Adventures in England

So Sad!

2006-06-04T19:20:00.000+02:00

Well, in exactly three days I will be back in the USA! I'm excited about coming home, but SO sad about leaving England and my friends! I've lived here since September, so it's become like a second home. This won't be a long post, because Marfo, Cat, Michelle, and I are about to have dinner together. On Thursday, Michelle, Marfo, and I went to Cardiff, and had a wonderful time! The weather was perfect. It's really warmed up a lot! We walked around the city, took a tour of the castle, and then sat in the park. After dinner, we headed back to Stratford. Cardiff is less than two hours away, and we passed some unbelievably beautiful countryside. Wales is gorgeous! On Friday night, we went out and had a girl's night. Saturday, Mike and Judy took me on a tour of the Cotswolds along with Mike's brother and sister-in-law, Steve and Denise, who now live in Los Angeles. (Steve just retired from Paramount Pictures). We spent ELEVEN hours touring different villages like Bourghton-on-the-Water, Stow-in-Wold, Moreton-in-Marsh, Lower and Upper Slaughter, Broadway, Chipping Campden, etc. The weather, once again, was perfect, and we had a great time! It was really sad to say goodbye to Mike and Judy...they're like my British parents! Today, I roamed around town and sat by the river in the sunshine. Stratford is so beautiful! I took a few more pictures, just for memories, but I tried to do it discreetly, because I HATE when people mistake me for a tourist. Tomorrow afternoon, I'm going to London, and I fly out early Wednesday morning. It still doesn't feel like I'm leaving for good. Of course, I'm not leaving FOREVER...I'll definitely be back to England. But I just won't LIVE here anymore. It's very bittersweet! I'll try to make a final post when I arrive back in the U.S. I have lots of cute pictures to post! Pray for me on Wednesday when I fly home!

London with the Gang!

2006-06-01T01:40:00.000+02:00

I had a great time this weekend hanging out in London with some of my best friends - Kate McIntosh, Katie Witthauer, Ashley Parker, and Walt Cain. I hopped on the train Saturday morning to London, where I met two really cool British guys named Lucas and Steve. They're both 23, too, and taught me how to play poker! :) We played Texas Hold 'Em for two hours (NOT for money...for aluminium foil chips)...it was so fun! I had beginner's luck, so I beat them in both rounds. Once I arrived in London, I met up with Kate and Katie, and showed them the awesome sights of London. We had dinner at Wagamama's, and then met up with Walt and Ashley to walk around China Town and SoHo. On Sunday morning, the five of us went to St. Paul's Cathedral for church. St. Paul's is absolutely gorgeous...one of the most beautiful churches I've ever seen! Jeannie and I went to a service there when we lived in London one summer, so it was neat to go back. (By the way, St. Paul's is Anglican, or Church of England, not Catholic). After church, we headed to Oxford Circus to browse through some of my favorite shops in England...TopShop, Oasis, etc. Then we headed to Leicester Square for the European premiere of the movie Poseidon! I love watching stars walk down the red carpet...I totally get star-struck. :) We saw Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn, Josh Lucas (from Sweet Home Alabama), and others. So fun! After the premiere, we ate dinner at Pizza Express, and had a huge, delicious dessert at Haagen Daz. We walked around SoHo for a long time, and then called it a night. Monday morning, Kate and Katie woke up early to catch the train to Scotland, so Walt, Ash, and I got breakfast and walked to Westminster Abbey. We said our goodbyes (they were catching a flight to Italy later that evening), and I headed to Notting Hill to walk around before catching my train back to Stratford. Tuesday and Wednesday, I've been hanging out, running errands, and attempting to pack. I got my haircut one last time by Mary Ann...I'm going to miss her! She's the best haircutter! She told me I should fly her to Mississippi, and she could cut my whole family's hair! (What do you think, Mom and Dad?) Thurday, Marfo, Michelle, and I are going to Cardiff (the capital of Wales) to sight-see. It's supposed to be a really cool city. On Friday I'm going to run errands and finish packing, and also close my UK bank account. Wish me luck...there's no telling what kind of craziness will occur when I try to do that! On Saturday, Mike and Judy are picking me up, and we're going to take a day trip to the Cotswolds. On Sunday, Marfo, Michelle, Cat, and I are going to have a small dinner party, and on Monday I'm going to go to London to spend Monday and Tuesday night, saying farewell to my favorite city. On Wednesday morning, I fly home to Mississippi. My how time flies! :) Be prepared for more updates and pictures in the next few days!

Amsterdam Pictures

2006-05-27T02:49:00.000+02:00

Prinsengracht canal

Cafes in Rembrandtsplein

Shopping for flowers in the Bloemenmarket

The cute wooden shoes!

I found a pair that I liked!

The smallest car I've ever seen!

Leidensplein

The Anne Frank House - office building where she and her family hid during World War 2 until they were found by the Nazis

Amsterdam!

2006-05-26T01:28:00.000+02:00

Marfo and I are back from our fun trip to Amsterdam! We arrived in Amsterdam, Holland, on Sunday night after a VERY bumpy plane ride. The turbulance was awful...it nearly made me sick! Luckily, the flight was only an hour long, so that was nice. We checked into our hotel (a Best Western...those things are everywhere!), and went to sleep. The next morning, we headed to an area called Rembrandtsplein to have brunch. The main modes of transportation in Amsterdam are 1) bicycles 2) trams. The trams are really nice, and pretty fast. I couldn't get over how many people ride bicycles...I've never seen anything like it! Many people drive cars, but I saw almost as many bikes as I did cars. It was kind of funny to see a line of cars stopped at a red light, with a long line of bikes stopped right next to them. Marfo and I almost got run over like 14 different times, because the bike paths look like pedestrian sidewalks...oops! We wanted to rent bikes one day to see the town, but the weather was too cold and rainy for that. The entire time, it was about 60-65 degrees, rainy, and windy...not your typical May weather! After brunch, we headed to the Rijksmuseum, which has all kinds of paintings by famous artists like Monet, Rembrandt, and Vermeer. Then, we went to the famous Van Gogh museum. Both museums were really neat! We went to the Bloemenmarket, where they sell beautiful flowers (mostly tulips, of course) and bulbs. We walked around the southern part of the city, and tried to find somewhere to eat supper. We randomly decided to eat at an Ethiopian restaurant, just to try something new. I don't recommend Ethiopian food. The portions were tiny, and we had to eat with our hands, because they don't use utensils! It was quite an experience, but it's nice to say that I've at least tried it. We finally wandered into the Leidensplein area, which is SO cool! Tons of restaurants from all over the world, and fun little shops. Marfo and I ate a nice, big dessert at none other than Haagen Daz! :) We walked around Leidensplein a little longer, and then called it a night. Our hotel room had a TV in it (this is not always the case in Europe), which, sadly, was very exciting for Marfo and me, since we don't have TVs in our room in England (thanks to the 280 pound TV license you have to buy). So we happily fell asleep at night to the sounds of MTV and BBC. :) On Tuesday, we woke up, returned to Rembrandtsplein for brunch, and then went to the Anne Frank House. The building where Anne Frank and her family hid during World War 2 has been preserved and turned into a museum. This was probably my favorite part of Amsterdam. It was a very surreal feeling to actually walk around in the Secret Annex where the Franks and van Pels hid for 2 years. The moveable bookcase which hid the door to the hiding place is still there, too! Anne's movie star pictures are still on the walls where she hung them...only the furniture is no longer there. Wow. Her actual diary is on display, also. The hiding place is bigger than I thought it would be, but not big enough to live comfortably with eight people for two years, without ever setting foot out of doors. After the Anne Frank house, Marfo and I walked along the canals and admired the town. Amsterdam is full of canals, and the Dutch houses look so cute lined up in a row! We took a brief stroll through the infamous Red Light District, which was very...interesting. The Red Light District is in a very pretty part of town, but it's like nothing I've ever seen! Prostitution is legal in Amsterdam, so scantily clad prostitutes stand in windows of buildings along the road, next to sex shops. Needless to say, we didn't stay in the Red Light District too long! Our next stop was the beautiful St. Nicholas cathedral, followed by more canal walks. We ate dinner at a delicious Italian restaurants, and it was probably the best meal I've ever had! Italians sure do know how to cook! Afterwards, we walked through the Leidensplein area again, and then hung out by the Amstel River, and walked back to our hotel. The sun doesn't set until about 10:30 p.m., which is really cool. On Wednesday, Marfo and I stopped by a bakery to grab some pastries, and strolled through town. Marfo wanted to go back to the Van Gogh museum to see another exhibit, so I decided to walk around town a little longer, and then meet her back at the museum. As I was walking along, I happened to pass a friend from Madison who is backpacking through Europe! What a small world! We stopped and chatted for awhile, and then I had to go back and meet Marfo. After the museum, Marfo and I went to Coster Diamonds to take a tour. Amsterdam is one of the diamond capitals of the world, so it was neat to look at the beautiful jewelry. After the tour, we caught a tram to Centraal Station, and then took a train to the Schiphol Airport, which just happens to be the fourth busiest airport in Europe! I'm not sure what the first three are, but I'm willing to bet that London Heathrow and Paris DeGaulle are topping the list! We arrived back in Birmingham to a very rainy England. Michelle was sweet enough to pick us up at the train station in Stratford and drive us home so we wouldn't have to walk in the rain. All in all, a very fun trip! EVERYONE speaks English, so luckily we didn't have to learn any Dutch. Dutch sounds very similar to German, but with fewer "hocks." A few Dutch words we learned: "ja = yes," "nee = no," "Dag = hello/goodbye," and "Dank u = thank you." I'm going to post pictures tomorrow, because I'm going to London on Saturday to meet up with Kate McIntosh, Katie Witthauer, Walt Cain, and Ashley Parker. Fun!!

Mary Brook and Jennings, taking over Europe :)

2006-05-20T02:00:00.000+02:00

Hello everyone! I'm back from London, and Mary Brook and Jennings are here in Stratford with me. I met them at the train station early Tuesday morning, and from there we were off! We checked into the hostel, and then hit the town. I showed them Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, 4 Downing Street (home of Tony Blair), Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the River Thames, Monmouth Cafe and Southwark, London Bridge, Covent Garden, SoHo, and Chinatown. We walked around Harrod's, and then rode a double-decker bus across town. That night, we ate at Wagamama's, and then walked across the Waterloo Bridge, which is absolutely gorgeous at night. On Wednesday, the girls slept in a little to recover from their jet lag, and then I took the girls to see the Tower of London. Afterwards, we went to Kensington Park and Kensington Palace, and had tea and scones at The Orangery. We walked around St. James Park and saw Buckingham Palace and St. James Palace, and then went to see...Mary Poppins the musical! It was SOOO good! The set was really neat, and at the end, Mary Poppins flew over the audience. :) We rode back to the hostel in a rickshaw, which is a little basket seat attached to the back of a bike. On Thursday, we went to Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral, then headed to Camden Town. Afterwards, we went to Notting Hill and Portobello Road (SO CUTE!), and then caught the train to Stratford. Today, I showed them the sights of the town, and we rented a row boat and went rowing on the River Avon. Tonight, we saw The Da Vinci Code with Michelle and Marfo. The movie was pretty good, but the book was much better. Tomorrow, we're going to do a little more touring, and hang out. It's been so great having two of my best friends here with me! :)

Outside Buckingham Palace

Riding in the rickshaw after Mary Poppins

Tea at The Orangery

Me, Mary Brook, and our new friend outside of St. James Palace

Fun Times in London

2006-05-16T01:37:00.000+02:00

I'm leaving EARLY tomorrow morning to meet Jennings and Mary Brook in London. I can't wait! We're spending two nights in London, and leaving late Thursday night to come to Stratford. We have tickets to see the musical Mary Poppins, which I've been wanting to see for a very long time. I'll post again on Friday with updates from our adventures! :)

Wales

2006-05-12T23:33:00.000+02:00

On Thursday morning, I took a day trip to Wales. Stratford-upon-Avon is in western England, so I'm actually pretty close to Wales. I thought about going to Cardiff, the capital, but I've heard it's really not a pretty city, even though it's big and there is a lot to do there. So I decided to visit the town of Denbigh (pronounced Den-bee), which is famous for it's beautiful scenery and castle. Denbigh is in the Valley of Clwyd, on the border of the Snowdonia mountains. To get there, I had to take a train to Birmingham, then get on a train to Crewe, then get on a train to Chester, then take a train to Rhyl, and then take a thirty minute bus ride. On the bus ride, I passed FIVE castles...pretty awesome! :) Wales, just like Ireland and Scotland, is trying to revive it's native language, Welsh. Many schools in Wales are being taught only in Welsh, and the same goes for Scotland (Galic) and Ireland (Gaelic), because these languages were nearly becoming extinct. So as soon as I got off the train in Wales, I heard people speaking Welsh, and all of the signs were in both English and Welsh. Welsh is a pretty language, and sounds a lot like Gaelic and Galic. The Welsh word for "Wales" is Cymru, but I think Wales sounds much prettier. The weather was absolutely gorgeous during my journey, but as soon as I got to Denbigh, it started raining...sad! It cleared up after an hour or so, and stayed beautiful for the rest of the day. I explored the town, which is actually pretty small. The ruins of Denbigh Castle, which was built in the 12th century, are on a hill on the edge of the town. You can climb onto the ruins and see a gorgeous view of the surrounding valley. The lush green grass in Great Britain just never ceases to amaze me...it's beautiful! After exploring the castle, I walked around the town a little more, then decided to head back to Stratford. In Birmingham, I stopped and got take-out at my favorite restaurant, Wagamama's. Yum! I also stopped in Selfridge's, a big department store in the Bullring (the huge mall in Birmingham). Selfridge's has an "American imports" section, where they sell American products that you can't normally find in England, such as Aunt Jemima products, Lucky Charms, Oreos (isn't it a shame they don't sell Oreos in England?), Jiff peanut butter, Hershey's products, and canned pumpkin. Nice, right? Except the prices are RIDICULOUS. A pack of Oreos costs $10. A box of Lucky Charms cereal costs $12. It's almost funny. Tonight, Marfo and I went to The Golden Bee for dinner, and in a little bit, Cat and I are going to watch American Idol. Mary Brook and Jennings will be here on Tuesday, and we'll be back in Stratford on Thursday night. Hooray! They are going to have a blog for their European journey - www.jenningsandmarybrook.blogspot.com. They're going on a Contiki tour across Europe, and will be visiting about 12 different countries!

A sign in both Welsh and English

The ruins of Denbigh Castle

Gorgeous scenery!

Future Trips

2006-05-10T00:55:00.000+02:00

Well, I just got back from seeing "Mission Impossible: 3" with Cat. The movie was amazing! I highly recommend seeing it. I have to admit that Tom Cruise is such a good actor, you almost forget how eccentric he is in real life! I do miss good ole American theaters. The cinema in Stratford does NOT have stadium seating, and they show about twenty minutes of commercials and previews. The commercials are so funny because EVERYTHING in Europe is smaller than it is in the States...the houses, the cars, the yards. So when you see a car commercial, they're usually advertising some tiny little French car, like Citroen, Renault, and Peugeot. And when you see a shot of a neighborhood, all of the houses are small and very close together. Europeans don't like to waste space, that's for sure! On Saturday night, Michelle and I went to the Dirty Pretty Things concert. It was pretty neat! Kate Moss's ex boyfriend, Pete Doherty, used to be the lead singer of a group called The Libertines, and they were really popular in England. Well, they kicked Pete out of the band because he has a major drug problem (like Kate Moss!), and now the group is called Dirty Pretty Things. They're kind of punk, kind of rock'n roll. The concert was in Coventry, and luckily Michelle and I stood on the balcony and had a great view, because the crowd on the floor was WILD...mosh pit, crowd surfing, throwing beer and cups...I think I watched the crowd more than I watched the band! Yesterday, Marfo and I booked our trip to Holland! We're going to spend three nights in Amsterdam...I'm so excited! And it'll be so much fun going with Marfo! We're leaving on May 21 and coming back on the 24th. Two of my very best friends, Jennings and Mary Brook, will be here in a week, and I'm so excited! The weather has been very nice lately...it got up to 70 today, which was perfect. Tomorrow night, I'm going to a Rotary meeting, which should be fun, because Gustav is speaking. On Thursday, I'm going to take a day trip to Wales, but I'm not sure which part. Stratford is actually pretty close to Wales, so hopefully it won't be a long train ride! One of my friends who is also a Rotary scholar is studying at the University of Wales in Aberystwyth, but Aberystwyth is about a four hour journey...too long for a day trip! The town with the longest name in the world is also in Wales, and I might try to go there! The name of the town is...get ready for it...Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyll-llantysiliogogogoch. I'm not even kidding. They call it Llanfair PG for short. The name is Welsh, and translated into English, it means "The church of St. Mary in the hollow of white hazel trees near the rapid whirlpool by St. Tysilio's of the red cave." I'm going to do some research tonight and tomorrow and try to figure out somewhere nice to go. Unfortunately, my computer is acting up, and it won't let me load pictures from the Peak District. I'll try again tomorrow! Have a great night!

