of different departments, it can be difficult getting classes that aren't scheduled at the same time. This, unfortunately, has been my problem. I've been online looking at timetables for different classes for the past few days, hoping that I'd find some that wouldn't conflict with each other and that were still relatively interesting and relevant to me. Finally, last night, I think I got it all figured out. If everything goes according to planned, I will be taking British Culture, Cognitive Psychology, Intro to Developmental Psychology, and a sociology class called Comparing Cultures. I absolutely LOVE how these classes are sounding, so I pray that it all works out! I met with my tutor, Laura, today, and she said that it all looked good to her, so we'll see! For now I'm going to register them and go with the flow. Classes start Monday (October 3rd), so I guess I'll find out then if there's a mix up! 

Culture Shock

Okay, so I decided to post this separately from my last entry, because it just didn't feel right putting it together. Culture shock. Yes, I am completely in love with England (particularly Newcastle) and feel so blessed to be here, but culture shock has definitely hit me hard. I guess I had this idea in my head that British life and culture really wasn't going to be that different from that of the United States. Wrong. VERY wrong. I mean, I was told many times not to think that just because English is spoken here that the cultures would be the same, and I thought I understood that, but I don't think it's really possible to fully understand it until you've lived it. And I think that because I was focusing too much on the big things I was going to experience, I missed stopping to even think about the little aspects of daily life in England that would be so different. For example, ketchup. Is ketchup available in England? Definitely. Does it taste the same? Absolutely not! It has a sweeter, more bitter taste.This is true with a lot of foods and drinks over here. Another example is Fanta. I love orange fanta and was super excited when I saw it in the store. It was in a different bottle, but I figured it would taste the same. Turns out that orange fanta over here is just sparkling orange juice, not soda. It was good, don't get me wrong, but not what I was expecting. Snickers candy bars taste different too. I still can't pinpoint what it is that's different, but there's definitely something. When going out to eat in the United States, you're used to ordering, eating, getting the bill, and leaving. Here, after ordering, you may wait a while for your food while everyone else at your table has theirs, and the bill may not come until long after you've finished eating. Waiters don't depend on their tips for income, so they're not in as big of a rush (and don't tend to care as much about good customer service) as waiters in the U.S. are. Oh, and today when I went out to buy a hair dryer and straightener, the lady at the counter asked me if I would like to buy a bigger bag for 6 pounds. I said no, thinking she meant some specialty bag or something. Turns out that if you need a bigger plastic bag than the standard size (which would fit about 5 small items in it), it's going to cost you 6 pounds. I would have never thought of that, since in the U.S. you automatically get your things in a big plastic bag if you need one. The other day, I forgot for a moment that in the UK chips are called crisps and french fries are chips. So, I ordered some chips with my sandwich, and they brought out fries. Fried chicken in England should not be called fried chicken at all - I'm not sure what it is, but it doesn't even taste like chicken. Corn is a popular pizza topping - and popular in just about anything for that matter (I had a chicken salad sandwich with bacon and corn the other day). Not that any of this is bad at all - in fact, I love that restaurants aren't rushed like they are in the States, and the English have some incredible food that we don't have in the U.S. so it's a trade off. It's not that what I'm experiencing is necessarily negative, it's just so different and will take some time to get used to. I know a lot of these things seem to be really petty and insignificant, but believe me, it adds up to some crazy culture shock that can be very overwhelming at times. For now, I am consciously deciding to remember that U.S. culture is no better than British culture and that these experiences are the ones that will build character and help me to grow. This also proves that I could never have prepared myself enough for my time abroad - some of these things will just require living it and learning from it. Now I already understand so much more how an experience living abroad can change a person significantly. In fact, I'm not sure how it couldn't. It's definitely a growing experience, and one that I know I will look back on as being a defining time in my life. And it's just amazing to me how the "petty" little things I never would have even began to think of before leaving are the things that are the most difficult to deal with and probably the ones that will change me the most.

The English Life... So Far.

So, after a flight cancellation followed by a 7 hour layover and unexpected delay, I finally made it to England! I can't even believe the things I have already experienced in just 2 days. It's a whole different world over here, and it hasn't taken me long to figure that out. The first lesson I learned is that people walk EVERYWHERE, and I'd have to get used to it fast. After landing in London, I had to make my way from the airport to the hotel on my own. After a little help from an airport staffer, I caught the tube (London Underground) to King's Cross station, which was apparently near my hotel. Although I knew it wasn't far from the station, I figured I'd take a taxi from the station to my hotel so that 1) I didn't get lost in the middle of London, and 2) so I didn't have to drag all of my heavy luggage around London. When I went to get into a taxi, I told them where I wanted to go. Turns out that the hotel was "too close," so I had to walk. After looking at map after map and only getting somewhat lost once, I made it to the hotel all on my own. Proud moment! ;) I figured that it was about a 10-15 minute walk from King's Cross. There's no such thing as taking a 5-minute taxi ride just because your luggage is heavy. It's a good thing I like walking, because I've been doing it non-stop. ;) And I must say, it's not a hard walk when there's something beautiful everywhere you look.
Being able to see the sights that you've only seen in postcards and pictures and have dreamed of seeing your whole life is completely surreal. Walking around London yesterday was truly indescribable and I feel so blessed to have been able to see the things I did!
As amazing as it was though, I can honestly say I am pretty glad I didn't choose to spend my entire semester there. It would have been extremely overwhelming for this small town girl! Newcastle, on the other hand, is absolutely perfect. At about 277,000 there is plenty to see and do, but it is not overwhelming. I walked to the city center twice today and never felt uncomfortable, unsafe, or overwhelmed. I can definitely see myself living here for 3 months and loving every second. It is a beautiful city! Today we had our orientation and got to walk around campus. It is HUGE! I'm definitely not used to such a large, spread out campus. It's beautiful though, and at least I'll have plenty of scenery to look at while walking to classes every day. I also finished my registration, which means I can finalize my classes within the next week! Excited! :)
So, I'm definitely loving it here! Meeting great people and experiencing amazing things that I may only get to do once in my lifetime. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers!