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! :)