Peak District and Cinco de Mayo

2006-05-06T13:58:00.000+02:00

On Tuesday night, Cat and I went to see an independent film called "The White Countess," starring Natasha Richardson, Ralph Fiennes, and Lynn and Vanessa Redgrave. It was pretty good! It took place in Shanghai in the 1920s. I think that was my first "independent" film to ever see. On Thursday, I went to the Peak District National Park. It was quite an adventure getting out there! I found some information about the National Park on a few website, and I really wanted to see it because the scenery is really pretty, and it's where they filmed "Pride and Prejudice." However, as hard as I tried, I couldn't find any information telling me how to get to the park. The only clues I had were that it's near the city of Sheffield, and not much public transportation goes out there. So I took the train to Sheffield, which is about an hour from Birmingham. Sheffield is actually a very big city, and home to two universities. I went to the Travel Information building, and the man working there told me a certain bus to take. He told me to get off in a town called Oughtibridge, and the place I wanted to go (Fairholmes) was only a twenty minute walk. So I took the bus to Oughtibridge. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and about eight five degrees...steaming hot for England! Well, when I got off the bus, I walked to a convenience store and asked the people who worked there if they knew which way I should go to get to Fairholmes. The lady just looked at me, and said, "It's a five hour walk from here." I told her that the people in Sheffield told me it was a twenty minute walk, and she said, "They don't know what they're talking about." I asked her what she would recommend for me to do, and she 1) tried to give me directions on how to walk the five hours to Fairholmes - not a chance I was going to do that! 2) told me about the scenery in Oughtibridge and tried to convince me to stay there instead 3) asked me about four times I drove here. I realized that she wasn't going to be any help, so I caught the bus back to Sheffield. I went back to the Travel Information building, grabbed some bus maps, and figured out the route myself. I had about two hours before my bus left, so I roamed around Sheffield. When it was time for me to catch my bus, I hopped on, and the driver dropped me off at the corner of the National Park, and told me that I would have to walk about two and a half miles to get to Fairholmes, which was also the only other bus stop in a ten mile radius that would get me back to Sheffield. So I trudged up the trail to Fairholmes. The scenery was really amazing! The Peak District National Park is in Derbyshire (pronounced Darby-shire), and the part I was in is called the Derwent Valley. The Derwent and Ladybower Reservoirs make up the center of the valley, and it's surrounded by hills and moors. I took some pictures, but they're not loaded onto my computer yet. I'll post them soon! I hiked around one peak for about forty five minutes, and then roamed around the valley. There was LOTS of tourists out walking and riding bikes. A few hours later, I caught the bus back to Sheffield and took the train back to Stratford-upon-Avon. I enjoyed the Peak District, but I'm not sure it was worth all of the trouble it took to get out there! On Friday, my housemates, Michelle, and I had a little Cinco de Mayo dinner. I cooked tacos and banana pudding, Cat made nachos, and Michelle brought a chocolate tart for dessert. Marfo had never eaten a taco before, so she was really excited! We enjoyed a nice meal, and stuffed ourselves full of delicious Mexican food. Afterwards, we watched American Idol in Cat's room (it comes on TV on Friday in England). We also watched a new show called "Test Drive My Girlfriend," which looks like it should be on MTV. Tonight, I'm going to see a concert with Michelle in Coventry. The group is called Dirty Pretty Things, and I've never heard of them! She had an extra ticket and asked me to go, so I figured it would be neat to see a concert in England. I'll let you know how it goes! I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Pictures of Stratford-upon-Avon in the Spring

2006-05-05T01:14:00.000+02:00

Hey everyone! I went around town and took some pictures this past Saturday so you could see how gorgeous England is in the spring. Everyone come visit! :)

People relaxing in front of the Royal Shakespeare Theater

We don't ALWAYS have cloggers in town...this was just a one time thing on a Saturday afternoon. :)

Frog Racing and the Weekend

2006-05-02T15:31:00.000+02:00

On Friday night, Mike and Judy picked me and drove me to the Baginton Town Hall for our Rotary club's charity Frog Racing Contest. I've heard about frog racing, but all I knew about it was that it did not involve real frogs, thank goodness! Baginton is about twenty minutes from Stratford-upon-Avon, and it's a very small village. On the way, we passed an "allotment," which I had never seen or heard of before. An allotment is a big field of land that is divided into small sections that people can buy and use to grow vegetables, flowers, etc. Since land and property in England is very expensive (because it's an island, there's only a set amount of land), most people have small yards, if they have any yard at all. They can buy part of an allotment if they want to have land to grow food or flowers. Don't forget, though..."yard" is very lower class...what we in the States call yards, people in England call gardens. The allotment that we drove by was about the size of a football field, and there were about twenty or thirty sections of land split up...some growing vegetables, some growing flowers, some bare. I thought it was pretty interesting, and this was the first time I've ever heard of anything like it. At the town hall, my entire Rotary club was there, plus many of their family members and two other scholars, Gustav and Rinko - I really like both of them a lot! We had a big dinner of lasagna, chilli, and bread, and then the frog racing began. I really wish I had remembered to bring my camera, because it would be much easier if I could show a picture instead of describing it, but I'll try! Two people stand across from each other, about twenty yards apart. There's a rope inbetween them, and they each hold one end. A wooden cut-out in the shape of a frog is strung through the rope. Both people are sitting down, and you have to get the frog from one end of the rope to the other by jiggling the string...no standing, and you have to keep the frog on the ground. It's pretty difficult! There were six rows, so six teams (two people per team) competed at once. The people watching placed bets on the teams. We had six races, and I competed in two of them. The youngest lady in our club, Lorna, (she's in her late thirties) was my partner during one of the last races, and we won! :) It was great! After the contests, we had a raffle, and I got to be the person who called out the ticket numbers. It was a fun night! It almost reminded me of Sunday school parties or get-togethers back home...everyone talking and eating and laughing. It's so neat to think that while we're in Mississippi having friends over for supper, or having a party, there are people in towns all over the world doing the exact same thing...it makes the world seem so big! This weekend, Marfo, Cat, and I had a housemate dinner and went to a restaurant called Ask on Saturday night. It was really fun! We stayed there for almost two and a half hours, just talking and eating. Marfo's brother is a lawyer in Athens, and I'm trying to convince him to let me come work for him one summer! Whenever he calls Marfo, I always tell her to tell my future boss hello! He just laughs, but we'll see what happens! :) Monday was a bank holiday, which basically means no one has to work, and all the stores closed around four p.m. It was a beautiful day, though. I ran some errands, and just sat by the river and read for awhile. I took some pictures of Stratford, and I'm going to post them soon! Last night, some of my friends had a party, which was really fun. Tonight, Cat and I are going to get pizza and then see a movie. She's working part time at the cinema because she's going to be here until September, and she gets a free guest pass, so I'm her guest! Hooray! Tomorrow or Thursday, I really want to take a day trip. I think I'm going to go to the Peak District, which is a little north of here. It's the area where the filmed "Pride and Prejudice" starring Keira Knightley. And two weeks from today, Jennings and Mary Brook will be here! I'm so excited! :)

London for the Day

2006-04-29T22:35:00.000+02:00

On Thursday, I went to London for the day to hang out with the Mississippi College girls before they head home for good. Their semester officially ended on Thursday! I'm gonna miss having them only two hours away! The train tickets from Stratford to London are pretty cheap, and I REALLY like taking the train! Even though the trip is a little over two hours, all I have to do is sit...no worrying about whether or not I'm going the right way, no paying attention to the road...I can listen to my iPod, read, even sleep! When I got to London Marylebone train station, I hopped on the Tube and headed to Southwark to get coffee at my favorite coffee shop - Monmouth Cafe. It's in the area of London where "Bridget Jones's Diary" was filmed, and it's about half a mile from the London Bridge. Once you leave the Tube station, you have to walk through a HUGE food market called Borough Market...it's pretty famous, and you can find just about anything...fruit, veggies, fish, poultry, even food from different parts of the world. It's really neat to walk though. I think the atmosphere at Monmouth is what makes me like it so much...it's very open, and they serve coffee from all over the world. My favorite coffee is from Guatemala. You can sit at a big table and eat bread with butter and jam, or sit on a stool by the window and look out onto the market. There's also a flower market a few stores down, which is gorgeous! Jeannie and I just happened to stumble upon Monmouth Cafe during a walking tour of the South Bank when we spent a month living in London. We definitely became hooked! The employees are really nice, too...the guy who made my coffee told me that my earrings were "groovy." :) After I had coffee, I walked across the London Bridge (it's hard to beat the view of London from the River Thames) and took the Tube to Covent Garden to look around. I browsed though a few shops but sadly, didn't buy anything. Then I met up with Mallory, LeeAnn, and Emily Rankin in their hotel near Russell Square. We hung out in their room for awhile, and then went to eat at Wagamama's, an absolutely delicious noodle bar. We tried to find the one closest to their hotel, but ended up walking to Leicester Square (the restaurant is a popular chain). You eat cafeteria style - long tables with stools. The service is pretty good! I think Wagamama's is definitely my favorite restaurant in all of Europe! After Wagamama's, we went to Haagen Daz for ice cream, on the other side of Leicester Square. The Haagen Daz in London isn't just a little ice cream store...it's an actual restaurant, and a pretty nice one at that! But it serves one thing only - ice cream! After we stuffed ourselves full, we hung out for a little bit, and then it was time for me to head back to Stratford-upon-Avon. On the train ride back, I had to switch trains in Hatton. Well, our train got a little delayed, so the conductor called the connecting train that I was supposed to catch, and they waited for me! That's one awesome thing about the National Rail in England...if you buy a ticket, they WILL get you to where you're going, no matter what. When I took the train to the airport on the morning that I flew back home, one of my trains never showed. So they called a cab for me, and I rode forty minutes in a cab to the airport...paid for by the National Rail! Although customer service in restaurants, shops, and banks is seriously lacking in the UK, at least the railroad company does it right! :) On Friday night, I went to a Rotary frog racing contest (it was for charity, and we didn't use actual frogs!), but I'll write about that in a later post. Have a great weekend!

Spring weather!

2006-04-27T00:43:00.000+02:00

Well, after 12 hours of sleep last night, I awoke this morning (well, early afternoon) jet-lag free! Hooray! I lounged around for awhile, then met Hannah and Michelle at Costa for some coffee and catching up. Michelle and I stopped by New Look to see if they've gotten any new clothes, and then I made a quick trip to the gym. Tonight, I had to speak at my host Rotary club. I usually don't get nervous before my speeches, since I don't know ANYONE at the Rotary clubs I speak to, but I kinda got a little nervous about this speech, since I know everyone in the club! I think it went well, though. We actually had a buffet dinner, so no carrots or potatos for me, thank goodness! The weather really has improved since I've been gone. Today I was able to wear a short sleeved shirt and light jacket, and right before I left I was wearing two pair of pants at night! I love the drive from Stratford to the Rotary club in Coventry...England is just so beautiful! I'm ALMOST completely done with school...only one paper left! My friends, however, are working on their dissertations, so I'm going to try not to rub it in their faces that I'm through while they're still in the library doing research. :) Oh, well...I'm going to try to enjoy my break before I begin THREE more year of school in law school! While I was home, Ash and I found an apartment to live in next year...I'm so excited! We'll be living in Laurel Park, which is right off of Lakeland Drive in Flowood. We move in a few days after I get back from England. During the rest of my time in England, I'm planning on taking some fun day trips to see parts of the country that I haven't seen yet such as Wales and southern England. And of course, many trips to London! I'm actually going to London tomorrow to visit the Mississippi College crew one last time before they head home. Marfo will be back from Greece tomorrow, too, and I'm excited about seeing her! On Friday night, my Rotary club is having a Frog Jumping Party...I'm a little confused about what that is, but I do know that it does NOT involve actual frogs. Should be interesting! Tonight, my host counselor Mike told me about a popular game called snooker, which I've never heard of, and I'm pretty sure we don't have it in the U.S. It's like pool, but it's played on a table three times the size of a normal pool table. Also, cricket season began this weekend, which is pretty popular in England. I found out that I missed Shakespeare's birthday celebration in Stratford...it was this past Saturday! It's a HUGE event in Stratford...Prince Charles and the Archbishop of Canterbury came! They have a big parade, and a ceremony. When I got back in town yesterday, there were flag poles lining the streets, and the cab driver told me it was for Shakespeare's birthday. I'm sad that I missed seeing Prince Charles! Oh, well. Since I'm back, I'm going to try to update my blog everyday or every other day. I hope everyone enjoys it!

I'm BACK!

2006-04-25T21:51:00.000+02:00

Well, I'm officially back in England. I have to admit, after a wonderful month at home, it was hard to get on that plane. I had a great time visiting friends and family, going to/being in weddings, eating at my favorite restaurants, and just enjoying the great U.S.A.! But I'm back in England until June 7, and it's nice to be back. On Monday afternoon, I flew to Atlanta, then caught a connecting flight to Paris. I think Paris is an absolutely beautiful city, but the people are my least favorite of any place I've ever visited. The rumors about French people being rude AREN'T just rumors. Of course, there ARE lots of nice people, but the rude people make you forget about the nice ones. After a looooong flight, we landed at Charles DeGaulle International Airport in Paris. I've heard stories about how confusing that airport is, and after visiting Paris twice (by train), I had no doubt that the stories were probably accurate. The airport is just outside of the city, and it's HUGE! But also extremely confusing. There are 5 main terminals...A, B, F, E, C...in that order. Obviously the French do not order things alphabetically. It took me about an hour and a half to get from Terminal C to Terminal F, get my boarding pass, and go through security. The security agent who checked my bag said "Gracias" to me after she finished...maybe I look Spanish? Airport security is so strict that it's almost annoying - not just in Paris, but also in the U.S. and England. I finally caught my flight to Birmingham, and arrived about 1 p.m. I made my way to the train station with two suitcases (although one only had a coat in it, since I left a lot of stuff at home), my laptop backpack, and a carry on bag. A couple of guys actually helped me along the way, which is rare in England...most people just walk on by when they see girls carrying heavy suitcases. I think the idea of the English gentleman is definitely extinct in England. I took the train to Leamington Spa, where I would catch another train to Stratford. At the train station in Leamington Spa, they told me that they next train to Stratford-upon-Avon would be in TWO hours, so they recommended that I take the bus. However, their ATM was broken, so I couldn't get cash for bus fare. The guy behind the counter suggested that I lug my 2 suitcases and 2 bags two blocks down the road to the nearest ATM (or cash point, as they're called in England). I had no choice but to trudge through Leamington Spa with my luggage. Luckily I've visited that town quite a few times, so I knew where the bus stop was and what time the buses came. I hopped on the bus and spent my forty minute bus ride enjoying the scenery. Spring has definitely arrived in England! The landscape is just unbelievable! The trees and flowers are blooming, the grass is even greener, and the sun set at 8:45 p.m. tonight! The flowers are just gorgeous...I'm going to have to take some pictures and post them soon! The weather was pretty nice...probably in the mid-60s and sunny. When I got back, I dropped off my luggage and went to the grocery store to get some food. Then, I went to get pizza with Cat, Hannah, Powder, and Andy. I just love the pizza at A Hole in the Wall! We sat outside and enjoyed the sunshine. Now, I'm trying to stay awake until a decent hour so that I won't have jet lag! Before I left for the U.S., I hid my now contraband heater on the top shelf of my closet so that Jeremy and Junko wouldn't find it. Well, guess what...when I came back, it was missing! So I went downstairs and told Jeremy that my heater was missing. I fibbed a little and said that I don't use it anymore (well, I haven't used it in a month!), but I want it because I paid for it. I think he also felt guilty because I busted him for taking MY heater out of the room that I pay for. They did have to do some work on the floor in mine and Marfo's room, so they moved some stuff into my closet, where I guess they saw the heater. But still! I only use it at night or in the morning, and always put it up when I leave the room. It felt nice today, but once the sun went down, it got COLD! They just keep it TOO cold in the house for me not to have a heater...it's almost miserable! (Tooley, if you're reading this, I know you understand!) The big stink about me having a heater is that it supposedly violates some housing code, and qualifies as a fire hazard under the super-strict Socialist government. Christmas lights are also a fire hazard, and also contraband...very strange. But, hopefully the weather will warm up a little and I won't need the heater, which also doubles as a fan. Anyway, I had a nice, safe flight, and England is beautiful! But as much as I love England, there's no place like home. :)

Last Post from England...well, for a month

2006-03-27T22:33:00.000+02:00

Hey everyone! This is my last post from England until I return on April 25th. Wow...I cannot believe that I'm going to be home TOMORROW! In a way, it seems like I've been gone for years, but then again, it also seems like I just left yesterday. I'm REALLY excited about coming home to good ole Mississippi, but I'm NOT excited about carrying my suitcases...they're huge! Here's my itinerary for tomorrow: 6:15 a.m. - catch train to the airport; 7:40 a.m. - arrive at airport, check in, hang out; 10 a.m. - fly to Newark, NJ; 12 p.m. (American time) - arrive in Newark; 2:30 p.m. - fly to Atlanta; 4:33 p.m. - arrive in Atlanta; 7:50 p.m. - fly to Jackson; 8:15 p.m. - arrive in Jackson - finally! I'm really excited, because my aunt Patti and cousin Katie are going to meet me in Atlanta and eat dinner with me! Hooray! :) Tonight, Marfo, Michelle, and I went to an Italian restaurant called Ask for dinner. It was really nice! Cat's parents arrived today from Texas. I met her mom, and she's so sweet! This past weekend, I had class and ran errands. On Saturday night, Marfo and I went to see the movie V for Vendetta, which was pretty good. But guess what...one of the main characters lives in Stratford-upon-Avon! Tim Pigott-Smith, who plays Mr. Creedy (one of the bad guys) is living in Stratford and performing in the play Women Beware Women at the Royal Shakespeare Company. When his character came on the screen during the movie, Marfo and I were like, "Oh my gosh! It's the Duke!" (He plays the Duke in Women Beware Women). I've seen him around town, so I think it's so cool that he has a major role in a movie! I actually saw him today, jogging by the river. How cool! Sunday was Daylight Savings Time, and it's been SO nice...the sun has been setting at 8 p.m.! It's really warmed up a bit, but it's incredibly windy...the wind practically blew me down today! I've never felt anything like it. Hopefully I've packed everything for my journey home tomorrow! I'm going to be working on essays while I'm home, but it shouldn't be too bad. My suitcases are SO huge that I have a taxi coming to take me to the train station tomorrow, even though it's just a 10 minute walk. Luckily I can leave most of the stuff home and come back with lighter suitcases. :) Please pray for me as I fly tomorrow! My total journey - from the time I fly out of England til the time I reach Jackson - will take 16 hours. Yikes! I hope to see everyone soon!

Mississippi College and Salsa Dancing

2006-03-24T00:54:00.000+01:00

Well, my last full week in Stratford has been a very fun one! I've mostly been working on my papers (well, that's not the fun part), but I've also gotten to hang out with friends and try new activities. On Tuesday, I had my last Shakespeare's Women class. I really enjoyed the class, but my teacher was very hard. Tuesday night, a bunch of us headed to A Hole in the Wall for two-for-one pizza. I love that place! My favorite is the fajita pizza (chicken, salsa, and sour cream), and I can definitely eat the WHOLE thing. On Wednesday, I did some last minute gift shopping, and ate dinner with...the Mississippi College group! So fun! They had a busy day, so I didn't get to see them until after five. We went to A Hole in the Wall (again) for more delicious food. They went to see a play at seven thirty, but afterwards, Mallory came over and hung out for awhile. It was so great to see her and the rest of the girls! :) Tonight, Michelle, Marfo, and I went salsa dancing! Cox's Yard, a local pub that has a dance floor upstairs, has salsa classes on every other Thursday, followed by a salsa party. We stayed for three and a half hours, and had SO MUCH FUN! We were laughing the whole time. Our teacher was from Spain, and he was great. We definitely want to do it again! Tomorrow, I'm going to be working on my essays, and then my friend Jordan is cooking dinner for Cat and me. I have class Friday night, and then some people from school are having a party. I have class ALL DAY Saturday and Sunday, and then Monday I'll be packing and getting ready to head out Tuesday morning! I switched my flight from Atlanta to Jackson, so now I'll be getting home at 8:12 p.m. instead of 11:07 p.m. on Tuesday. Hooray! :)

My Last Full Week...

2006-03-19T23:49:00.000+01:00

Well, the countdown has begun! As of today, March 19, I have NINE days til I fly home! :) A month at home will be SO nice. I love it here, but there really is no place like home. Before I go home, though, I have to finish three HUGE papers. I've finished one, and I'm starting on the next one, but I don't think I'll be able to finish the third, so I may have to work on it at home. All of my classmates are busy working on papers. Cat's planning on pulling an all-nighter to finish one that's due tomorrow. Good times! :) I'm looking forward to this week...on Monday and Tuesday, I'll be working on my paper, plus I have class on Tuesday (ok, I guess I'm not looking forward to that), but on Wednesday, the crew from Mississippi College is heading to Stratford-upon-Avon for the day, so it will be fun to see all of them. On Thursday night, some of my friends and I are going salsa dancing. :) We're going to a two-hour workshop, and then there's a salsa party! It should be fun...I've never salsa danced before. I have my last weekend class next weekend. Whew...I can't believe I made it through a whole school year! I'm ready to enjoy the nice, warm, Mississippi weather. I think everyone in England is ready for spring, because people are starting to wear brighter colored clothes. Teenage girls in England amaze me...it can be snowing outside, and they'll be wearing short skirts and a light jacket. I don't know how they do it! So while the rest of us are bundled up in scarves and heavy coats, the teenage girls are dressed for spring all year round! Monday, March 20 is my dad's birthday, so be sure and wish him a very happy birthday! :) This weekend, Cat and I were talking to Marfo, and we asked her if they have the Easter bunny in Greece. She said, "The WHAT?! The Easter BUNNY?!" We said, "Yeah, the Easter bunny brings presents to children on Easter." She started laughing, and thought we were trying to play a joke on her! We finally convinced her that it really is a tradition in the United States. Easter is one of the biggest holidays in Greece. Marfo told me that they have huge parties and lots of food. She said that at 11:00 a.m. on the Saturday before Easter, everyone leans out of their windows and drops vases onto the street. Pretty cool! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

My Birthday and London

2006-03-15T01:36:00.000+01:00

Well, I had my first birthday in England...I'm officially 23! On Sunday night, I went out to eat with my housemates, Cat and Marfo. We were originally going to go to a pub, but in England EVERYTHING closes early on Sunday, so we ended up going to Cafe Rouge, a nice French restaurant. I really love French food! We had a delicious meal...I had the croque monsiour, Cat had steak, and Marfo had some dish with mushrooms. On Monday, I went to London for the day to hang out and do a little shopping. I went to Monmouth Cafe, my favorite coffee shop, for coffee, bread, and butter. It's the CUTEST little cafe...very open, with coffee from all over the world. The employees know all about coffee, so you can go up to them and say, "I'd like something chocolate-y and dark, but not bitter," and they'll tell you exactly what you should get! I've had coffee from Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Kenya...it's so good! Afterwards, I walked along the Thames on the South Bank, crossed the Westminster Bridge beside Big Ben, and headed to Oxford Street to do some shopping. Oxford Street has unbelievable shopping...it's almost overwhelming! (Don't worry, Mom and Dad, I only bought a jacket!) My train left at 7:33, so I had just enough time to grab something to eat. The train that goes to Stratford-upon-Avon leaves from Marylebone Station, which is in a very posh neighborhood...Madonna lives in that area! The weather is still VERY cold...when I went to the gym tonight, I wore: a t-shirt, fleece jacket, coat with fleece lining, hat, gloves, scarf, and two pairs of pants. Brrr! Even though sometimes I'm ready for warm weather, it has been kind of nice to have a cold winter. It's real winter weather, which you rarely find in Mississippi. But I don't think I'd like to have such cold winters EVERY year...just every once in a while. :) Today, I had class and then I worked on my paper. Tonight, I went to A Hole in the Wall restaurant for two-for-one pizza. Their pizza is delicious! Cat and I were pizza buddies (meaning we ordered together so we could get the two-for-one), and then Michelle and Hannah came to join us. I'll be home two weeks from today...WOW! :) I hope everyone had a great weekend! I'm posting some pics from London!

Stoney Street...one of the cutest streets in London! Home to Monmouth Cafe, flower shops, a cute old pub, and Borough Market. It's also the area where "Bridget Jones' Diary" was filmed!

Southwark (pronounced Suth-ick) Cathedral on the South Bank...it was built in 606 (no, I didn't leave off the 1...it really was built in 606!) and is the oldest Gothic church in London. Shakespeare supposedly went to church here.

People crossing the Milennium Bridge over the Thames

A Day in Oxford

2006-03-11T21:23:00.000+01:00

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't been able to post lately, the server on the blog site was down. Yesterday, March 10, was my parents' 27th wedding anniversary, and tomorrow, March 12, is my 23rd birthday! On Friday, Michelle, Marfo, Emily, and I went to Oxford for the day to do some sightseeing. We stopped in Bicester (rhymes with mister), a cute little town that has an outlet mall. They even had a Polo outlet...you don't see much Polo in England. Oxford is about an hour away by car, and luckily Michelle drove us. It was nice not having to take the train! Oxford, home to Oxford University, is a nice little town, and quite a bit bigger than Stratford. The University is actually made up of 39 different colleges, so instead of applying to Oxford University, you actually apply to an individual college. For example, there's St. Anne's College, Hertford College, etc. They all specialize in something different. The different colleges are placed all over the town, some right next to each other and some across the street. We went into the courtyard of the Bodleian library, which supposedly has a copy of every single copy-righted manuscript in existence. WOW! We went around and looked at other colleges, and did a little shopping, too. The town is really cute, and actually looks a little similar to Stratford. I saw The Eagle and Child pub, where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien used to meet for drinks...how cool! Unfortunately, the picture I took didn't turn out. We had an early birthday dinner for me at a pub called Chequers. I really like pub food...it's kind of like having a home-cooked meal. After dinner, the weather became very windy and rainy, so we decided to head on back to Stratford. It was a fun day trip! Last night, I got to watch the Oscars! Cat's dad ti-voed it for her and mailed her a copy on a CD, and she let me borrow it. It was funny, because all of the presenters kept saying, "Millions of people around the world are watching right now," but I'm pretty sure that the Oscars are only broadcast live in the U.S.! They didn't even come on in England til Monday! Tomorrow night, Cat, Marfo, and I are going out for my birthday dinner. I've been on a pub food kick lately, so we'll probably go to a pub. :) I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

Oxford! Check out all of the bikes!

Quite possibly the oldest-looking Nokia store ever! :)

Emily, me, and Marfo outside of Radcliffe's Camera

The front of the Bodleian library

Cute bridge connecting two buildings of Hertford College

Random graveyard in the middle of the street!

Rotary Party and Speeches

2006-03-07T01:47:00.000+01:00

On Saturday night, Mike and Judy picked me up and drove me to Peter and Iris Raine's house in Coventry. Peter is a member of my host club, and every year, he and Iris host a big party to support a charity. This year, the theme was "Are You Game?" There were thirty people, and it was a sit down dinner. In between courses, we played fun games like Bingo and Beetle Drive. Beetle Drive is a lot like the game Cootie. I tried to explain that to some of the people at my table, but they had never heard the word "cootie" before! At first they couldn't understand me...someone thought I said "cutie," and another person thought I said "cooley." But basically, the point of Beetle Drive is to construct an entire beetle bug, including legs, head, tail, and antennae, and be the first at your table to do it. But you have to roll the dice, and each number represents a different body part. We also played a game where we were given clues, and we had to guess which British candy bar the clues described. There were fifty different candy bars on the sheet! Luckily, being the chocolate lover that I am, I was able to contribute some answers. Gustav, the Swedish exchange student, was there, too, and he and I have gotten to be good friends, so it was fun seeing him! Dinner was great...instead of new potatoes, we actually had mashed potatoes, or "mash," as they call it here, which I haven't had in so long. And of course, we had cooked carrots. Pate is a popular dish in England, but I'm not a fan of it at all. That was our appetizer, and although I like most British food, I just can't make myself like pate. The party lasted until 12:30 a.m., or "half twelve." On Sunday night, Michelle and I went to see "Walk the Line" again. I just love that movie! Today, I gave two Rotary speeches...one at lunchtime in Stratford, and one at dinner in Tamworth. Two Rotary meetings...that means a double dose of new potatoes and carrots! The meeting in Tamworth was actually a Foundation evening, where all of the ambassadorial scholars in the area come to speak. I love Foundation evenings, because I get to see all of my friends from different universities! Jessica from Texas, Rebecca from Utah, Rinko from Japan, Amber from Taiwan, Clement from Malawi, Alex from Italy, and Kaz from Japan. All of us go to different schools, so we usually only see each other at Rotary events. All of the other scholars are really nice, and so much fun! I didn't get home tonight until midnight, though. Rotarians in England are definitely night owls! Mike, my host counselor, is so wonderful...he drives me everywhere! He's so great! I just found out tonight that we set our clocks forward for summer a week earlier in England than in the U.S., so for a week I'll be seven hours ahead of the U.S.! I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Snow!

2006-03-04T00:47:00.000+01:00

I hope everyone had a great week! The weather has been really strange this week in Stratford...it's been snowing, but the sun has been out! Wednesday was a gorgeous day, so I got some coffee and a magazine and went to sit by the river and enjoy the sunshine. All of a sudden, little white balls started falling on me. I thought maybe they were seeds from the trees above me that were being blown down. They kept falling harder and harder, so I looked around, and they were everywhere! So I touched one to figure out what it was, and I realized it was snow! It was so strange, because the weather was cold, but not cold enough to snow, especially with the sun out! It did it again yesterday, too. But, the snow didn't stick because of the sun. On Wednesday afternoon, Jeremy and Junko made homemade soy milk. They're very healthy (well, Junko is) and grow vegetables in their garden and try to be thrifty by going to garage sales (called car boot sales in England) and making their own food like yogurt and soy milk. I've never tried soy milk, much less homemade soy milk, so Junko fixed me some with a little honey, and I have to admit...it was GOOD! It really did taste like milk - hard to believe it came from beans, not a cow! On Thursday, we had a lecture, and then Michelle, Emily, and I went for coffee. Today was another beautiful day, but it didn't snow. Although it's freezing, it's nice to see snow every now and then. Tonight, I went to see Walk the Line with Cat, Marfo, and Isaac. It was SO good! I was worried that Marfo might not like it because it's about old, southern, American culture, but she loved it! I'm going to see it again on Sunday with Michelle. Tomorrow night, I'm going to a Rotary party. We're going to be playing games. I don't know any British games, so hopefully I'll learn them fast! Next Friday, Michelle, Marfo, Emily, maybe Cat, and I are going to Oxford, which is about an hour away, to walk around and see the sights. It's a small town, but supposedly very cute, and the university's campus is supposed to be amazing. I can't wait! Also, only three and a half weeks til I come home! My sister told me that some people at home were laying out because the weather has been so warm...I can't believe it! I must say, I'm a little jealous, but the snow has been nice, so that's ok. :) I hope everyone has a great weekend!

A Little Bit of Snow

2006-03-01T01:01:00.000+01:00

Well, it snowed a tiny little bit in Stratford today! Not enough to stick, just a few flurries. It's snowing really hard in north England, so I wonder if it's going to make it's way down here. I had class this morning, then I ran some errands, and decided it was a good day to stay inside where it's nice and warm! Four weeks from today I will be home...how fun! Not only will it be nice to see everyone, but it will also be nice to have some warm weather! I kind of like the weather here, though...absolutely no humidity! It's amazing. I'm probably going to be in for a shock when I get back home! On Sunday night, I taught Marfo how to make banana pudding. We used the last of my ingredients...sad! Apparently, Nilla wafers are strictly an American product, because Marfo said she's never seen anything like them in Greece. We made two batches of banana pudding, one for us and one for some girls we go to school with who live down the street. Jeremy and Junko got to try the banana pudding this time, and they seemed to really like it! Jeremy and Junko met when they were both working in Saudi Arabia...Junko was a nurse, and Jeremy taught English to Saudi businessmen. Jeremy said that some parts of Saudi Arabia have a custom where you name your child after the first thing you see right after you give birth. So, he knew a guy named Saucepan and another named Shovel. Pretty crazy! Jeremy and Marfo told me about this big Eurovision music contest, where all of the European countries submit a song and it's voted on. Greece won last year! I've never heard of the Eurovision contest, but apparently it's been going on for a long time, because ABBA won it one year. Today before class, one of my British friends was telling me that she passed a bunch of school children in their uniforms and little hats, and she thought they were so cute. I told her that British school children (well, the young ones) are adorable - they dress like Madeline, the girl in the children's books. Plaid skirts for girls, plaid shorts for boys, straw hats for girls, little caps for boys. Another British lady told me that when she went to New York, she loved how all the day camp and school children wore t-shirts. She thought it was a great idea, and much preferred it to uniforms. America is definitely a t-shirt wearing society...I definitely look very American when I go to the gym in my sorority t-shirts. British people wear workout "outfits" - clothes designed strictly for working out, not for everyday wear. And they aren't afraid to wear tight pants...even the guys! It's definitely interesting. On Thursday, Michelle, Catherine, and I are going to see "Walk the Line"...hooray! On Saturday night, I have to go to a Rotary party. I hope everyone is having a great day and staying warm!

Acting/Directing Class

2006-02-26T01:54:00.000+01:00

I hope everyone is having a great weekend! I have class this weekend, and it's the Acting/Directing module. Luckily, I don't have to act OR direct...we just study different performances of plays. Not the most interesting thing in the world, but sometimes it's pretty fun. My teacher is so cool...we all love her! We meet in a big lecture hall in my school, and it's absolutely freezing. I still haven't quite figured out how to work the radiators. I don't think I'd even seen a radiator until I came to England, but they're everywhere here! They're great to dry clothes on, since very few people here have clothes dryers. This weekend, Catherine went to London with her sister and friend, and they're going to see the musical "The Lion King," which is fantastic! Tonight, Marfo and I went with one of our friends from school to see "The Crucible" at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. It was AMAZING. I've seen the movie, with Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder, and the play was just as good! No one in the audience moved the entire time, because we couldn't take our eyes off of the stage. During the intermission, I was looking at some of the actors' resumes, and most of them have been in British soap operas. A few of them have even been in movies like "Kingdom of Heaven," "Tomb Raider," and "When Darkness Falls." The girl who played Abigail Williams, the lead role, was in a Coldplay music video! Pretty cool! Tomorrow I have class again, but we get a three hour lunch break, so that won't be too bad. My landlord, Jeremy, just got his very first cell phone, or "mobile." I spent about twenty minutes one morning teaching him how to work it. It's really funny! In other news, they've discovered two dead swans near Stratford-upon-Avon, and the bodies have been sent off to be tested for the bird flu! The bird flu has spread pretty quickly throughout Europe, and it's even in France, which is the closest mainland country to Europe. Yikes! Today, Marfo gave me a HUGE chocolate bar from Greece. I tried to decipher some of the writing on the package, and I figured out one word...sokolata, or chocolate! Thanks to being in a sorority for four years, I can read almost every Greek letter, and the sounds are pretty much the same in English as they are in Greek. For example, the letter Sigma makes the "s" sound. Rho makes the "r" sound, Lambda makes the "l" sound, and so on. Two letter we pronounce wrong in English are Chi and Delta. In REAL Greek, the letter Chi is pronounced kind of like "key," and Delta is pronounced "thelta," because they don't have the "d" sound in Greek. I thought that was interesting! Have a great weekend!

Picture from Marfo's birthday

Where is Spring?

2006-02-23T01:59:00.000+01:00

Well, the weather hasn't been quite as cold lately, and the sun is setting a little bit later, but it doesn't seem like spring will be here anytime soon! Marfo laughs at me because everyday I make a comment about the weather. It'll be nice going home at the end of March...when I leave England, it will still be cold, but by the time I come back, the weathe should be nice and beautiful. On Tuesday, I had class in the morning. The class is Shakespeare's Women, and there's only one guy in there! I feel bad for him, because I'm sure he's bored out of his mind, but to us girls, the class is interesting! On Tuesday night, a group of us went to Cafe Uno for Marfo's birthday. I learned some new British words! We were talking about clothes, and I discovered tank tops/sleeveless shirts are called "vests" in England. This explains a lot, because one time I was reading a magazine article about a girl who wore a vest and shorts in the summer because it was so hot, and I was really confused. I thought she meant an actual vest, not a tank top, and I remember thinking, "What a random outfit!" Glad that's cleared up. :) I asked what they call American vests, and in England they're called "waistcoats." It makes sense, I guess. Also, in England, they don't give birthday spankings, they give birthday "bumps." People lift you up by your arms and legs and swing you up and down into the air. Needless to say, only small children actually receive birthday bumps! Today I went for a nice walk, and I passed by one of the actors who was in the play I saw Monday night..he was jogging along the river! It's funny running into the Royal Shakespeare Company actors around town. Many of my classmates are huge theater fans, and they think some of the actors are practically movie stars! But some famous people did get their start as Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) actors, like Kenneth Branaugh, Judi Dench, and Patrick Stewart. Tonight, Marfo and I went to see the movie "Casanova." It was pretty good! Since movies come out so late in England, I have a long list of movies that I want to see when I come back home! :) Have a great day, everyone!

Marfo's Birthday

2006-02-21T01:23:00.000+01:00

Today is Marfo's 26th birthday! In Greece, they have a different way of expressing age, so in Greece it's her 25th birthday, but she's turning 26th. It's confusing, and she tried to explain it to me once. Her mom mailed her some homemade baklava, and it was DELICIOUS! I loved it! I hope her mom sends some more...maybe for MY birthday? :) Cat and I chipped in and got Marfo a cute purse and necklace from New Look, which is one of my very favorite stores. It reminds me a little of Wet Seal. Marfo has a presentation due tomorrow, so we're going to go out to eat tomorrow night, since she'll be finished with her big project and can relax. She showed me pictures of Corfu, the island in Greece where she's from. It's BEAUTIFUL! It looks a little bit like Italy, and she said it's because they're so close to Italy and they have a lot of Italians living in Corfu. The water surrounding it is just amazingly blue! Tip for anyone thinking about visiting Greece - Marfo says Athens is neat, but it's not really a beautiful city. So if you want to see a gorgeous Greek landscape, take a day trip to the coast or one of the islands. This weekend was nice and relaxing, and not much was going on in Stratford. Tonight, my class went to see "Women Beware Women" performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Swan Theatre. It was pretty good...it's a tragedy play, so everyone died in the end. "The Crucible" is showing at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, and I really want to see it! Before the play, I went to Hussein's, an Indian restaurant, with Hannah and her parents. They're in town from Seattle visiting Hannah, and they invited me to go to dinner with them. I really liked the Indian food...it was my first time to have it! We didn't eat any curry, which surprised me, because it's VERY popular in England. Indian food is to England like Mexican food is to the United States. I have class tomorrow morning, and I also have class this weekend. As of Tuesday, February 21, I only have FIVE weeks until I come home for spring break! Walt and I are going to try to take a trip to Amsterdam sometime in March, so hopefully that will work out! The days are starting to get a little bit longer...the sun actually set at 5:30 today! Gustaf, a Rotary Scholar from Sweden, says that in Scandinavia, they go a couple of weeks without any sun in the winter - I couldn't imagine! But in the summer, he says there are a couple of weeks when the sun stays out 24 hours a day. It's a different world!

I Love London!

2006-02-18T15:10:00.000+01:00

Well, I just got back from a fun trip to London! On Wednesday afternoon, Catherine, Marfo, and I hopped on the train to London. The ride lasts about 2 hours, and it's really nice because you get to go through the beautiful countryside. When we arrived in London, Cat and I dropped our bags off at the hostel (Marfo's cousin lives in London, so she stayed with her), and headed to Leicester Square. The three of us really wanted to see a musical, but it's half term (spring break) for ALL of the schools in England, so EVERY musical was sold out. We were sad! Marfo and Cat are HUGE theater fans, so they bought tickets to see "Embers," a play starring Jeremy Irons. Marfo has only been to London once, so we showed her some of the fun sights before dinner. We went through Chinatown and SoHo, and then to Trafalgar Square. A group of students from Mississippi College are studying in London for the semester, including two girls from Madison, so we made plans to eat dinner together. Catherine is from Texas, and was craving some Tex-Mex (there are only about TWO places in England where you can find it, and they're both in London), so the three of us had a wonderful dinner with Mallory Sullivan, Lee Ann Babb, and their friend Pat. It was SO fun getting to see Mallory and Lee Ann! It's always nice to hear a Southern accent, but it's even better when you know the person speaking! :) After dinner, Cat and Marfo headed to their play, and Mallory, Lee Ann, Pat, and I went and hung out. It was so fun catching up! Their program sounds fun but very demanding! They'll be in Stratford-upon-Avon at the end of March, so I'll get to hang out with them some more...hooray! I met up with Catherine and Marfo after their play, which they said was NOT good. It was opening night, and Jeremy Irons forgot his lines THREE times and had to call for someone to read them to him! Wow. We dropped Marfo off at her cousin's flat, and then went back to the hostel to go to bed. Cat and I stayed at Picadilly Backpackers, which was a very nice hostel! Hostels are like dorm rooms, usually with 6 or 8 beds. Most hostels are NOT co-ed, which is nice. Hostels are great for people traveling in Europe on a budget (i.e. students!), but I wouldn't stay in one if I was older. They're very safe and clean, though. Hostels usually run about 15 pounds a night, which is about $25. You'll never find a hotel room that cheap in Europe! On Thursday, we woke up and met Marfo in Leicester Square. The three of us went to Covent Garden and looked around, and then I took them to Camden Town, which is one of my FAVORITE places in London. It's a really neat shopping area, and you can find such an eclectic selection for a really good price. Cat and Marfo stocked up on lots of goodies, but I didn't find anything. Next, we went to the South Bank (southern part of the River Thames - pronounced Tims) to enjoy the sunshine. London is just beautiful, especially from the river! The weather was nice and sunny, and not too cold! Marfo is a huge art fan, so she wanted to stop in the Tate Museum of Modern Art. Cat and I sat outside while she went in for a quick look. We walked around some more, and then ate a delicious dinner in a pizza restaurant in Gabriel's Wharf. After dinner, we went to see "Measure for Measure," a play Marfo and Cat had been wanting to seen. It was pretty good! I would rather see a musical than a play anyday, but this was a modern adaptation, and it was pretty good! England is much more of a play/theater society. Given the chance, most Brits would choose to see a play over a movie. Americans are very much the opposite! That's probably why "Walk the Line" JUST came out here! I'm dying to see it. It'll be in Stratford at the beginning of March, and Michelle and I have made plans to go see it. After the play, we brought Marfo back to her cousin's flat and went to bed. Catherine's sister, Erin, and her friend Andrea flew into London Thursday night to spend a week with Cat, so the next morning we met them for breakfast. Erin and Andrea are in seminary in Boston, and they're so much fun! I took Erin, Andrea, Cat, and Marfo to Monmouth Cafe, my FAVORITE coffee shop in London, which is in Southwark on the South Bank. When Jeannie and I spent a summer in London, we went there all the time. My parents and Claire have even been there, too! We walked around Southwark, and then Marfo, Erin, and Andrea went back to the Tate. Then, we walked across the Milennium Bridge towards St. Paul's. We walked along the Thames, checking out the sights, and then we had to head back to get our bags. Marfo and I caught the 3:00 train back to Stratford, and Cat, Erin, and Andrea left for Exeter to visit some of Erin's friends. It's nice to be back in Stratford, but I absolutely LOVE London! Sometimes I wonder if I should have lived there instead, but then I think that I may get tired of London if I actually lived there. And I would hate to get tired of London! It's a fast paced city, and not for everyone. Cat can only handle it for a little while. But I LOVE it! It's so unique. Everyone needs to visit, at least once! And when you go, take me, too, so I can be your tour guide! :)

Me, Mallory, Pat, and Lee Ann outside of St. Margaret's Hotel in Russell Square, where they are staying for a while in London.

Me and Mallory, hanging out after dinner

Monmouth Cafe, my favorite coffee shop! That's Marfo on the left, putting sugar in her coffee

Cat, me, and Marfo, standing on the London bridge with the Tower Bridge in the background

Happy Valentine's Day!

2006-02-15T00:47:00.000+01:00

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day! The sun was out, and the weather was actually a little warmer than usual - very nice! On Monday, I spent the day working on my paper. I also received an wonderful Valentine's package from my family - People and US Weekly magazines, and Girl Scout cookies! :) Yum! I made some more banana pudding on Monday, and it's all gone now! This morning, I woke up early to turn in my paper, and then my class met to read over a play that we're studying. After class, I ran a few errands, then went to a Valentine's Tea Party at Hannah's house. Hannah is from Seattle, and she invited some girls from school over for tea, scones, and all kinds of yummy cakes. It was so much fun! Hannah even gave us tea cups as party favors...mine is adorable! Ellie, one of the British girls we go to school with, and Marfo had never heard of party favors, so we had to explain the concept to them. It's so funny when you mix a bunch of people from different cultures together in one room...you really learn so much and get totally different perspectives on things. A silly example: Sara, a student from North Carolina, and I were talking about the show "Designing Women," and how they're selling episodes of it on DVD now. Ellie asked us what show we were talking about. Sara explained that it's a show about interior designers living in Atlanta, and it's really funny. Ellie said, "Hmm...that sounds a bit bizarre, really." It's true, though...each culture has their own sense of humor, and sometimes the humor is universal, but other times you have to actually be from the culture to get it. There's a TV show in England called "Little Britain," and it's a little bit like "Saturday Night Live," but the humor appeals to the British society, so sometimes the skits aren't always funny to Americans or other foreigners. After the tea party, Catherine, Marfo, and I went back to our house for a bit, then headed to Pizza Express to meet Natalie and Hannah for our Valentine's Dinner. Although Pizza Express may sound like a fast food pizza restaurant, it's actually very similar to Old Venice. The pizza is amazing! Michelle had booked us a table there, assuming she would be our waitress, but they have a rule that employees of Pizza Express can't wait on their friends or family. But she did get to come chat with us every now and then. We had a delicious three course meal, because Pizza Express was offering a cheap Valentine's Special. We ended up staying and talking for three and a half hours! It was so much fun, though. We talked about all of the different countries we've been to...Hannah's been to Israel, Natalie's been to Japan, Marfo is FROM Greece...so neat! Tomorrow, Catherine, Marfo, and I are heading to London to spend Wednesday and Thursday night. We'll be back on Friday afternoon! I'll post then, hopefully with some fun pictures from our trip. I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

More Pictures

2006-02-12T00:37:00.000+01:00

This weekend, I've been working on my paper and enjoying the sunshine. On Friday, I met Michelle and Marfo at Costa for coffee, then headed to school to do some research. The weather has been beautiful...still very cold, but nice and sunny. The cold weather here isn't unbearable at all...it gets cold in Mississippi, but usually it's just a cold front and then it warms up again. Here, it gets cold in October and stays cold until April. I heard that it snowed in Memphis and north Mississippi yesterday - fun! Friday night, my housemates and I went to dinner at Cafe Uno for some delicious pasta! I was telling Marfo and Cat that a lot of people my age and younger are getting married back home, and Marfo was so surprised! She's going to be 26 in a week, and she thinks she's still too young to be getting married! She's been dating her boyfriend for nearly 6 years, and she wants to wait a couple more years before marriage. In our culture (well, mostly just in the South) it's normal for people in a serious relationship to get married right after they graduate from college, but that's not the case in Greece! Marfo is from Corfu, an island towards the northern part of Greece in the Mediterranean Sea. She went to college in Athens, and she's fluent in three languages! Tonight, I went to a Rotary Valentine's Dinner at a restaurant in Warwick called The Cellar. My entire host club was there, along with their wives/partners. In England, it's very common for couples to live together for a long period of time and not get married. The vice-president of my host club has lived with his partner, Jeanne, for 20 years and they've never married! They don't say "This is my girlfriend/boyfriend," instead they say "This is my partner." Usually in the States, "partner" is associated with gay couples, so needless to say I was a bit confused at first when I heard about Peter and his partner, or Sarah and her partner. :) Dinner was wonderful...I'm sure you can guess what the two vegetables they served were...carrots and potatoes! Never butter beans, string beans, sweet potatoes, peas, etc...just carrots and potatoes. :) Everyone in my club is SO nice, and I really love getting to see all of them! Since the area where I live is so close to Birmingham, many people in my club have a bit of a Birmingham "Brummie" accent. Mike, my host counselor, and his wife, Judy, have lived in Birmingham their whole lives, so their accent is very thick! The Brummie accent is very distinctive, and a little harder to understand than your typical English accent. Instead of saying "lovely," it sounds more like "Loove-ly." "Mother" sounds like "Moo-ther." It's fun to listen to! Tonight I'm going to post the pictures from our ice skating trip, and also a picture of my host counselor and his wife!

Marfo getting warmed up for the ice...it was actually her first time to ice skate!

Me and Natalie, pooped from a night of ice skating

Michelle and Marfo

My wonderful host counselor and his wife, Mike and Judy Taylor. Tools and I think that Judy looks like a British version of the Chi Omega housemom, Mama Jones!

Lots of Rotary!

2006-02-10T01:33:00.000+01:00

Hey everyone, sorry it's been so long since I posted! I've gotten out of the habit since I've been traveling. I'm going to try to start posting every other day again. On Monday night, I attended a Rotary Goodwill Evening in Solihull, sponsored by the Solihull Rotary Club. Solihull is just outside of Birmingham. There were eight other Ambassadorial Scholars there, and we all had to speak for 5 minutes, which wasn't bad at all. I really like all of the other scholars...we've gotten to be good friends, and I love going to Rotary events where I get to hang out with some of them. They are: Jessica from Texas, at University of B-ham; Rebecca from Utah at University of B-ham; Amber from Taiwan, at University of Warwick; Rinko from Japan, at University of Warwick, Clement from Malawi, Africa, at University of Birmingham; Alessandro from Italy (new!) at University of Warwick; Raz from Japan (new!) from University of Birmingham; and Gustaf from Sweden, at Blue Coats School in Coventry. Bianca, my closest Rotary friend, went back to Brazil because her year is over. We still keep in touch, though! A new scholar just arrived from Australia, and her name is Brittany. I haven't met her yet, though. At the evening in Solihull, I talked to two Rotarians who have been to Tupelo! Isn't that funny? Some people don't even know where Mississippi is, so I was surprised to meet people who have visited Tupelo. On Tuesday, I had class, and then Mary Virginia, Tools, and I roamed around Stratford, and then they had to catch the train to London. It was very sad to say goodbye to them, especially my roommate Tools! I talked to her on the phone tonight, and it was weird knowing that she's in the U.S. and I'm in OUR room! She and Mary Virginia made it home safely, though. On Tuesday night, a bunch of people from my school went to eat 2-for-1 pizza at A Hole in the Wall. The pizza is delicious! On Wednesday, I went to a Rotary meeting at my host club, Coventry Phoenix. Luckily I didn't have to speak, just eat and listen! :) I've decided that I don't want to have cooked carrots for a very long time after I come home! At EVERY Rotary meeting I've ever been to, we always have ham/roast with cooked carrots, new potatoes, and sometimes Yorkshire pudding. The dessert is usually always good, though! Today was a beautiful day! The sun was shining, and it was just a teensy bit warmer. Marfo and I went for a walk before our 2:00 lecture, just to enjoy the sunshine. It's been a great day! Catherine and I decided to go to London next week to catch a musical or two, since it's reading week. I'm excited! I would love to see "Mary Poppins." I hope everyone is having a great day!

Re-Cap of the Past Week

2006-02-06T18:06:00.000+01:00

Last weekend (before I left for Switzerland) I had my first weekend class of the semester. My regular teacher, Catherine Alexander, has been out with the flu for two weeks, so we had different teachers fill in for her over the weekend. This semester, I'm taking two modules - "Shakespeare's Women" and "Acting and Directing." I'm really enjoying them so far! Luckily, we DON'T have to act or direct in the Acting and Directing class...we just study different performances and directors. Whew! During our weekend class, four students from the University of Essex came to join us. Guess where all four of them are from...the U.S.! They're doing a two-year Acting and Directing program, so they came to spend the weekend in Stratford and attend our class. It was SO fun getting to hang out with other Americans! I'm one of two Americans in my particular program. The other guy, Powder, went to Yale and he's really fun. Powder and I went to lunch with the Americans and had fun talking about the States. I offered them some Nilla wafers that I had brought as a snack, and they were excited because you can't find Nilla wafers in England! One girl, Laura, told me that her parents had sent her some Jiff peanut butter, and one of the other guys said that he really missed Jolly Ranchers. One of the guys, David, is from Nashville, and his wife is living here with him. Marta is a school teacher, and she really misses the American students! English children are pretty wild...I'm always shocked when I read the paper! They beat each other up, stab each other, and most of them dress very punk. It was nice hearing Southern accents. :) One thing we talked about was the word "restroom." In the States, people say, "I need to use the restroom," and in England, people say, "I need to use the toilet." You'll never find a sign pointing to the "restroom," but you WILL find signs pointing to the "toilets." At first, it was hard to get used to saying "toilet" instead of "restroom" or "bathroom," because toilet just sounds kind of...vulgar. We all agreed that "restroom" sounds more polite. This past Friday night, Marfo, Michelle, Natalie, and I went ice skating in Coventry! It was really fun! Marfo had never ice skated before, so it was fun getting to teach her how to do it. I took pictures, and I'll post them soon. Natalie, Michelle, and I are all about equal when it comes to ice skating...we're not the best, but we're not the worst, either! On Saturday night, Marfo and I went to see "The Canterbury Tales" at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. It was really good! The actors dressed in period costumes, but the language was adapted from Old English to modern speech (thank goodness!), and the play was really funny. They even rapped one of the tales, and danced really ghetto...it was great! Tonight, Tooley and Mary Virginia are returning from Italy. They're spending the night and heading back to London tomorrow afternooon, because they fly out of London early Wednesday morning. Sad! And I won't get to spend very much time with them because I have to give a Rotary speech in Solihull, and tomorrow morning I have class for three hours. Hopefully my Rotary event tonight won't last TOO long. In other news, the flu/cold is going around Stratford! Both of my housemates are sick! Marfo and I have been taking care of Catherine this weekend, and last night, Marfo started feeling sick. One of our friends, Hannah, was supposed to go see "The Canterbury Tales" with us, but she got sick, too! I've been taking vitamins and drinking lots of orange juice, so hopefully I'll be ok. I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Lovely Lucerne

2006-02-04T01:45:00.000+01:00

On Tuesday morning, Tools, Mary V, and I took the train to Lucerne. The ride was very short...only 45 minutes! Lucerne is an absolutely charming Swiss village. It looks as though no one has built anything new there in over 100 years, but all of the buildings are in excellent condition. There are lots of cute stores, restaurants, etc, and all of the streets are cobblestone. A big lake (Vierwaldstättersee, or Lake Lucerne) separates the town into two parts - Old Town and New Town. In Old Town, you'll find lots of quaint shops, millions of souvineer, watch, candy, shoes, and clothing stores. But Old Town shuts down really early! New Town stays open much later. There's a long covered bridge that goes across the lake...it's so neat! When we arrived, we checked into our hotel and then went to the top of Mt. Rigi in the Alps. To get there, we had to take a boat ride, then take a tram to the top of the mountain. The Alps are absolutely gorgeous. Since it's winter, they were covered in snow and just beautiful. Mt. Rigi has lots of ski resorts that we passed by in the tram on our way to the top. When we reached the top, we ate lunch at a tiny restaurant and watched people sled down the mountain. It looked so fun! We roamed around the top of the moutain and took in the scenery. The weather was much warmer on the top of the mountain than down below, even though the top of the mountain was covered in snow! That's because we were actually above the clouds, so the sun was shining right on us. After a while, we rode the tram back down and caught the boat back to Lucerne. When we got back, we spent the rest of the day looking in shops and buying souvineers. We found Swiss Army knives in every color you could imagine...purple, hot pink, blue, teal, yellow, and of course the classic red. The most common souvineer items sold in Switzerland are: Swiss army knives, Swatches, chocolate, anything with the Swiss flag on it (red with a white cross), and cuckoo clocks. I really love Lucerne...it's so cute! It's such a picturesque Swiss village. That night, we went into New Town to try and find somewhere open for dinner. Guess what we ate...Mexican food! The restaurant was named La Cucaracha (cockroach), which made me think that Swiss people really don't know that much about Mexico, otherwise they wouldn't have named a restaurant The Cockroach. It just doesn't sound appetizing! But the food was very good, and the restaurant was packed! It's VERY hard to find Mexican food in England...I've only seen one restaurant since I've been here! So, it's nice to have a taste of home every now and then. After dinner, we headed back to our hotel, which was very cute and spacious. It's great traveling out of season...you can stay at nice hotels for discount prices! The next morning, I headed to the train station and rode back to Zurich to fly out. I think someone could very easily sneak into Switzerland without a passport. The people at Passport Control barely looked at my passport...I could have had someone else's and they would have never known! They didn't even stamp it, which I was sad about, because supposedly the Switzerland stamp has the Swiss flag on it. Mary Virginia and Tooley didn't get their passports stamped, either! So, if anyone is thinking about flying to Europe without a passport, Switzerland is your best bet! :) I had a wonderful time, and I really do think Switzerland is one of the most beautiful places I've been!

Welcome to Lucerne!

Our hotel

The covered bridge across Lake Lucerne

The Alps!

Tools and me on the top of Mt. Rigi

Me and Mary Virginia

Sledding down the mountain

20 Swiss francs...the equivalent to 16 or 17 U.S. dollars

Beautiful Switzerland!

2006-02-02T23:43:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone! I hope you've all been having a wonderful week. I just got back from Switzerland last night, and let me tell you...that is one beautiful country! I had an incredible time! On Sunday morning, I flew out of Birmingham and into Zurich. I highly recommend flying Swiss Air...the planes are nice, the flight attendants are very friendly, and they give you a big piece of Swiss chocolate! Tooley, Mary Virginia, and Dr. Corwin Senko met me at the airport. Corwin used to teach psychology at MSU, and since Tooley was a psychology major, he taught a few of her classes. He moved to Zurich this year to do research at a university. He and Tooley still keep in touch, so he agreed to be our tour guide around Zurich. It was wonderful! Guess who the three of them saw while they were waiting for me in the airport...Mohammad Ali! Yes, THE Mohammad Ali! I have no idea why he was in Zurich, but I'm sad that I missed seeing him! After they picked me up (by the way, they DON'T stamp your passport in Switzerland! We were very disappointed!), we headed to the hotel to drop off my bags, and then to lunch. We ate at a cute little bierhaus restaurant, where a polka band was the afternoon entertainment. It was so fun! We ate wienerschnitzel, which is actually fried veal. It was very good! After lunch, we roamed around Zurich and went to the Grossmunster Cathedral. Many of the churches that we visited in Switzerland were built during the Reformation, so they were made from stone and pretty bare on the inside, but they had beautiful stained glass windows! We climbed to the top of the church to see an aerial view of Zurich. Beautiful! Switzerland is just how I imagined it...cute towns, narrow streets with ornate buildings, and cold weather! The weather was a little bit colder than England, but luckily the wind wasn't as bad as it is in England. After the Grossmunster, we went to a restaurant to try some of the famous Swiss hot chocolate. The restaurant we went to was ADORABLE...it was completely decorated with flowers on the inside, from the ceilings to the floor. I felt like I was in a garden! It was definitely kitschy, but very cute. The hot chocolate was great, by the way! After hot chocolate, we walked along the river and saw more of the town, and then went to...the OPERA! Corwin got us tickets to see La Clemenza di Tito. The opera house in Zurich is really beautiful on the inside! The opera was sung in Italian, but German subtitles were flashed on a screen above the stage. Although some parts of it were a little hard to follow (due to the language barrier), I was very impressed and really enjoyed the opera! After the opera, we went to dinner at a fun, trendy restaurant. Although I didn't have wienerschnitzel again, I did have some great pasta. Then, Corwin showed us some beautiful parts of the city that overlook the river. Zurich is beautiful, and very fun! It a mix of old world, Swiss architecture (think The Sound of Music, even though that's filmed in Austria) and trendy restaurants and shopping. Everyone is Zurich was very friendly, and just about everyone can speak English, which was a relief! Our hotel was very nice...we got great rates since we're visiting "out of season." Our beds had down comforters on them! The next morning, Corwin met the three of us for lunch, and then Tools, Mary Virginia, and I went shopping! There's a really cool store in Switzerland called Globus (it's a chain store) that had EVERYTHING you could possibly want. If anyone ever visits Switzerland, check it out! (By the way, you should DEFINITELY visit Switzerland...it's wonderful!) We also went to H&M, Starbucks, Jemoli, and a really fun toy store. That afternoon, we met up with Corwin, did a little more shopping, and then headed to...SPRUNGLI! Sprungli is a famous Swiss chocolate shop that is a chocolate lover's paradise. Although I do love the English Cadbury chocolate, it just may have been knocked to the #2 spot by the chocolate at Sprungli. We perused through the store, made a few purchases, and then headed upstairs to the cafe for more hot chocolate. We walked around Zurich some more, and then went to the top of the Jules Verne Panoramabar, where you can have food and drink, and also a panoramic view of the city! We walked around trying to find a few places to have dinner, but ended up at...Outback! Yes, the same Outback Steakhouse that you'll find in the U.S.! Ok, it was a little different, but I guess they had to change it up a bit to cater to a Swiss market. It was great, though! I had a wonderful salad...good salads are hard to find in Europe! After dinner, we said good night and headed to bed. The next day, we headed to Lucerne, and I'll write about Lucerne tomorrow. Corwin, if you're reading this...thanks for being such a great host! You definitely went above and beyond, and the three of us had an amazing time! :)

The three Swiss Misses at the top of the Grossmunster Church, overlooking Zurich

Aerial view of Zurich

Cute restaurant with all of the flowers

Inside of the Opera House

Mary V, Tools, and Corwin enjoying the opera

Zurich

Buying chocolate at Sprungli! This random guy walked in front of the camera as I was taking the picture of Corwin, Tooley, and Mary V., and then one of the employees told me that I couldn't take pictures, so this is the only one I got

Mary Virginia enjoying some white chocolate

A popular way to get around Zurich - trolleys! They run on rails and cables

Spain Part 2: Barcelona

2006-01-28T02:34:00.000+01:00

On Tuesday morning, the three of us caught the train from Madrid to Barcelona (or BarTHelona, as they say in Spain - they pronounce "s" and "c" like they have a lisp, so gracias becomes "graTHias"). It was about a five hour ride, and very pleasant! The train was really nice, and we got to see part of the countryside. Spain is very green, and instead of rolling hills, like in England, most of the hills were sharp and pointed. We also saw lots of farms. When we arrived at the train station in Barcelona, we took a cab to our hotel, which was on a cute little street just off of La Rambla. La Rambla is the most famous and busiest boulevard in Barcelona. There are lots of shops, restaurants, and people selling items from phone cards to postcards to even birds! Barcelona seemed a little quainter than Madrid, but just as big! Barcelona reminded me a little bit of Florence, Italy - cute, narrow streets and fun little cafes. People in Barcelona speak Catalan Spanish, which is much harder to understand. It's like 2/3 Spanish, 1/3 French. Many of the words were spelled differently! After we checked into the hotel, we strolled down La Rambla and then went to the beach! The Mediterranean is beautiful! The weather was pretty chilly, but we still saw people surfing. We roamed around the beach for awhile, and then headed back to La Rambla and walked around some of the adjacent streets. Everything seems to be open pretty late in Spain, which is a nice change from England. We ate dinner, then headed to bed. On Tuesday morning, we woke up and walked along La Rambla to find the Canaleta Fountain, which is supposedly the purest water in Barcelona. Legend has it that if you drink out of the fountain, you will return to Barcelona one day. Mary Virginia, Tools, and I filled up our water bottles! Next, we went to La Sagrada Familia Church, or Church of the Sacred Family, which was designed by Gaudi. This church is unlike anything I've ever seen! Anton Gaudi designed the church, and was head of it's construction. They began building the church in 1882 and it's still not finished! Gaudi designed a lot of buildings and statues in Barcelona. Once you see one of his pieces, you can easily pick out the rest of them. His work is very modernist and colorful. We went to the top of La Sagrada Familia to see the aerial view of Barcelona. It's such a neat city! Next, we headed to see another Gaudi building, and walked around the posh business section of Madrid. We had a delicious, cheap, three-course meal at a cute restaurant called Mauri. We did a little shopping, and kept exploring the city. We went to the Gothic Quarter, and saw the big cathedral, which is under major recontruction. We stopped by a fruit market on La Rambla and bought some cherries and pomegranate seeds, and then went to Place Espanya, which has a big beautiful monument on an island in the street. We headed to a tapas (appetizer) restaurant called Taller de Tapas for dinner, and then headed back to the hotel. On Wednesday morning, I woke up and headed to the airport to fly back to London. Tooley and Mary Virginia caught the overnight sleeper train to Paris, and then I'm meeting up with them Sunday in Switzerland! I enjoyed the food in Spain, but it wasn't the best I've ever had. Spanish people eat a LOT of ham...you see ham and cheese sandwiches or ham restaurants everywhere! One day I had a bikini sandwich, which is fried egg, ham, and cheese - it was delicious! We ate paella one day, which is a popular Spanish dish made of cooked rice, olive oil, and sea food. Tapas are very popular in Spain, also. You order a lot of appetizers, and share them to make a meal. We ate scrambled eggs mixed with shrimp, fried artichokes, and cooked spinach with chickpeas. We ate a lot of delicious pastries, too! I enjoyed every meal that I had! One thing that also surprised me about Spain is how the people looked - I guess I had expected them all to be dark and look like Mexicans. You do see lots of dark people, but no one even resembles a Mexican! We saw lots of blonde hair, blue eyed Spanairds. I couldn't tell if some people were Spanish until I heard them talk! I had a wonderful time in Spain, and I would LOVE to go back! I highly recommend visiting there. I'll be in Switzerland from Sunday to Wednesday, and I'm so excited! I hope everyone has a great weekend!

A cool street in Barcelona

La Rambla

A game of soccer on the beach of the Mediterranean Sea

Sunset over Barcelona

Me and Tools on the Med

Crashing surf

Drinking from the Canaleta Fountain

La Sagrada Familia Church

View of Barcelona from the top of La Sagrada Familia

Another Gaudi

Gothic Quarter

Back from Spain!

2006-01-27T01:48:00.000+01:00

I hope everyone has been having a wonderful week! I just got back in England today from an amazing trip to Spain! :) We had a great time, saw lots of neat things, and took TONS of pictures, so I'm going to devote the next few days to posting about Spain. I'll start with Madrid:
On Saturday afternoon, I took the train to London and met up with Mary Virginia and Tooley. It was so fun getting to see Mary V.! She brought me a bag of Baked Lays chips from home (you can't find them ANYWHERE in Europe!), and the three of us hung around London for the night. Early Sunday morning, we headed to Gatwick Airport to fly to Madrid! We flew Easy Jet, a discount airline in Europe that's very popular. We arrived in Madrid around noon, so we had the whole afternoon to explore. Madrid was nothing like I expected! Actually, I don't know what I expected...maybe sombreros and bull fighting? You can find all of that, of course, but Madrid is actually a very big, beautiful, clean city! It's hard to explain...the city is very modern, but thanks to the old, beautiful architecture, it has a very unique feel to it. You know that you're in a big city, but the monuments, plazas, and buildings remind you that you're actually in SPAIN! Everyone in Madrid was very nice, even though hardly anyone could speak English. We had no trouble getting around, though...Tools navigated through the city and Metro, and I got a chance to put my Spanish minor to use, which was really fun. I really liked getting to speak Spanish! Although my Spanish isn't the best (I can read it and write it MUCH better than I can speak it) we got around the city fine, it was nice not having to find someone who spoke English whenever we needed directions, price information, etc. Our hotel was very nice, and on the Gran Via, a huge street in Madrid with great shops. Our first stop was El Rastro, a big outdoor flea market that is held every weekend. They sell everything from pottery to t-shirts to purses to pots and pans. We roamed around El Rastro for awhile, and then headed to the Plaza de Toros, a big arena where bull fights are held. Apparently they don't have bull fights in January, because a big circus tent was set up both inside and outside of the Plaza de Toros. Next, we went to the Plaza Mayor, a big, square plaza in the middle of lots of shops and cafes. We saw artists selling their paintings and lots of people sitting outside drinking coffee. We walked around the Plaza and through some of the streets along side of it, and then went to the Prado Museum, where they had lots of paintings by Velaquez, Goya, and El Greco. On the way to the Prado, we passed through La Cibeles, a big island in the middle of a busy street with a huge statue of a woman riding a chariot. We were pretty tired, so afterwards we went back to the hotel and got a good night's sleep. The next morning, we ate breakfast and headed to the Palacio Real, or Royal Palace. It was gorgeous! The Palace was white on the outside and looked a little similar to Buckingham Palace from the front, only a little bigger, and the inside of it was breathtaking. The ceiling in every room had a different mural on it, and no two rooms were the same! We got to walk through the royal apartments, courtyards, and even the chapel. After the Palacio Real, we went back to the Plaza de Toros so that we could actually go inside (it was closed on Sunday). We spent the rest of the afternoon eating and shopping...fun! Spain, like every country in Europe, has wonderful pastries! That night, we went to buy snacks for our train ride to Barcelona, and guess what I bought...Oreos! They were much cheaper than the $10 boxes they sell in England. It's funny to see which American items you can get in some countries that you can't get in others. Dunkin Donuts is a very popular chain all over Spain, and they had the usual Burger King, McDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Subway. I discovered a new energy drink that I like...Pink Fish! I'm a big fan of Red Bull, and Pink Fish looks and tastes like Red Bull, except that it's cherry flavored! I think it's a Dutch energy drink. Hopefully I'll find it again soon! Also, if anyone goes to Spain, remember this: do NOT order hot chocolate (chocolate caliente) unless you're at Starbucks. Spanish hot chocolate is very thick and almost bitter. We tried it at a few places, and I'm just not a fan. Overall, I must say, I was pleasantly surprised with Madrid! I would love to come back and visit! Tomorrow: BARCELONA - such a fun city!

El Rastro

More of El Rastro

Plaza de Toros

Inside the Plaza de Toros

Me, Mary Virginia, and Tooley posing with a statue outside of the Plaza de Toros

Plaza Mayor

Inside the Plaza

Cute little Spanish man checking out the artwork in the Plaza Mayor

Tools, Mary V., and me in the Plaza

Neat Spanish architecture

Protest march in La Cibeles

La Cibeles

I'll post more picture from Madrid soon!

Off to Spain! Adios!

2006-01-21T01:30:00.000+01:00

Early Thursday morning, Tools headed to London to meet Mary Virginia. I'm so glad she's here, and I can't wait to see her in London! On Thursday, I tried to be productive. I ran some errands, strolled around town, and got my haircut. I'm very picky about getting my haircut (it's hard to cut curly hair!), but I found a place that's about 3 minutes from our house. The girl who cut my hair was really nice, and she even lived in Tennessee for a few years! She told me that her mom and stepfather still live there, and when her mom comes to visit in April, she's bringing lots of goodies from the U.S. The things she said she misses most about the U.S. are: Sonic, Hershey's syrup, pancakes, and jellybeans. I had almost forgotten about Hershey's syrup, because it's been too cold to eat ice cream, but thinking about it definitely made me crave it! After my haircut, I talked to my Rotary host counselor, Mike. I have a lot of speeches and meeting planned for this semester, including two speeches in one day - one at a club that meets during the afternoon and one at a club that meets at night. On Friday, I mailed some birthday presents to friends at home, and then met Michelle, Marfo, and Emily at Starbucks. I've only been to Starbucks twice since I've been in England, because my theory is that once I'm back in the U.S., I can have Starbucks all the time. So instead, I usually go to Costa, which I think is better anyway. It was nice going to Starbucks though, because I got the white chocolate mocha, the drink I always got at the bakery at Mississippi State. It reminded me of home! :) After Starbucks, Marfo and I walked back to the house. Jeremy stopped us and told us about the Council Tax letter that Marfo received. Apparently, Marfo randomly got sent a letter from the Council Tax department saying that she should pay taxes. Jeremy was mad because he pays the tax for us (it's included in our rent), and thinks the government is after him. Ha ha! He cracks me up. :) Anyway, Marfo DOESN'T have to pay the tax, and Jeremy is investigating the matter right now. Tonight, I've been packing for Spain! Hooray! I'm very excited. I'm going to London tomorrow to spend the night with Tools and Mary Virginia, and we're going to Madrid on Sunday morning, staying there a few nights, and then taking the train to Barcelona. I'll fly back to London from Barcelona, and Mary Virginia and Tooley will take the train to Paris. I think we'll be able to get around Spain ok...I minored in Spanish, and Tooley also took a few classes at State. Although "Spanish" Spanish is pretty different from "Mexican" Spanish (we learn "Mexican" Spanish in school), we should at least be able to read the signs and menus. :) Next time I post will be on Thursday, so be looking for pictures! Fun story: on the news today, they reported that a whale somehow got into the English Channel from the North Sea, and is now swimming around the River Thames in London! It's swimming right by Big Ben and Westminster Palace. Apparently it's lost or sick. I'm going to see if it's still there tomorrow, and I'll try to take some pictures. Everyone have a great weekend and week! Pray for a safe flight and trip for the three of us! :)

After Tooley's farewell dinner, some of us went to Cox's Yard to hear a local band. From left to right: Tools, Natalie, Marfo, me

Tools, Natalie, Marfo, and Michelle

Tooley's Farewell Dinner

2006-01-19T00:53:00.000+01:00

On Tuesday night, Tooley and I went out to eat with one of her friends from work, Fraser. Fraser goes to Stratford-upon-Avon College, and he's hilarious! The three of us went to Cafe Rouge, a fun French restaurant in town. I had croque monsieur, one of my favorite French meals that I just discovered I like while we were in Paris. Tools and I had a great time asking Fraser crazy questions about growing up in England, such as "Do you mind that you have to answer to a monarch?" (even though the Queen has very little power), "Why don't British girls wear makeup?" and "Why is the punk movement so big here?" He gave us honest, funny answers, and taught us some new British words. We also got him to speak in an American accent, but it sounded like a nasal, New York accent. He really likes American culture, and hopes to go to school in Connecticut or Arizona to study abroad. After dinner, we walked around town and hung out. Today (Wednesday), Tooley and I hung around the house while she finished packing. We met up with Catherine, Marfo, Michelle, and Natalie to eat at Cafe Uno, an Italian restaurant, for Sarah's farewell dinner. We had a great meal and fun conversation. After dinner, we went to Cox's Yard, a pub where local musicians play. Another guy Tooley worked with, Byron, is in a band, and they played tonight at Cox's Yard. We ran into Fraser, and it was fun to just hang out. We listened to some of the bands play, but none of us were really impressed. Most British people under the age of 20 dress really punk...black hair, lots of eyeshadow, funky clothes...it's also a reflection of their music. The bands we listened to were really punk, which means they basically screamed into the microphone. Now Tooley is finishing up her packing, and tomorrow morning she leaves to meet Mary Virginia in London. It's going to be sad not having Tooley here, but it hasn't really hit me yet because I'm going to see her in London, Spain, Switzerland, plus she and Mary Virginia are coming back to Stratford on February 6 to spend the night before they fly home. I'm just glad I live in a house with two other girls! Once Tooley leaves for good, I'll only have about 6 weeks left until I come home for spring break. Hooray! I'm going to post pictures soon from Tooley's farewell dinner.

