It is crazy how quickly one week goes by! One day I’m bored in my room then the next thing I know the weekend is over and other week has begun!

For class we visited the Banqueting House in Whitehall. The building was closed to the public because the Prime Minister was holding an event there later in the day, but somehow my professor got our entire class in! We mainly looked that purpose of the building and the massive Rubens paintings on the ceiling. After that I spent a good majority of the afternoon walking around the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square. It somehow happens that every time I go to a museum I stubble upon the room that I have the most interest in first. At the National Gallery, without looking at the map, I immediately found myself in the room with Van Gogh, Cezanne, and Gauguin. The next thing I knew found my way from Expressionism to Impressionism where I was surrounded by works of Monet, Manet, and Seurat. Needless to say, it was an enjoyable afternoon walking around there.

On Friday, Chelsea and I made our way over to the British Museum. The Rosetta Stone and relief sculpture from the pediment of the Parthenon were just some of the highlights. I was surprised how much of the Greek and Roman sculpture I recognized from my sophomore year art history class. After the museum we made our way to Oxford Circus where we were on a search for Primark. We kept seeing other people’s shopping bags so we new we were close but it took much longer than we anticipated. Since the store has such discounted prices and it was late Friday afternoon it was jam packed! Thus, we decided we would need to go back during the week when more people are either at work or school.

Saturday was our day trip to Stonehenge and Salisbury. Thankfully the sun was out all day, but Stonehenge was freezing because it is pretty much in the middle of an empty, flat field. We walked around taking the typical tourist pictures and then we were back on the bus to warm up! An hour was the perfect amount of time to spend at Stonehenge; you see the rocks, you appreciate and question the meaning, and you move on… to Salisbury! After briefly being guided around the center of the city we arrived at the Cathedral and were given the rest of the day to explore. Of course, since Chm and I both have taken art history, we had to go inside the Salisbury Cathedral with the tallest spire in England! We tried to recall all of the technical terms for the parts of cathedrals from transcept, nave, and crossing but other names just escaped our memory. After studying the stained glass we headed for the Chapter House to see the Magna Carta! Chm was really excited about this since she was in a play in grammar school about it! After our little history and art lesson we headed back to the first thing we saw of Salisbury from the bus – a pub that made hamburgers! The picture looked so great that we instantly decided we needed to eat there and have a good ol’ American hamburger. They were great and hit the spot. We spent the rest of the rest of the afternoon wandering around the city; however, we somehow managed homing back to the exact some spots and just walking in circles! Nevertheless, it was a great day with touristy things, hamburgers, and delicious pastries!

Finally, yesterday Chelsea, Chm, and I went for a strole through Hyde Park. When we got off the tube Chelsea and I discovered Primark was one block away! We did a lot of unnecessary walking the other day for nothing! Beginning at Speaker’s Corner we walked down by the water and talented roller skaters and bladers then up past the Peter Pan statue (as seen in Finding Neverland) to a different tube stop. Next, we went to Portobello Road in search of the newest Banksy piece. He is an “underground” graffiti artist. Some people really follow him closely seeing that they appreciate his messages; yet, others view it as just graffiti art on the side of a building. I just wanted to check it out for myself since the building is selling that one wall for over a million pounds! Plexi glass is protecting it, but junk and rubbish are already strewn across the small parking lot area in front of it. It was still good to see one in person after I’ve heard so much about him.

So far, March is looking to be the busiest month of all! From my beginning of the month visitors to my birthday to visiting friends in Galway for St. Patrick’s weekend to traveling to Rome for Easter, I’m sure to be constantly doing something!

This past weekend I traveled to Worcester in Central England for my homestay. The area reminded me a lot of Galway because of the shopping area and quaintness. Even though it may have seemed small it is a city because it is home to a cathedral. Actually, the Worcester Cathedral is pictured on the 20 pound note. We spent a lot of time walking around inside after our walking tour on Saturday just to escape the rain. Worcester has received so much rain lately that the river has overflown onto the fields and walkways and is just feet away from hitting the roads. Sometimes they even make international news with the amount of flooding they have.

My homestay family was very nice. I stayed with a mother, Maria, her son twenty two year old son, Sasha or affectionately called Pio, and her seventeen year old daughter, Sarah. We spent a lot of time around the house just relaxing and watching television. Because the price of a tv license is so high, my dorm that houses over 500 students only has one tv and rumor (on this computer in the library it just told me I had spelt it wrong because I hadn't added the 'u'… so odd!) has that it is broken. It was nice seeing the news even if it was all American politics. We were watching Sense and Sensibility but it is shown in installments and sadly only the first two out of three were on, so I missed the last hour of it. It was nice talking to the kids since they were around the same age. I could ask silly questions about British culture and then share the American way. They said “God bless you” when I sneezed. Apparently, it is a London thing since they are so reserved and keep to themselves. I guess they just don’t see it necessary to acknowledge the person next to them just sneezed.

A highlight of the weekend was the amount of food we were fed. Our plates were constantly being added too and they always made sure we weren't hungry or thirsty.
For our main meal we had cauliflower with a cheese sauce, vegetables (including parsnips which aren’t bad and brussel sprouts which I didn't try), chicken prepared in herbs and rosemary, bread, salad, and potatoes. Later on, we had Christmas pudding which is a dessert made of dried fruit and raisins. Breakfast was always great because we had toast and blueberry muffins—my favorite! As we were leaving she gave us food for the road including delicious cinnamon pastries!

Before arriving, the family was told that I was Catholic as well as the other girl that was placed in the same family. They were thrilled with this. Although they host students very often they are usually of other faiths. Sometimes the conversation, because of this similarity, was too intense for me. The mother was very opinionated and even said some, what I consider, rude things about 9/11. I tried to state my own opinion and thoughts without being rude in return but it was difficult nevertheless. The other student I was paired with didn't respond much and on other topics she did speak about I held a different opinion. So, in a way that was difficult because I didn't want the family to believe that all Americans believed a certain thing when in reality it was very far from the truth.

On Sunday morning we all attended Mass in a nearby abbey. All of the nuns were there and we had to sit off to the side—so different from Masses I've typically gone to at home. Afterwards we were invited to have tea and coffee with one nun. It was my first English tea (and very good too!) The conversation ranged from a variety of topics comparing education and religion in the UK and US, but somehow the popularity of facebook and the movie Borat were brought up! Apparently the lead character has a comedy show here where he plays a lot of different characters including the one from the movie. The nun said she thought she would enjoy that movie, I’m not so sure about that… After tea we went for a short drive. We went to get spring water that the family uses all week. Up in the Malvern Hills you can bottle the water; apparently even the Queen drinks it. Driving up to the top of the hills we could see the countryside. It was beautiful and very Irish looking. We quickly headed home to eat before rushing to catch the coach back to London. Of course the tube was being worked on at our stop so we had to catch a bus and walk a bit because we got off the wrong stop. However, we made it back to Harrow.

Today I headed grocery shopping again to get everything I couldn’t get before the weekend because it would go bad. The “use by” dates are so close to the purchasing date that it is difficult to shop for a longer time period. Tonight I made tacos! It looks like I have some other good meals lined up for this week too! I’ll have my weekly dinner with Chm and we’ll do more planning of flights and hostels and day trips. We signed up for a Stonehenge and Salisbury day trip on Saturday. Then Sunday we plan to check out the new Banksy piece on the wall of a building on Portobello Road.

Another week, more exploring. I’ve managed to stumble across a wide variety of the city’s offerings—a 35pence bagel shop open 24 hours, a Marks and Spencers (although it was mainly food), and a post office (although the queue was ridiculously long for me to stand in it). I visited another market, this time Camden Lock, in search of little trinkets that aren’t quite so mainstream. Unlike the Borough Market with all sorts of food imaginable, Camden caters to people with interests in clothing, jewelry, art, antiques and little things. There are good finds if you just rummage and search. So far it’s been a good time, wandering the cramped alleys and looking for that something that catches your eye and causes you to stop.

On Saturday evening I went to Mass at St. Charles Borromeo, a church close to one of Westminster’s campuses. I randomly chose this one because it was off a main street that I recognized and knew my way to. After returning to Harrow I hung around and watched a movie with a friend. I love my sleep too much to be constantly running around like a crazy person.

This week was the start of classes for most British universities. Due to the “strict requirements” for the Media and Design school some of my portfolio “wasn’t accepted” and I can’t take all of the classes I originally put in for. Instead I’m taking a couple classes that count as credit toward my Communications minor. Despite that setback and annoyance I somehow lucked out with a sweet schedule! I don’t have class Monday or Friday so that allows for some jam packed traveling weekends. On Tuesday I have Multiculturalism and the Media (10am-1pm) and Space/Place: Text/Context (2pm-5pm). The first seems interesting and we will end up talking a lot about the US after 9/11 and different British issues. The second was cancelled however the professor, or lecturer as they call them, didn’t tell us?! So I explored the library which is nothing like the cozy Stonehill library decorated with yellows, greens, and purples, colors conducive to learning and remembering. The Harrow library is strictly tables, uncomfortable chairs and books. That will take some getting used to considering I will be spending time there reading. At Stonehill I mainly work from my bed. UK students normally just use the library books rather than purchasing them (so unlike the American way of spending hundreds of dollars on books each semester!) My Wednesday class is already my favorite. Although I have to get up super early in order to catch the tube during rush hour to get to the Regent Street campus, my class consists of learning about London architecture and art. Entitled Art and Society, the class meets for an hour lecture and then we go out into the city to see what we are learning about first hand. Today we walked past the BBC to All Souls Church and then down the street to All Saints. Today I finally remembered to make a wish every time I go into a new church. Up until now I kept forgetting. It is a much more relaxed art history course that I’m used to which will be a pleasant change. No slide lists and intense memorization this semester! In a couple weeks we are scheduled to visit St. Paul’s and climb to the top. Some other Arcadia girls (from my first orientation are in that class) and one of them climbed it with me before! Maybe my calves won’t be quite as sore this time around! Finally, tomorrow I have Understand Public Relations from 10am-1pm. Then I can say I survived my first week of classes, even though one was not held..

Tomorrow after class, I’m headed to the pound store or the two dollar store, relating it to home, and Sainsbury’s to buy some food for dinner. Then I’m off to Sara’s flat to cook a real meal! (oh, her real last name is Chmielewski but we call her Chm for short/because there is another Sara). Then Friday I head to Worcester for the weekend for my homestay. I’m staying with a mother and her son and daughter. They are both right around my age so it should be a good time.

My first week in London has flown by! Slowly but surely I’m memorizing the tube stops and different lines, I’m remembering more names in a short time span than imaginable, and I’m doing more walking in one day than I would do in an entire week at Stonehill!

After arriving last Wednesday morning, we were brought to our Arcadia orientation at the Thistle Hotel which was just down the street from the Euston tube stop. There, students studying across the UK met for a preliminary orientation to the general culture and ways before departing for our individual schools. Surprisingly, a lot of Stonehill students were there, but most I had never hung out with before. It was nice to have familiar faces but new personalities. During orientation we had the usual meetings, advice, and safety precautions necessary for our stay in the UK. Additionally, we had tons of free time to start exploring the city. I joined a group of University of Westminster girls and a couple guys going to SOAS and York when they went out exploring the city but sadly most of them are on the main campus of Westminster. (I’ll talk about that later). Aside from meetings and complimentary breakfast (!), we attended the show Spamalot in the West End, rode the London Eye, and visited the Borough Market. A couple of us even climbed all 450 some odd steps of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Oh man, my legs were tense for days after that in addition to all the miles I’ve been walking! Both the Eye and St. Paul’s were a great way to get a bird’s eye view of the city – a city that I will be spending five and a half months in. That is still so surreal. Then we meet up with others and continued exploring and walked past the Globe Theatre, the Tate, London Bridge, and Tower Bridge. It is ridiculous how I was feet away from buildings that I have studied and seen so many photographs of. Just incredible.

Saturday we all moved into our university housing. I’m living up at the Harrow Campus, a suburban area that is about a 20-30 minute tube ride away from central London. We each have single rooms with our own bathrooms, but so far the other residents of my suite/flat don’t seem to friendly and welcoming. That was rough the first couple days. Most of the friends I met live in the central London halls. So there I was, out in Harrow, in a room by myself, with loud yet distancing neighbors. The first couple days were rough. I knew a few people in the area but I didn’t really see them as people I wanted to constantly hang out with. I tried to get out as much as possible and explore the town which always kept my mind busy. Monday we had the University of Westminster orientation and a Stonehill mixer-esqe party sponsored by the University at night. There I was able to meet some other Harrow students who are great! I’m so happy about that. Since classes don’t start until next Monday, we’ve had the week to get used to the area and explore. With them I’ve gone grocery shopping, into the city, and have just hung around. Every day is getting better!

Yesterday I met up with Sara Chm, a Stonehill friend who is doing an internship in London. When she went through immigration the officers gave her the wrong stamp on her passport; thus, she had to leave the country in order to get another one. So she wouldn’t have to go on her adventure alone, I spent a day traveling with her yesterday. We traveled by means of the tube, train, bus, and ferry in addition to walking. I was great to spend time and share endless stories with a friend from home. On the train ride to Dover, a port in Southeast England, we were able to see some of the country side. Then we crossed the Channel by means of a ferry to the French town of Calais all to get a stamp for her passport! Granted I didn’t really see anything, now I can say I’ve been to France!

Each day is filled with something new, just the way it should be. After my meeting today I visited the Tate Modern. First of all it was huge! I couldn’t see everything at once, a lot of which I had studied this past semester in my Art Since 1945 class. It’s a good thing that I can easily go back because all of the museums are free!

For now, I’ll end with a small England tidbit. No one says “God bless you” when you sneeze. I tend to sneeze a lot so it is kind of odd. It’s just one of many London quirks.

A new year, a new country. What a great way to begin my semester abroad!

I'm going to try to update this blog throughout the semester as I go on my adventures, so enjoy!

For now, I'm off to London!