Great I left my adapter at home! Who travels to England without an adapter?! That's what I get for packing the night before and not making a checklist. If it wasn't for a recently made friend I still wouldn't be able to start this blog or check my email or browse the internet in general. Thank you friend for helping me out.
Well, I finally made it to England! I felt like this day would never come. In fact I felt as if my going to England was just a wish or something. That last month or so at home while all of my friends were at college was kind of brutal. No friends were in town so I spent my days rewatching episodes of Doctor Who and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Don't get me wrong, I love to watch TV, but when all of your friends are going to classes and hanging out and going to parties you feel like something is missing. I was thinking that this study abroad thing was a mistake. At least it was a mistake to study abroad for the full year because I am missing out on so much back at Hendrix. Basically all my friends that didn't graduate last year will graduate this year. Also visiting school a couple of weeks before I left didnt help things. I got to campus and was just like this is where I should be. It was weird just visiting because Hendrix feels like home. This was compounded by general junior year stress like graduation requirments, major requirements, career possibilities, and plans for life outside of college. I just got very overwhelmed.
Now that I at Bradford I feel much better. I can focus on all the amazing stuff I will get to do this year instead of what I am missing out on back home. The decision has been made and I am already in England so there is no turning back now. I might as well enjoy every possible minute of it because when else will I be able to live in a foreign country for 9 months?! Also there were no travel hiccups, just things forgotten at home. Everything went fairly smoothly. The only bumpy part was saying goodbye to Ally.
Saying goodbye to my family was fairly easy, but my bestest friend, Ally, drove up from her school to take me to the airport and it was not easy to leave her. She also made me this super amazing package for me with a handmade bag, a knitted hat, a princess wand, an American flag, Starburst, a book of lies and excuses, a letter, a letter for my 21st birthday, a letter for when I am feeling down and upset, and a superb photobook of our crazy adventures together. Seriously everyone should be jealous of my best friend because there are none better. Last semester she was studying in Italy and it was hard enough to be separated then. We don't go to school together, we don't even go to school in the same state, but there is something different about being in different countries. You can feel the increase in the space between you. However, one day we will be traveling together and having awesome adventures!
So far my time at Bradford has been fairly busy. We don't start classes till next week so the day are just filled with orientation meetings and tours. The spare time has allowed me to explore the city a bit. The first day I arrived here at about 9 or 10 am and the two girls I met in Amsterdam (Sarah + Michelle), who are also studying abroad here through ISEP, went straight to bed. I, however, went out and walked around. It was nice just randomly going left and right down different streets with no destination. It was also kind of nice doing it on my own. I felt completely safe and it was nice outside. It was a shock from the weather at home, seeing as how it is like 80/90 degrees in Alabama and only about 60 degrees here. Still it was enjoyable...actually it was more enjoyable. I just can't walk outside for long when it is like 90 degrees and the humidity is so high I feel like I m drowning in the air. I made it to the City Park and chilled there for a bit 'cause my feet were starting to get sore. Turns out a World Curry Festival is going on down there this weekend and its FREE so I am definitely going to have to go. I am not a huge curry fan, but who could pass that up?
Today was a bit busier so I didn't get to do any more exploring. I was planning on getting up early so I could go on a city and campus tour, but that didn't happen. I was just way too exhausted. I had taken a sleeping aid last night, but I still didn't sleep very well because I didn't have a pillow. In fact, I still don't so tonight might not go well either. Anyway I decided more sleep was of higher priority so I didn't get up until I needed to get ready for the Welcome from the Student Union meeting at 12. I meet a girl from Estonia there, but I can't for the life of me remember her name and she told it to me twice. I think it ends in a "T", but I may never find out. There are over 2,000 international students and that is more than all of Hendrix. In response to my failure I tried much harder to remember the names of the next people I met 'cause straight from that meeting I went to the Welcome Meeting which was from 1:30-5. Yes 1:30-5! Sure there was a tea break, but that was only 20 minutes. That is just too long to confine me to a chair unless a movie or television show is on. Not cool, Bradford. Not cool. However, I did meet two other people from the US: Mike and Danielle. I ended up having lunch with Danielle afterwards and just chatting with her for a bit. I think I have made execellent progress towards making friends, especially scince that is something I am always worried about. Now I just need to make friends with people who are not just studying abroad. The problem is that those are the only people I have been thrown in the mix with. I might have to wait until class starts to find others outside that category. Hopefully that goes well, but they won't be in the same boat as me with having to make all new friends. I will try my hardest to be outgoing. I am more outgoing than I used to be just last year, but I still don't think of it as one of my strong suits.
You know I think I should have given a bit more introduction to this blog. I know there is like an About Me section, but I didn't want it to be too long. I guess I'll just give you little tidbits about myself when they seems releveant. For starters, I am introvert working on enhancing her extrovert qualities. I don't need a lot of friends, but I like to know a lot of people that are around me when I am at parties because it makes me feel more comfortable. The good friends I do have are AWESOME! I started going to a fair number of parties second semester of last year, but I prefer small ones in the apartments' of people I know. I am indecisive, but I am also working on that. I sometimes feel that I fail at "real world" skills (hopefully this experience will improve my confidence in this area). I am an Anthropology major, but I am seriously considering switching to Sociology because there are no cultural anthropology classes here. I can be quite sarcastic, almost to the point of bitchyness, but I tone it down considerably when around new people. And last, but not least, I am exhausted because it has been a busy day and it is already after 12 here so I am going to bed...without a pillow.
Well, I finally made it to England! I felt like this day would never come. In fact I felt as if my going to England was just a wish or something. That last month or so at home while all of my friends were at college was kind of brutal. No friends were in town so I spent my days rewatching episodes of Doctor Who and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Don't get me wrong, I love to watch TV, but when all of your friends are going to classes and hanging out and going to parties you feel like something is missing. I was thinking that this study abroad thing was a mistake. At least it was a mistake to study abroad for the full year because I am missing out on so much back at Hendrix. Basically all my friends that didn't graduate last year will graduate this year. Also visiting school a couple of weeks before I left didnt help things. I got to campus and was just like this is where I should be. It was weird just visiting because Hendrix feels like home. This was compounded by general junior year stress like graduation requirments, major requirements, career possibilities, and plans for life outside of college. I just got very overwhelmed.
Now that I at Bradford I feel much better. I can focus on all the amazing stuff I will get to do this year instead of what I am missing out on back home. The decision has been made and I am already in England so there is no turning back now. I might as well enjoy every possible minute of it because when else will I be able to live in a foreign country for 9 months?! Also there were no travel hiccups, just things forgotten at home. Everything went fairly smoothly. The only bumpy part was saying goodbye to Ally.
Saying goodbye to my family was fairly easy, but my bestest friend, Ally, drove up from her school to take me to the airport and it was not easy to leave her. She also made me this super amazing package for me with a handmade bag, a knitted hat, a princess wand, an American flag, Starburst, a book of lies and excuses, a letter, a letter for my 21st birthday, a letter for when I am feeling down and upset, and a superb photobook of our crazy adventures together. Seriously everyone should be jealous of my best friend because there are none better. Last semester she was studying in Italy and it was hard enough to be separated then. We don't go to school together, we don't even go to school in the same state, but there is something different about being in different countries. You can feel the increase in the space between you. However, one day we will be traveling together and having awesome adventures!
So far my time at Bradford has been fairly busy. We don't start classes till next week so the day are just filled with orientation meetings and tours. The spare time has allowed me to explore the city a bit. The first day I arrived here at about 9 or 10 am and the two girls I met in Amsterdam (Sarah + Michelle), who are also studying abroad here through ISEP, went straight to bed. I, however, went out and walked around. It was nice just randomly going left and right down different streets with no destination. It was also kind of nice doing it on my own. I felt completely safe and it was nice outside. It was a shock from the weather at home, seeing as how it is like 80/90 degrees in Alabama and only about 60 degrees here. Still it was enjoyable...actually it was more enjoyable. I just can't walk outside for long when it is like 90 degrees and the humidity is so high I feel like I m drowning in the air. I made it to the City Park and chilled there for a bit 'cause my feet were starting to get sore. Turns out a World Curry Festival is going on down there this weekend and its FREE so I am definitely going to have to go. I am not a huge curry fan, but who could pass that up?
Today was a bit busier so I didn't get to do any more exploring. I was planning on getting up early so I could go on a city and campus tour, but that didn't happen. I was just way too exhausted. I had taken a sleeping aid last night, but I still didn't sleep very well because I didn't have a pillow. In fact, I still don't so tonight might not go well either. Anyway I decided more sleep was of higher priority so I didn't get up until I needed to get ready for the Welcome from the Student Union meeting at 12. I meet a girl from Estonia there, but I can't for the life of me remember her name and she told it to me twice. I think it ends in a "T", but I may never find out. There are over 2,000 international students and that is more than all of Hendrix. In response to my failure I tried much harder to remember the names of the next people I met 'cause straight from that meeting I went to the Welcome Meeting which was from 1:30-5. Yes 1:30-5! Sure there was a tea break, but that was only 20 minutes. That is just too long to confine me to a chair unless a movie or television show is on. Not cool, Bradford. Not cool. However, I did meet two other people from the US: Mike and Danielle. I ended up having lunch with Danielle afterwards and just chatting with her for a bit. I think I have made execellent progress towards making friends, especially scince that is something I am always worried about. Now I just need to make friends with people who are not just studying abroad. The problem is that those are the only people I have been thrown in the mix with. I might have to wait until class starts to find others outside that category. Hopefully that goes well, but they won't be in the same boat as me with having to make all new friends. I will try my hardest to be outgoing. I am more outgoing than I used to be just last year, but I still don't think of it as one of my strong suits.
You know I think I should have given a bit more introduction to this blog. I know there is like an About Me section, but I didn't want it to be too long. I guess I'll just give you little tidbits about myself when they seems releveant. For starters, I am introvert working on enhancing her extrovert qualities. I don't need a lot of friends, but I like to know a lot of people that are around me when I am at parties because it makes me feel more comfortable. The good friends I do have are AWESOME! I started going to a fair number of parties second semester of last year, but I prefer small ones in the apartments' of people I know. I am indecisive, but I am also working on that. I sometimes feel that I fail at "real world" skills (hopefully this experience will improve my confidence in this area). I am an Anthropology major, but I am seriously considering switching to Sociology because there are no cultural anthropology classes here. I can be quite sarcastic, almost to the point of bitchyness, but I tone it down considerably when around new people. And last, but not least, I am exhausted because it has been a busy day and it is already after 12 here so I am going to bed...without a pillow.