A Day in Birmingham, and more Paris pictures

2006-01-16T23:26:00.000+01:00

Today, Tooley and I headed to Birmingham to run some errands and hang out at the Bullring, probably the best mall in all of Europe! Birmingham is an hour away from Stratford by train, and it's the second largest city in the U.K. It's also where the main campus of my university is located. I had to go to Birmingham to pay my tuition (the type of debit card I have requires that I pay large sums of money in person). Tools and I hopped on the train and set off towards Birmingham. The University of Birmingham has about 16,000 students and is located in a section of Birmingham called Edgbaston. Tools and I roamed around the Student Services building, which is HUGE, and finally found the Cashier's Office. Guess what...my bank wouldn't allow me to transfer that much money from account! I even went by the bank this morning to make sure everything would be ok, and they said it would be. So now I have to transfer money from my account into the school's account online. I'm sure my crazy bank will find a way to mess that up, too! After we left the campus, we headed to...the Bullring! The Bullring is a huge mall full our favorite stores...Topshop, H&M, Oasis, River Island, Office, and delicious restaurants like Costa, Nando's, and Wagamama's - my favorite! We browsed around the mall for awhile, but didn't end up getting much. That's fine with me, though! We went into Selfridges (an anchor store like McRae's), and guess what we saw...a whole section full of food specially imported from the U.S.! Oreos, Jiff peanut butter, Teddy Grahams, Betty Crocker dessert mixes, canned pumpkin, cornbreak, Aunt Jemima syrup, even Quaker Oats Grits! It's like Selfridge's had read our minds to figure out what foods we missed from the U.S.! Get this, though...the prices of the food were outrageous. $8 for a jar of peanut butter, $10 for a pack of Oreos...unbelievable! Of course Tools and I weren't going to pay that much for food that normally costs 1/4 of that. I did, however, get some canned pumpkin that was 70% off...only 1 British pound ($1.80)! Not too shabby. We felt like we had hit the jackpot for awhile, though! I was just waiting to see a stand full of People and US Weekly magazines...but I never did! After shopping, we headed to Wagamama's and enjoyed a delicious meal. After dinner, we caught the train back to Stratford, and here we are! It was fun to get a change of scenery for the day. Good news...I turned in my last paper today! Now I have to write four more for this semester...wish me luck! I hope everyone is having a great Monday. By the way, I'm suddenly craving Oreos... :)

The girls riding the Metro in Paris

Inside the Madeline Church

A beautiful hotel near the Opera house

The Opera House, home to The Phantom of the Opera

All of us girls in front of the Opera House

The beautiful Sacre Couer church, all lit up at night

Back of the Sacre Couer. By the way, all of us girls decided that the Sacre Couer (especially the view of the city from it!) is the most romantic place in Paris :)

Jessica, Ash, and Emily walkin' the Rose Line...the Earth's original prime meridian, before it was moved to Greenwich, England

Moulin Rouge!

In front of the Louvre

Ashleigh in Stratford

2006-01-15T00:14:00.000+01:00

Here is the final post regarding my friends' visit to Europe:

On Thursday, Ash and I had a lazy day in Stratford. I showed her some of the fun sights, and she did a little shoppping. We went to Cafe Presto and had white hot chocolate and chocolate caramel shortbread (her favorite!) and read the paper...very nice! That night we just hung out and caught up. On Friday, we walked around Stratford again, packed our bags, and caught the train to London. Actually, we missed the first train we wanted, so rode the bus to Leamington Spa and caught the train from there. Once we arrived in London we went to Leicester Square, walked around, made one last Costa Coffee run for Ash, and went to see the new "Brokeback Mountain" movie. It's supposed to win a bunch of awards, including an Oscar, so we decided to check it out. It's a pretty good movie...Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal are very talented! I don't recommend it to any guys, though! After the movie we took the Gatwick Express to Gatwick Airport and spent the night, because Ash had to catch an early flight back home. It was very very very sad saying goodbye! It sure was nice having my friends come visit, though! I enjoyed every second of it. :) On Saturday, after I said goodbye to Ash, I had a couple of hours before my train left for Stratford so I went to the British Museum and saw...the Rosetta stone! It's the stone that has a story written on it in hieroglyphics, Greek, and another language, and scientists used it as the key to decipher Egyptian hierglyphics. It was really cool! Funny story about Ashleigh...she was stopped nearly everywhere we went so that security guards could check her suitcase and bag for who knows what. With blonde hair and blue eyes, she's probably the last person who would meet the profile of a terrorist. Security in European airports is very strict, which is good, but sometimes I think the security guards act a little ridiculous. I mean, first of all, I'm an American, and second of all, I'm a 22 year old girl...do you really think I'm going to be carrying a bomb? When has an American ever bombed Europe (well, since World War 2)? It's sometimes funny, but also sometimes insulting, to be stopped and asked to search your bag. But, better safe than sorry I guess! Life in Stratford is quiet as usual, which is nice. Tooley and I have hung out with our friends, run errands, and relaxed. Guess what...we received a letter from Buckingham Palace yesterday! We sent the Queen a Christmas card (just to be funny, and also to see if she'd reply), and we received a letter from her lady-in-waiting saying that the Queen sends her thanks for the card. How fun! I have a paper due Monday, so I'm going to finish working on that ALL day tomorrow. A week from Sunday, Tools and I will be in Spain (Madrid and Barcelona) with our friend Mary Virginia. Hooray! And two weeks from Sunday, we'll be in Switzerland (Zurich and Lucerne)! I'm very excited! I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. :) Next post...final pictures from Paris, including our favorite - the Sacre Couer :)

Ash checking her email in Stratford

Ash and her big ole suitcase riding the train back to London

Our letter from the Queen's lady in waiting!

Last Days in London

2006-01-13T01:50:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone! Tooley and her sister Katie arrived back in Stratford yesterday after a fun trip to Italy and Stonehenge. Last night, the three of us hung out with some girls that I go to school with, and today Tooley took Katie sightseeing around town. They just headed back to London tonight so that Katie can fly out in the morning. Then, Tooley will take the train back here!

Our last days in London: After we got off of the Eurostar Monday night, we headed to our hotel in the Bayswater area, which is very close to Notting Hill. Our hotel was great...this time, all five of us shared a room, and the manager was really nice about five of us being in a four person room. I was trying to be thrifty when I booked the hotel rooms and save money by booking four-person rooms for five people, and just splitting the cost five ways instead of four, but the Europeans are VERY strict about how many people sleep in each room. Tooley tried to do the same thing with her family and ran into similar problems. In Paris, Ash had to sneak into the hotel five minutes before the rest of us, plus wear a "disguise," but the management eventually caught on. It's so weird, because it's not a big deal AT ALL in the U.S.! On Tuesday, we woke up and went to Notting Hill, which is really cute area of London and home to the famous Portobello Road...there's even a Disney song about Portobello Road (from "Bedknobs and Broomsticks"). We saw where parts of the movie "Notting Hill" were filmed, and went in lots of cute stores. I love Portobello Road, and one of my favorite places is the Hummingbird Bakery, which specializes in "American cupcakes." Isn't that funny? I've had tea there before with Jeannie, but this time Emily Cole and I tried a cupcake, and they were great! I also saw Jiff peanut butter on the shelves, and immediately asked where they bought it, because they don't sell it anywhere in England! The Bakery has to get it shipped from the U.S., and it's pretty expensive. We ate lunch at a cute Mediterranean restaurant, and then headed to the half priced ticket booth in Leicester Square to buy theater tickets for "Les Miserables." Then, we headed to Oxford Circus, which is probably THE best shopping district in London. After shopping, we ate dinner at Pizza Express (a really popular chain in England) and went to see the West End (London equivalent to Broadway) production of "Les Mis." I think it may be my favorite musical of all time! The music was fantastic, and we laughed and cried the whole way through. I HIGHLY recommend seeing it - it's incredible! After the musical, we got coffee at Costa and called it a night. The next morning, we woke up early and went to the Tower of London. You get a tour of the castle and tower by a Beefeater, and it's really neat to see where such famous people lived, were kept in prison, and even beheaded. After the tour, we went to St. Paul's Cathedral, which is gorgeous, and also where Princess Di and Charles were married. Next, we went to Kensington Palace and "took" high tea at The Orangery. It was so fun! I've been there once before, and it's neat to have tea, scones, and cakes in the back yard of Kensington Palace! After tea, we went to Harrod's, one of the most famous department stores in the world. It's absolutely exquisite...everything in that place is top of the line. The building itself is just beautiful! While we were on the escalators, we saw none other than...Mohammad al Fayed, the OWNER, and his bodyguards! It was so cool! I recognized him from all of my magazines :), and told the girls who he was. He must have overheard me or noticed us staring, because he definitely smiled at us and waved! It made me feel very important. :) We saw the memorials that he had put up for Princess Di and Dodi. (His son, Dodi al Fayed, was Princess Di's boyfriend who died in the car accident with her). The memorials are amazing...one of them even has the engagement ring that Dodi bought for Di the day before they died. It's HUGE and very gaudy. Intersting fact: Mohammad al Fayed has kept Dodi's flat in London just as he left it before he died; a maid comes every day to clean it! There are still magazines and newspapers from 1997 in the flat. After Harrod's, we went back to the hotel to get our luggage and Ash and I had to say goodbye to Emily, Emily, and Jessica so that they could head to the airport. It was SO sad! I was so spoiled getting to have some of my best friends with me for a week! I had an AMAZING time, and I miss them! Ash and I caught the train to Stratford, and crashed for the night as soon as we got back to my house. I'll write more about Ash's adventures in Stratford tomorrow. :) I'll post the pictures from London today, and post the rest of the Paris pictures soon - they're great!

The Tower Bridge, which is right outside of the Tower of London

The main castle of the Tower of London

Jessica and Emily on the Tube, pooped from our busy day!

Our tea party at The Orangery

One of the memorials to Diana and Dodi in Harrod's

The second memorial, containing Di's engagement ring and a wine glass that they drank out of right before getting in the accident.

PARIS!

2006-01-11T01:04:00.000+01:00

Hey everyone! I'm so excited...last night my dad booked my flight home for spring break! I'll be home for almost a month, and I'm so excited about being seeing my family, friends, and just getting a big dose of Mississippi. :) My flight gets into Jackson at 11:05 p.m. on March 28th. Today I had my first class of the semester. From now on, I have class on Tuesdays for three hours, and class on only three weekends, which will be nice. After class, I went to Costa with Marfo, Michelle, English Natalie (now the ONLY Natalie, since American Natalie went back home!), and Bryone to catch up on our holidays. Ok, here's a recap of our trip to Paris:

On December 30, the five of us girls woke up early and headed to Buckingham Palace and St. James Palace (where Prince Charles lives!), where we had fun posing for pictures with the Beefeater guards. Ashleigh even made one of them laugh by telling him a joke! It was great! We strolled through St. James Park, and then headed back to the hostel to grab our bags and go to Waterloo Station to catch the Eurostar train to Paris. Due to service problems on the train, we had a two hour delay in getting to Paris! It was ok, though, because we had a great time on the Eurostar, and were even served a three course meal! (Note: do NOT eat the pate on European trains!) When we arrived in Paris, we had a little trouble getting out of the train station due to the language barrier and lack of change for the Metro ticket machines. When we finally figured everything out, we took the Metro to our hotel, the Hotel Berne Opera, which was surprisingly nice! European hotels are much smaller than American hotels, so you never know what to expect. The next day, we headed to the Champs Elysees, the most famous avenue in Paris and home to the Arc de Triomphe. We soaked in the beautiful landscape of the French architecture, and climbed to the top of the Arc de Triomphe for an even better view. Afterwards, we decided to hop on a double decker tour bus, which we rode to the Eiffel Tower. We waited in line, and went to the VERY top of the Eiffel Tower! The view is unbelieveable...Paris is HUGE! We found a delicious crepe stand that also had hot chcolate (chocolat chauds). Crepes are like thin pancakes, and you can get them filled with anything from ham and cheese to chocolate and banana. My absolute favorite crepe is a Nutella crepe. Nutella is a chocolate/hazlenut spread, and I LOVE it! Since it was New Year's Eve, we headed back to the hotel to change. We walked down our street to the Place de Clichy, where we found a cute Middle Eastern restaurant with great food. We had a wonderful meal, and a great time chatting during dinner! We met up with the Tooleys and headed back to the Eiffel Tower to watch the fireworks at midnight. Bonne anne! (Happy New Year in French). It was such a cool experience! As you know from the past riots in Paris, Parisians can get a little rowdy. Besides the occasional drunk guy trying to mess with us, we had a lovely time walking up and down the Champs Elysees after leaving the Eiffel Tower. We stayed out SO late...but how often do you get to spend New Year's in Paris? On New Year's Day, we woke up late, but had such a productive and fun day! We went to the Notre Dame Cathedral, and walked along the Seine River next to the cathedral. It's so beautiful! Then, we headed to the Madeline Church and the Opera house...home of "The Phantom of the Opera!" The Opera house is gorgeous. Paris is such a beautiful city! Next, we went to Montmartre and saw the Moulin Rouge, and had dinner at a little restaurant across the street. Afterwards, we walked to the Sacre Couer, which we all agreed was our favorite place in Paris! The Sacre Couer (sacred heart) is an enormous cathedral that is built on a high hill in Paris, and it was the most beautiful view of the city. We went at night, so we got an extrememly impressive view of Paris at night. We walked along the cute little streets near the church and browsed through some souvineer shops. Then, we headed back to the Champs Elysses and walked towards the Louvre. We saw the Rose Line, which was the original prime meridian for the Earth before it was moved to Greenwich, England. The next day we woke up and headed to the Louvre, which is another beautiful work of art. Unfortunately, my wallet was stolen, so I didn't get to go through the museum with the girls. Luckily, I've been to the Louvre before, so I didn't miss out on seeing anything new while I went to the bank and had money wired to me. It was definitely a blessing that I didn't have my passport or even that much money in my wallet! That afternoon, we headed back to London with another fun ride on the Eurostar! :) Observations about Paris: the food is delicious! My favorites: crepes, croque monsier (kind of ham and cheese on a toasted biscuit with egg on top), and profiteroles (like cream puffs); Paris has amazing architecture and is a very romantic city! Parisians are not big fans of Americans, or anyone who speaks English for that matter. We encountered some Parisians who were very rude to us, but we also met some really nice people, too. Marfo told me that when she went to Paris, she couldn't speak French, only Greek and English, and when she tried to speak English to someone in a store, they just gave her a rude look and wouldn't speak. Basically, almost everyone in Paris can speak or can understand English...they just prefer to speak in French, NOT English. Needless to say, we were all ready to return to London even though we had a fantastic time in beautiful Paris! :) Tomorrow: our final days in London.

Cheers! Dinner on the Eurostar.

In front of the Arc de Triomphe

A view of the Champs Elysees from the top of the Arc de Triomphe

Close up of the Eiffel Tower

Me and Ash on top of the Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower at night...it sparkles on the hour, and looks like someone poured glitter on it. So pretty!

Bonne anne...Happy New Year!

Notre Dame Cathedral

View from the Seine River

Cute house in Paris

More pictures will be posted tomorrow!

I'm Back!

2006-01-10T01:03:00.000+01:00

Hello to everyone! I'm back in Stratford after a nearly two week absence. Ashleigh Hunsberger arrived in London on Dec. 27, and Jessica Wells, Emily Cole, and Emily Ethridge arrived on Dec. 29. We took the train to Paris on the 30th, and left on January 2nd to return to London. Emily, Emily, and Jessica flew out on the 5th, and Ashleigh and I came back to Stratford for a couple of days, because she flew out on the 7th. Can I just say how WONDERFUL it was to see my amazing friends? It was definitely what I've been needing! :) We had an incredible time roaming around London and Paris, and needless to say...I have tons of pictures to post! I'll try to spread them out and do some everyday. News in Stratford-upon-Avon...not much! A lot of students (including me!) had big papers due today, so everyone was locked in their rooms trying to finish up. I made some study food for me and my other housemates, Cat and Marfo, and the three of us ate a whole pan of brownies in less than 24 hours! Ah, the life of a college student. :) Patti and Mitch, if you're reading this, thank you SOOO much for the wonderful package of food! I've already made a batch of pumpkin break, and as you can see from above, the brownies are gone, too! :) Today I gave a speech at the Nuneaton Rotary Club, and tomorrow I start class again.

London: Tooley and I took the EARLY train to London, because her mom and two sisters were arriving at Gatwick around 9:00 a.m. on the 27th. Ashleigh's plane didn't land until around 11 a.m., so I checked into our hotel and hung out until it was time to meet her at Paddington Station. Let me just say, when I saw my best friend for the first time in nearly four months, I definitely started crying! We had a great reunion, and we spent the afternoon visiting sights in London. Ash was a trouper, because the plane ride to London is looooong, and she was tired. We mostly stayed in Southwark (pronounced Suth-ick), where we saw George's Pub, the oldest pub in England (also mentioned in the Canterbury Tales), Borough Market, Bridget Jones's house (from the movie!), and other fun sights. We met up with the Tooleys and walked across the London Bridge and took a train into Leicester Square. We walked around Leicester Square, Chinatown, and SoHo, and ended up having a delicious pizza dinner at Cafe Uno. It was very cold in London...it even snowed! I showed Ash the magnificent view of London at night from the Waterloo Bridge...it's breathtaking! Then, we called it a night. We stayed at a little hotel in Earl's Court, which is a really cute neighborhood in London. On Dec. 28, we headed to Camden Town, which is one of my favorite areas in London. Not many tourists know about it, but it's so much fun! There's a HUGE market where you buy items such as vintage clothes, supercute clothes by unknown but up-and-coming designers, handmade items, funky jewelry, shoes, furniture, and a huge selection of cheap but delicious ethnic food. After Camden Town, we headed to Kensington, where we browsed through even more shops. That night, we ate dinner with the Tooleys at Chiquitos, a delicious Mexican restaurant in Leicester Square...one of the two Mexican restaurants I've seen in Europe! Then, we walked around SoHo and Chinatown some more. We saw Ronnie Scott's, a famous jazz club where Jimmy Hendrix used to play, and the Polar Bear, where the Rolling Stones first played together as a band. On Dec. 29, Ash and I met Emily Cole, Emily Ethridge, and Jessica Wells at Victoria Station in London. Another wonderful reunion! It really was amazing getting to see all of my beautiful friends! We checked our luggage into the hostel, and set out to see the sights. We crammed a LOT in...Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Gabriel's Wharf, Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery, Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Chinatown, SoHo, and the Waterloo Bridge at night! Busy day! That night, all four of the girls spend the night at their first ever hostel! Hostels, for those of you who don't know, are cheap accommodations that are VERY popular throughout Europe, and cater to travelers who are on a budget...students, backpackers, young singles. Hostels are set up kind of like dorms...most have 12 person rooms, 6 person rooms, 4 person rooms, twin rooms, and single rooms, which consist of bunkbeds. Most rooms share a bathroom and shower, and there's also a kitchen and living room shared by everyone in the hostel. Tooley and I usually stay in hostels when we travel, because they're safe and cheap. However, the five of us stayed in hotels the rest of our trip, just because we got some good deals on rooms. Tomorrow, I'll post our adventures in Paris! We also have round 2 of London, b/c we spent two more days there after we returned from Paris. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Ave and Ash, reunited!

Me, Ash, and Tools watching the sunset over the London Bridge

Me, Emily Cole, Emily Ethridge, Jessica Wells, and...Big Ben!

The girls in Chinatown

Outside of Buckingham Palace

Me, Ash, and our new friend - ha!

Cute umbrella picture

How many girls can fit into a phone booth? At least five! :)

More Cairo Pictures

2005-12-26T22:23:00.000+01:00

Since I am going to be gone almost ten days, I'm going to leave you with some more pictures from Cairo. When I return, I hope to have some great pictures of Paris, London, and my friends. Happy New Year's, everyone! :)

Mosque at the Citadel in Cairo

Inside of the mosque

Gorgeous view of Cairo from outside the mosque

Our nighttime falucca ride on the Nile - so fun!

Dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe after the falucca ride

Me and Mohab goofin' off

Me and the guys...from left to right: Ash, Ahmed, Mohab, and Walt. (Huka took the picture)

Koshary, one of my favorite Egyptian meals

License plate in Arabic...from left to right, the numbers are 424490

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-25T19:57:00.000+01:00

Or as they say in England, Happy Christmas! :) I hope everyone is having a wonderful day today. Tooley and I slept in, and then opened our presents to each other and the presents from my host counselor and his wife. Santa Tooley was great this year! We have SOOO much candy! If anyone would like some Cadbury's chocolate, feel free to fly over and eat some with us. :) It's hard spending Christmas away from my family, but I want to thank everyone for the special things you've done to make my first Christmas away from family and friends as easy as possible. Thank you for the cards, gifts, e-mails, and calls...they really mean a lot! This afternoon, Tooley and I cooked a HUGE meal - I'm stuffed! We cooked a turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, rolls, and snacked on a yummy cheese tray while we cooked. We also had a cute little snowman cake for desert. I'm not going to tell you how long it took us to cook everything, but we had a great time doing it! We also watched some classic Christmas movies..."National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," "Elf," and "Bridget Jones's Diary." Well, "Bridget Jones's Diary" isn't exactly a classic Christmas movie, but it got us excited about heading back to London for awhile. :) Tomorrow will be my last post for a week or so, because I'll be in London and Paris with my friends until the 5th of January. Tomorrow, I'll post a bunch of pictures from Cairo. Here are some highlights from mine and Tooley's endeavors in the kitchen:

Our turkey, complete with the stuffing inside. Thanks, Marks and Spencer! (popular department store/grocery store in England)

Dinner and a movie...on my laptop!

Tooley showing off her turkey carving skills

Doesn't this look delicious? :)

Our cute snowman cake

Get it, Tools! :)

Cairo, my favorite. :)

2005-12-24T01:07:00.000+01:00

Early Saturday morning, Walt and I arrived in beautiful Cairo, a city of 15 million people. The Muslim weekend is Friday and Saturday (Friday is their Holy Day), so the work week is Sunday through Thursday. Pretty different! Walt and I stayed in Rachel McDonald's flat, which was SO nice! Rachel graduated from MSU with me, and has been working in Cairo since summer. One of my very good friends, Lacey Kuhn, went to visit her this summer and met a lot of great Egyptians. One of Lacey and Rachel's friends, Mohab, met Walt and me at the train station. The three of us just clicked! He was great, and drove us around the town (there are basically no driving laws in Egypt...no lanes, few stop lights, and no one pays attention to the speed limit...it can be scary!) Mohab took us to the Egyptian Museum, where we saw treasures from the tombs of the pharoahs, and we even saw some mummies! Mohab showed us the amazing sights of Cairo. It's a gameel (Arabic for beautiful) city! It's very modern, but there are some parts (we didn't really go through them much) where people are living in poverty without electricity or indoor plumbing. You can basically find a little sample, whether it be a house, church, or furniture, from every decade, beginning 7,000 years ago! We drove through Islamic Cairo and Coptic (Christian) Cairo, where there are lots of mosques and some Catholic churches. Walt and I were surprised to see that you can find more American products in Cairo than you can in the UK! McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Hardees, and Chilli's are popular restaurants, and you can find just about any American magazine or beauty product if you look hard enough. Mohab took us to City Stores, which is the largest mall in Egypt, and then he dropped us off at the Khan el-Kalili, a HUGE outdoor and indoor market. Walt and I picked up a few souvineers! :) That night, we went out to eat with Mohab and his friend Ashraf (Ash), and they took us to the highest mountain in Cairo to see the amazing view of the city at night. The four of us just hung out, admiring the view and discussing Egyptian and American politics...it was pretty cool! I learned so much about Middle Eastern culture and the Muslim religion during my trip! The Egyptian president, Mubarak, isn't a favorite among the Egyptian people. But, his opponent in the past presidential election mysteriously wound up in jail. Mubarak's picture is up all over the country, but we were assured by many people that Mubarak put the picture up, not any of his fans. On Sunday, Walt and I had coffee with Rachel's flatmate, Cam, who's from London and coincidentally goes to the same school at Walt! Then, we walked along the Nile and explored part of the city. After lunch, Mohab, Ash, and their friend Mahmoud (Huka) picked us up so we could go to...the PYRAMIDS! Wow! It was so neat to see them in person! They're huge, but I was surprised to see how small the Sphinx is. Anyway, by the time we got through the Cairo traffic, we had to run in and out of the pyramids before they closed, but we were laughing the whole time. How often do you get to race through pyramids? :) After we took tons of pictures outside of the pyramids, the five of us went horseback riding through the desert...AMAZING! It was so neat to gallop on a horse through the desert, and to turn your head to the right and see the pyramids next to you. We all stopped on a cliff to watch the sunset, and headed back. Minor incident along the way...all of horses started crowding each other on the first part of the journey, and Mohab's horse started bucking. Since Walt and I were right behind it, the horse kept kicking us in the leg. My foot is still a little swollen, and Walt had to get two stitches! But it was all part of the adventure. After horseback riding, we met up with Ahmed and the six of us headed to Huka's house, where his mom had cooked us a huge and delicious Egyptian meal! It was so nice, and the food was great! I've realized that I'm a huge fan of Arabic food and music. I also love the Arabic language, and really want to learn it better! The guys were great about helping me learn new words and work on my accent. A popular Arabic phrase is insha7 alah, pronounced "in cha alla," and it means "God willing." The Egyptians say it after anything that they say will or may happen in the future. For example, "I will return to Egypt soon, insha7 alah." It's so neat! After supper and cheesecake, the six of us visited Ahmed's sister and nephew, and we tried asop, which is an Egyptian drink made of sugar cane juice...it's very sweet! Later that night, Ahmed, Ash, Walt, and I explored the Marriot hotel, which is the largest Marriot in the Middle East. Hotels are popular hang out spots in Cairo. On Monday, Walt and I went to the Citadel, which is a fortress with a mosque that was built during the Crusades to protect the city. You can't wear shoes in mosques, and girls have to have their heads and bodies covered. No tank tops or bare heads! The mosque was very impressive...some amazing architecture! We also saw a breathtaking view of the Cairo city scape from the mosque. That afternoon, we explored Zamaleck, the section of Cairo where Rachel lives. It's such a neat place! The main street is 26th of July Street, and you can find neat bookstores and clothing shops. Most signs and stores are written in both Arabic and English, which is a relief! That night, Mohab, Ash, Huka, Ahmed, Walt, and I went on a falucca ride on the Nile, and then had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. Those guys are so much fun! They were the perfect tour guides, because they're all native Cairoeans. :) The six of us just clicked, and we had the best time! Tuesday was our last day in Cairo (sad!), so Walt and I went to the Al-Azhar mosque, home to the world's oldest university, and made one more trip to the Khan el-Kalili market. Mohab picked us up at Rachel's flat, and drove us to say goodbye to Ash. Mohab's dad managed to get Walt and me FREE train tickets back to Luxor, so Mohab hung out with us at the train station to make sure we made it ok. It was SOOO sad saying goodbye! Luckily I've been keeping in touch with my Eyptian buds through email, and Walt and I are planning another trip to visit them this summer. :) I just had the best time ever in Cairo! I felt so safe, too. I was really worried at first, because the news makes it sound like Middle Easterners hate Americans, but I had the best experience and felt completely safe! On Wednesday morning, Walt and I arrived back in Luxor, where we walked around til it was time to fly out. I had a wonderful experience in Cairo, and I think it's an incredible city...unlike any place I've ever been!

Mohab and me outside of the Egyptian museum.

The Khan el-Kalili market

I wish I could do that!

Pyramid and the Sphinx!

Ash, Huka, me, Walt, and Mohab at the pyramids overlooking Cairo

Ash, Mohab, me

Me and my horse, Isis

Cool view, huh?

More pictures to come tomorrow! :)

More Luxor Pictures

2005-12-23T19:14:00.000+01:00

Walt and me on our falucca ride on the Nile!

Pretty cool, huh?

The Valley of the Kings

Checking out a tomb in the Valley of the Kings

Karnak Temple

Karnak Temple

Karnak Temple

Luxor train station...yikes!

We had to hike over this pile of rubble to get to our train.

EGYPT! Wow, I loved it! :)

2005-12-23T03:04:00.000+01:00

Hello, everyone! I'm back in good ole England after a fabulous week in Egypt! It was simply amazing...I saw some awesome things, and learned so much! I'm going to have to break the trip into at least two days worth of posting, so I'll begin with Luxor. Walt and I flew out of Birmingham International Airport and arrived in Luxor, Egypt, on Wednesday night. The weather was surprisingly warm (it doesn't take much to be warmer than England - ha!), so Walt and I walked along a boardwalk on the Nile. The next day, we explored the town and went to Hatshepsut's Temple. The exchange rate in Egypt is amazing...10 Egyptian pounds = 1 British pound, and 5 Egyptian pounds = 1 U.S. dollar. Not too shabby! Walt and I hired a nice guy named Tourkey to drive us around the East and West Banks of Luxor for the day...for a grand total of $12! Luxor is a medium sized town, but very very poor. There are people all over the streets trying to sell you souvineers, taxi rides, carriage rides, everything! We quickly learned how to say "No, thank you" in Arabic - la shucron! :) I really like the Arabic language...it's beautiful! The main form of transportation for locals is a minibus (like a minivan, but serves the purpose of a city bus), car, and...donkey. No joke! I saw many people riding donkeys! It was very surreal! From Hatshepsut's Temple, you can see the lush Nile River Valley of the West Bank. It looks amazing when you contrast it with the desert on the other side of it! While at Hatshepsut's Temple, we met lots of Egyptian schoolchildren who enjoyed practicing their English on us..."Hello! How are you? What is your name?" - so cute! Three of them asked me for my autograph, and two took pictures with me...but I'm not sure why! Egypt is 90% Muslim, so there are mosques EVERYWHERE, and they're absolutely gorgeous. Muslims pray five times a day, so when it's time for prayer, someone in the mosque reads the Koran in Arabic over a loudspeaker from the mosque, which you can hear all over the city! The first prayer time is 4:30 a.m. Our hotel was next to a mosque, so imagine my surprise to be woken up at 4:30 a.m. to the sound of Arabic chanting! Since Luxor is very poor, the streets and town were pretty dirty, but the people were SO nice! Walt and I tried shawerma, a yummy Egytian food that is basically lamb meat on a baguette. On Friday, we went to the Valley of the Kings, where the tombs of the pharoahs have been discovered. They're located in the valley of a tall, limestone mountain. We got to roam around in tombs that are over 4,000 years old, including King Tut's tomb! It was pretty awesome. Later that afternoon, we went to Karnak Temple, which is supposed to be the largest temple in the world. I'm so amazed with the technology of the ancient Egyptians...wow! The temple was incredible, and I can only imagine what it looked like thousands of years ago. We also went on a falucca ride on the Nile. So cool! A falucca is like a sailboat, and the weather was perfect for a ride on the Nile...sunny and in the mid 80s! The Nile is gorgeous...I can totally picture Cleopatra floating down it on a royal barge! Our falucca was named the Mickey Mouse - pretty funny! On Friday night, Walt and I went to the Luxor train station to catch the sleeper train to Cairo, a nine hour trip. I must say, the Luxor train station is in an awful state of disrepair! We had to climb over rubble to get in our train! Check out the pictures below. Tomorrow I will write about Cairo, which is my FAVORITE...that city is just incredible! I can't wait to tell you all about it! Fun fact - the soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful" comes on Egyptian T.V., complete with Arabic subtitles. I'm sure my mom will be happy to know that! haha!

**England is ready for Christmas! There were two markets in Stratford today, and a little bitty ice skating rink, too. Tooley and I saw "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" tonight...it was great!**

Luxor Temple at night

A crowded street in Luxor

Nile River Valley from Hatshepsut's Temple

Guardians of the Valley of the Kings

For some reason, I can't upload any more pictures right now, but I'll put up more from Luxor tomorrow. :)

Egypt for a week!

2005-12-13T20:00:00.000+01:00

Tomorrow (Wednesday), Walt Cain and I will be going to Egypt for a week! I'll be back on Dec. 22, so be looking for a new post and pictures from Egypt as soon as I get back! We will be going to Luxor and Cairo. I'm very excited, but a little nervous. Keep us in your prayers! :) I hope everyone has a great week.

A Day in London with Two Mississippi Girls

2005-12-13T02:54:00.000+01:00

Today I went to London to spend the day with Mariclaire Ingram and Sarah McDonnell. It was SO nice to see people from Mississippi and MSU! I met them at 12:30 in front of Rendezvous, my favorite yogurt shop in Leicester Square. We walked through the Leicester Square and made our way to Trafalgar Square, which is beautiful. The weather was absolutely perfect...sunny and a little warm! We went to Buckingham Palace, and walked through St. James Park to get to Big Ben. Luckily, all of the BIG London landmarks are relatively to close to one another, so it's easy to walk around. The girls went through Westminster Abbey, but since I've been before, I went by 10 Downing Street (the English equivalent to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, a.k.a. the Prime Minister's home) and also got something to eat. After Westminster Abbey, we hopped on the Tube and made our way to St. Paul's Cathedral, where Princess Di got married, and also where the sing "Feed the Birds" in Mary Poppins. I've been in St. Paul's before, and I've even been to a couple of church services there, but I've never gotten to go on the full tour, so it was fun getting to do that with Sarah and Mariclaire! We went up to the dome, and even on to the roof of the dome, where we had a great aerial view of London. We had to climb a TON of steps to get to the top...my legs are probably going to be sore tomorrow! We went down into the crypt, and then headed to Covent Garden to look around the Apple Market. (They don't sell apples there...instead, they sell fun jewelry, purses, and antiques!) We ate dinner at a little cafe in Covent Garden, and walked down the Strand, a bustling street in London, back to Leicester Square. Mariclaire and Sarah booked tickets to see the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "The Lady in White" tonight, so we walked around China Town before they had to head to theater and I had to head back to the train station. We saw a LOT today, and I had a blast with those two girls! :) London is just magnificent. It's my favorite!

Me, Mariclaire, and Sarah outside of Buckingham Palace

Me and Mariclaire outside of Westminster Abbey

The Dome of St. Paul's Cathedral

More of St. Paul's...you're not supposed to take pictures on the inside, so I couldn't use my flash. Sorry if the pictures are a little dark!

London from the top of St. Paul's

Supper in Covent Garden!

Natalie's Farewell

2005-12-11T23:18:00.000+01:00

On Friday night, Tooley and I went out to eat with Marfo, Michelle, and English Natalie to say goodbye to American Natalie. We ate at Cafe Pasta, which is a nice little Italian chain. It was sad saying goodbye to Natalie, but I know she's excited about seeing her family and boyfriend again. The rest of this weekend has been very lazy! Tooley has been planning trips - Italy, France, and Scotland for her mom and two sisters, and London, Paris, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland for her and Mary Virginia (I'll be going to Spain and Switzerland with them). I got a plane ticket from Barcelona to London for 20 Euro, which is less than $30...how great is that?! I've done a little bit of work on my paper, but not as much as I was hoping to get done. In other news, our oven is broken! Luckily the stove works, so we can heat up pasta, coffee, and hot chocolate, but Junko has decided to not to get the oven fixed until Jeremy comes home...in over a month. Tooley and I were planning on cooking a big meal for Christmas, so I don't know what we're going to do now! It's gotten a little cooler today. Really, the weather hasn't been that bad! When I first got here, English people kept telling me that the winters are horrible because the sun sets at like 4:00 p.m. (it really does) and you basically don't see the sun for three months. One Rotarian even told me that more people commit suicide in the winter because the extra hours of darkness adds to their depression! How scary is that? Luckily, the sun has been shining brightly nearly everyday the past week, and it doesn't rain as much as I thought it would. I hope I didn't jinx myself just then! The next two days are going to be very busy...tomorrow, I'm going to London for the day to hang out with Mariclaire Ingram and Sarah McDonnell. It'll be fun to see some good ole Mississippi girls! Tooley is going shopping in Birmingham for the day...the mall there is incredible! On Tuesday, I have to run errands and pack for Egypt, and Walt is coming to spend Tuesday night with us, because we fly out of Birmingham EARLY Wednesday morning. I'm so excited about seeing Egypt, but a little nervous, too. But how cool will it be to see the pyramids, Sphinx, Nile River, and places that are so old that they're Biblical? I mean, we're talking Moses and Pharoah here! It's going to be pretty awesome. Hopefully I'll have some fun pictures with Mariclaire and Sarah posted tomorrow!

Tools and me at Cafe Pasta

We'll miss you, Natalie!

Dinner at Natalie's and our School Christmas Party

2005-12-09T04:11:00.000+01:00

What a busy but fun past two days! On Wednesday night, Tooley and I went to Natalie's house to for a little dinner party, because she's going back to the University of Alabama next semester. She leaves Saturday! She lives in a UCLA professor's house (he only lives in Stratford-upon-Avon during the spring), so she has the perfect place to have a get-together. Tooley, me, Marfo, English Natalie, and Michelle enjoyed a feast of red beans and rice, stuffed mushrooms, Greek apple pie (from Marfo!), and Jello cookies and cream (thanks mom and dad!). The red beans and rice were WONDERFUL...Natalie brought a bunch of Zataran's boxes with her, so it tasted like it came straight from New Orleans. English Natalie and Michelle got to try their first Jello...they don't have it in England! It's hard to describe Jello to British people, because their words for jam, jelly, and pudding are different from our definitions of those words. They said it's similar to Angel Delight, whatever that is! Today (Thursday) was a beautiful day in Stratford! There were markets on nearly every street in town...it was great! I went to the library to do a little research, then came home to get ready for our school Christmas party. It was SO much fun! Everyone was decked out and festive, and there was a nice buffet with pizza, sandwiches with eggplant (or aubergines, as the English call them), chips (fries), and mini sausages. For dessert, we had mince pie and mini chocolate pies. Mince pie is really popular in England! It's a pie filled with fruit and jam...pretty good! At first I thought mince pies had meat in them, because they call ground beef "minced" meat. Thankfully, there is no meat to be found in mince pies...they're more of a dessert. After eating, we had a big dance party...it was SO much fun! Everyone was breaking it down, including my teachers, which was kind of funny. The British may have the reputation of being reserved and uptight, but they aren't scared to dance if there's good music playing. Emily even taught me a British dance similar to the Macarena. I've never had so much fun at this school! It reminded me a little of Chi O parties, which I miss! After the party, Michelle, English Natalie, Emily, Bryone (pronounced Bry-on-ee), Marfo, and I went to Celebrities, the dance club that we went to last weekend. It's so much fun! They played Outkast, Madonna, B-52s, all kinds of great dance songs. It was a great night! Tomorrow night, we're going out to eat for American Natalie's last night...sad!

Bryone, Marfo, me, and Emily

Me and Powder, the other American in my program. He went to Yale!

Michelle, American Natalie, Emily, English Natalie, Marfo, me

My wonderful housemates, Marfo and Catherine!

Michelle and me taking a break from dancing

Being goofy (yes, that's a bust of Shakespeare, and he's wearing a Santa hat)

More Pictures of Stratford

2005-12-06T18:15:00.000+01:00

I decided to post some more pictures of Stratford, including my school, so everyone could see a little more of the town. :) And let me just say...it's SO nice to be finished with class for awhile! Now if only I could finish those pesky essays! Yesterday, Tooley and I had a very lazy day. We slept in, ran some errands, and helped Junko decorate the mini Christmas tree. It was fun! Junko is too cute. We tried to teach her some American slang, so we got her to say "Holla!" Unfortunately, the double L sound is a little hard for Japanese people to make, so it ended up sounding like "Horro!" But she got the gist of it, I think. :) It was nice of Junko to get a tree for us, because she's Buddhist (most Japanese people are) and doesn't really celebrate Christmas. Tools and I tried to get her to sing some Christmas carols, but she only knew part of Jingle Bells. :) We're going to have a little tea party sometime soon, and Junko is going to leave Japanese treats out for us. Last night, Tooley made taco soup, and it was delish! That Tools is becoming quite the little chef. Today I woke up and went to the Post Office to pick up my package from my parents...hooray! It was wonderful! They sent me a baby blue fleece pullover, Downy Wrinkle Releaser (oh, how I've missed it!), my body wash, some reindeer socks (thanks, mom and dad), and my favorite...People and US Weekly magazines! Those magazines are totally my guilty pleasure...I LOVE them! One thing I've recently begun to enjoy about them since I've been in England is the advertisements! It's really nice to see American products advertised...makes me miss home. :) Isn't that weird? When I received my package, I saw that the lovely Customs inspectors had already opened it for me, and had even unwrapped the fleece pullover that had been wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper. Maybe they thought the fleece was really a bomb? Who knows? I have to admit, Customs serves a good purpose, but they can kind of be a pain. When you ship something overseas, you have to fill out a Customs form saying what's in the package. People can see what's in the package before they even open it...kinda defeats the purpose! After I picked up my package, I mailed some Christmas cards and stopped by Costa to get some coffee and read some of my magazine. I ran a few more errands, then headed back to the house, and that's where I am now! Tooley has to work til 10 tonight, so I may do a little school work. It's hard to concentrate knowing that I'm going to be going to EGYPT in one week! Walt told me yesterday that the company we booked the trip through contacted him and said that there had been problems with our accomodations, so they upgraded us to a five-star hotel at no extra cost! Wonderful! We're going to be based in Luxor, but travel to Cairo for a few days, where we'll stay in Rachel McDonald's flat, which was very generous of her to let us do! I hope everyone is having a wonderful day, and good luck to everyone at State who is taking exams this week!

Guild Street...home of many tourist shops and Shakespeare's birthplace

This building was built over 500 years ago, and people still live there. No joke.

The front of my school

This pic and the next two are of the back of my school.

A Night on the Town and a Day in Class

2005-12-04T00:54:00.000+01:00

On Friday, I awoke to discover that I had received a package from my grandparents! My grandmother mailed me her delicious rice krispy treats (made with peanut butter instead of marshmallows and covered with chocolate icing - yum!), various and sundry brownie and muffin mixes, and a shirt. I love packages! Friday night, I had class from 6-8:30, but that's ok, because this weekend is my LAST CLASS OF THE SEMESTER! Hooray! Too bad I still have to write two more essays. This class isn't my favorite. My teacher is from Cambridge, and he's not very exciting. Not that Shakespeare is exciting, but still! My teacher on the other weekends, Cath, is fabulous. Luckily she'll be teaching one of my courses next semester, too. After class, Tooley and I met up with American Natalie, English Natalie, Michelle, Emily, and Marfo at Cox's Yard to hang out and listen to some music since it's Natalie's last week in England. She's going back to the University of Alabama to finish her ph.D. After a while, we decided to try out Celebrities, a dance club in the center of town near the birthplace. It was SO fun! We danced for an hour straight! The club has a DJ, and he played great songs by Michael Jackson, Destiny's Child, and Kanye West, but he also played random techno/dance mixes that the British are so fond of. That's ok, they have a good beat and are easy to dance to. Marfo and I headed home early since I have class on Saturday morning. Today I was in class from 10 - 5 p.m. Sometimes it's hard for me to join group discussions because not only are the people in my class a little older than me (ok, some of them are a LOT older than me), but they grew up in a totally different culture than me, which means they'll talk about TV shows, actors, and movies that I've never even heard of. Everyone in my class is SO nice, though. After class I went to the grocery store, ate supper, and made banana pudding. Yum! I must say, it was very good. After Tooley got home from work, we hung out in the room for awhile until we heard a knock at our door. It was Hannah, a girl I go to school with! She was looking for Catherine, but Cat hadn't made it home from the play yet. So, we headed downstairs to have some banana pudding! Hannah's from Seattle, so she appreciates delicious desserts like banana pudding. Marfo was downstairs, so we all chatted for awhile and Marfo tried her first bowl of banana pudding. She calls it the "banana thing." She really liked it! Maybe my purpose for coming to England wasn't to be an ambassador for the U.S. on behalf of Rotary, but to spread the joys of American culinary delights world-wide. :) Tomorrow I have class...one more day, I think I can make it! On Monday night, some people are throwing a party for Natalie and some other people who are leaving after this semester. Wednesday night, a bunch of us girls are going to Natalie's to have dinner, and Friday night is my school's Christmas party. Fun week! :) I hope everyone is having a great weekend so far!

Me and Marfo, out on the town

Marfo and Michelle

Natalie and Tooley

Bianca's Farewell/Shakespeare Play

2005-12-02T01:07:00.000+01:00

Last night (Wednesday), my host counselor Mike picked me up and we headed to the Coventry Phoenix Rotary Club meeting for Bianca's farewell speech. Bianca is leaving on Dec. 9 to return to Brazil, so the Coventry Phoenix and Coventry Jubilee Rotary Clubs met at a conference center in Coventry. It was fun getting to see some familiar faces, including the Littlefords (the people I stayed with in Coventry) and Gustav, the Swedish exchange student. The tables were decorated for Christmas, and each plate had a Christmas cracker on it. A Christmas cracker probably isn't what you think...it's not edible! I can't really describe what it looks like, so I'm posting a picture. Anyway, they're very popular Christmas gifts in England. You hold one end and someone else holds the other end, and you both pull. Whoever gets the biggest half when it breaks (it makes a loud pop) gets the prize that's inside. The prizes are usually a little charm or comb or toy, and a paper crown. Gustav and Mike and I popped about 5 of the Christmas crackers! Some of the Rotarians wore their crowns, and it was funny seeing old men with paper crowns on their head. For dinner, we had porkchops and applesauce (again), yorkshire pudding, carrots and potatoes (big surprise, huh?), and apple crumble for dessert. Bianca gave a beautiful speech...her English is wonderful! I'm the most impressed with Gustav, though. His English is flawless, with hardly a trace of a Swedish accent! At dinner, we were talking with Paul and Lorna Beedham (his host family) about the words "pants" and "trousers." The English call pants "trousers," and underwear "pants." So Tooley and I have to be careful when we go into store and talk about the clothes. If we talk about a cute pair of pants that we want to try on, the English people might think we're talking about underwear! But Gustav has had American English teachers as well as British English teachers, so he says "pants" for pants, too. Also, suspenders are called "braces." In England, women's garters are called "suspenders." So don't tell an Englishman that you like his suspenders...you might offend him! The meeting was nice, but I didn't get back to Stratford until almost 11:30 p.m.! Today I went to Leamington Spa to run errands, and then Natalie, Marfo, and I met for coffee before our lecture this afternoon. Tonight, Tooley and I tried fish and chips for the very first time! We felt really English. The people at the restaurant poured salt and vinegar onto the fried fish (cod) and fries, wrapped it in newsprint, and we took it home. It was pretty good! Very greasy, but good. I don't know if we'll eat it too much, but it's just something you have to try when you go to England. After supper, I went to see our school's production of "Julius Caesar." I've never read it before, but it was SO fun watching some of my classmates act! Cat was a townsperson, and she did a great job! I was very impressed, and actually enjoyed the play! Afterwards, American Natalie, English Natalie, Michelle, Emily (also English), and I went and hung out with everyone at The Windmill, which is a pub right across the street from my school. I had a fun night! This weekend I have my last class of the semester...hooray!

Me and Bianca saying goodbye!

A Christmas cracker. ALL of the stores sell them! They're very popular Christmas gifts, and nobody could believe that Tooley and I had never heard of them.

Southam Rotary Club

2005-11-30T01:33:00.000+01:00

Tonight I gave my first "for real" Rotary speech - power point presentation and all! At 6:00 p.m., Iain Cockburn (pronounced Coburn) from the Southam 2000 Rotary Club and his wife, Claire, picked me up in Stratford-upon-Avon. They were really fun and very sweet! They actually got married in the U.S., and we had some good conversations on the way to the meeting. Southam is about 20 minutes from Stratford, and the Southam Rotary Club meets at The Fox and Lion pub. Since it was Foundation Night (where they raise money and have guest speakers), the Southam 2000 club was also there, along with the Mayor and Mayoress of Southam. In England, all of the mayors wear large gold medallions, and their wives wear smaller ones. On the way to the pub, Iain told me that the riots in Paris are under control, and even if we had gone to Paris while they were happening, we wouldn't have been anywhere near them since the riots weren't near any of the tourist areas. He also told me about the strict gun control laws that England has. It is VERY hard to own a gun in England, and if you do own one, you have to store the gun and ammunition separately. Police aren't allowed to carry guns, either. Iain said that if the U.S. had stricter gun laws, it might cut down on the school shootings. He definitely has a good point! Tooley and I always read in the paper about students in England stabbing other students with knives, scissors...anything! There are never any shootings, though. Rinko, an Ambassadorial Scholar from Japan, also spoke tonight. She and I met last month at District Conference, so it was good getting to see her again. For supper, we had onion soup (ew!), porkchops and applesauce, cooked potatoes, and carrots...of course! Dessert was a sponge cake with creme and raspberry filling. I sat between the Mayor of Southam and the president of the Southam Rotary Club. Everyone was really friendly. A funny fact about Rotary Clubs in England...it's not unusual for one or two people to get drunk at meetings! Haha! After the meal and loyal toast (I thought it was called the royal toast when they toast the Queen, but it's actually the loyal toast), I gave my speech. I think it went ok! I'm glad it's over, though. People asked me about Hurricane Katrina and what I thought about England, but luckily there were no political questions. I've heard horror stories about Ambassadorial Scholars getting bombarded with a number of questions about Bush and the War in Iraq. Luckily, I had a great crowd tonight. After the meeting (it lasted til 10:30!), Iain brought me back to Stratford. Tomorrow I'm going to the Coventry Phoenix Rotary meeting to hear Bianca's farewell speech, so it'll be nice to go to a meeting and not have to speak. I hope everyone had a wonderful day!

SNOW!

2005-11-29T00:50:00.000+01:00

Today was a great day! At four a.m. England time, I received a call from my sister telling me that she's been elected as the new House Manager for Chi Omega...go Claire! I also turned in my big essay today (I don't have another one due til the beginning of January), and my package from my parents finally arrived. The package was wonderful, and I'm so excited! They sent me: People and US magazines (my absolute favorites, but you can't get them in England), Nilla wafers and Jello to make banana pudding, blueberry muffin mix, Cookies and Creme Jello, and...pumpkin bread mix! I made the pumpkin bread this afternoon, and it is delicious! I let Junko and Marfo try some. Junko didn't really seem to like it, but Marfo did! I told her about all the pumpkin flavored foods we have in the U.S. (pumpkin pie, cookies, yogurt, coffee, bread, muffins, etc.) and she was very intrigued. Apparently, pumpkin flavored foods aren't really popular outside of the U.S. After I turned in my paper, Tooley made pancakes for us for brunch (they were great!), and I read a magazine and took a nap. When I woke up, it was...SNOWING! And not just little flurries...these were the biggest flakes I've ever seen! They had to be at least 1 1/2 inches in diameter. It snowed off and on all afternoon, and even started sticking. As soon as it stopped snowing, the weather warmed up a bit, and all the snow turned to slush. Tonight, Tooley and I went to see the new Harry Potter movie, and we enjoyed walking through the slush...you don't get to do that often back home. The movie was incredible! We had to sit through about 15 minutes of commercials (for laundry detergent, cars, cell phones), and then about 10 minutes of previews. But it was so worth it! I think it was the best Harry Potter movie yet. An odd thing about movie theaters in England is that you have assigned seats. When you buy your ticket, they give you a seat number, just like if you went to the theater or a play. Tooley's former professor that now lives in Switzerland said that Swiss movie theaters are the same way, so maybe it's a European thing. Tomorrow I'm going to give a speech of the Southam Rotary Club, and Wednesday I'm going to the Coventry Phoenix Rotary Club because Bianca is giving her final speech. Today was a fun day, and hopefully it will snow again soon! I've posted pictures of the Christmas decorations Tooley and I put up in the kitchen on Sunday. They're a little random, but hey, the Brits have different tastes in decorations. Tinsel is very popular here!

Decorations in the kitchen

SNOW!

Tooley's Birthday

2005-11-26T23:50:00.000+01:00

On Friday, my good friend Sarah Tooley turned 23. After the festivities at midnight (the cake and presents), Tooley and I went to sleep, because she had to work on her birthday! She said the people in the entertainment section of Woolworth's let her pick out the music that was played in the store, which was sweet. On Friday at 5 p.m., the Christmas lights in Stratford-upon-Avon were turned on. The streets look beautiful! I've attached pictures so you can see how gorgeous and Christmas-y everything looks now. When I was walking through town on Friday, I saw Santa Claus riding in a horse and buggy down the streets. Apparently, Friday night is when all of the children in Stratford go to Town Hall and have their pictures made with Santa. Tooley said that she saw reindeer in the Town Square, but I didn't get to see them. After my Friday night class (I know, it's awful having class on Friday night), Tooley, Marfo, and I went to Bella Italia for desserts and coffee. Bella Italia has the best cappuchios and mochachinos I've ever tasted! Afterwards, we walked around the town for a little while and checked out the Christmas lights, then headed to a pub called The Shakespearience. Despite the goofy sounding name, it actually has a really cool atmosphere! The only reason it's called that is because it's located over one of the ticket offices for the theater. We hung out there for awhile and listened to some dance/techno music (we weren't huge fans), and then called it a night. It started sleeting when we walked back to the house! Everyone keeps saying it's going to snow soon, but so far, no flurries in sight. Today, I had class from 10-4, with a nice 2 and a half hour long lunch break. I went by Marco Delicatessan, which is right across from my school, and had the most delicious chicken and cheese baguette. I've become a huge fan of baguettes! During my lunch break, Tooley and I went to Woolworth's and picked out some Christmas decorations for the house. Strangely, there weren't many green decorations. The main Christmas colors in England seem to be red, gold, silver, and...purple! Purple is my favorite color, but it's not very Christmas-y. We stuck with the red and gold, and we'll probably put them up tomorrow. After class, I spent a few hours working on my paper...boo! It's coming along nicely, though. A few minutes ago, I heard the best news that I've heard in awhile...the Bulldogs won the Egg Bowl! Go Dawgs! :)

Tooley's birthday cake. We devoured half of it in a matter of minutes!

Me, the birthday girl, and Marfo at Bella Italia

Me, Marfo, and Tools posing in town

Christmas lights!

How cute :)

Thanksgiving in England

2005-11-25T01:25:00.000+01:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! It was a little strange walking around town and seeing stores open and people out running errands like it was just another day. I guess to the English, today was just a normal Thursday. Many of them haven't even heard of Thanksgiving! I had to attend a seminar at school today, but afterwards we headed to Bidford-upon-Avon to have our Thanksgiving feast! One of my American classmates, Isaac, lives in Bidford, which is the town next to Stratford. He even bought a cheap car and drives to class everyday...considering how different the cars and roads are here, he's a really good driver! About 15 American students and 6 English students came to Isaac's house for our potluck Thanksgiving dinner. We had quite a spread...turkey, chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, squash, many casseroles, rolls, macaroni and cheese, and lots of desserts including...pumpkin pie! I've been craving pumpkin-flavored foods (who doesn't this time of the year?), but you can't buy pumpkin-flavored foods OR canned pumpkin to make pumpkin-flavored foods anywhere in England. They just don't sell it here! The lady who made the pumpkin pie (she's from New York) had to actually buy a pumpkin and carve it to make the pie! It was fun getting to tell the English people about the history of Thanksgiving, and letting them try American food. They seemed to really enjoy it, and said that everything was "beautiful" and "lovely." We had Americans there from North Carolina, Louisiana, Texas, Colorodo, Seattle, New York, and Canada (I guess Canadians are technically Americans, since they're from North America) so we compared and contrasted the way different regions celebrate Thanksgiving. I learned that the Canadian Thanksgiving is in October! Dinner was wonderful - I definitely pigged out...we have some great chefs at my school! After the meal, we all watched the third "Lord of the Rings," and a few episodes of a British comedy show called "Blackadder." "Blackadder" is set in the 1600s, and Rowan Atkinson (a.k.a. Mr. Bean) plays the main character. It's SO funny! It was sad being away from my friends and family on Thanksgiving, but I got to talk to nearly all of my relatives, and having our English Thanksgiving celebration made me less homesick. Today (it's 12:30 a.m. right now) is Tooley's 23rd birthday! At midnight, I brought up a cake and she blew out the candles and opened her present. So far she's gotten a couple of goodies from me, and lots of candy from Marfo and Michelle. We then proceeded to eat half of the cake! Tomorrow night after I get out of class, a bunch of us are going to eat dessert and maybe go dancing. Despite being away from family and friends, I would say today was really great! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Oh, and there's a 60% chance of SNOW tomorrow!

Hannah, me, and Catherine waiting for the food to be ready (sorry...the picture is a little blurry)

Isaac with his delicious turkey

The crowd is getting restless...

Part of our spread...there was also a whole other table filled with food!

For some reason, the rest of my pictures aren't loading, so I'll post them tomorrow!

Lush Party

2005-11-24T00:09:00.000+01:00

Today was a nice, lazy day in Stratford-upon-Avon. The weather has warmed up (just a little), but unfortunately the sun didn't come out today. Tooley had the day off, so she went to Leamington Spa to run some errands, and I ran a few errands around here and worked on my paper. Jeremy is leaving Saturday to go to Australia for almost two months! Junko will be in charge, which should be interesting because her English isn't the best. Tonight, Tooley cooked potato soup, which was delicious, and we headed to Lush. Lush is a popular chain in Great Britain of all-natural bath and body products. It's almost like a Bath and Body Works, but not as commercialized. Whenever I walk by the store, I always take a big whiff, because everything smells wonderful! I've seen one Lush store in the U.S., and that was in the Orlando airport. Everything is really decently priced, and they have great stuff. Sarah Reid, a girl that Tooley works with, invited us to a Lush party, where we go to the store after hours and sample some of the products. There were about 20 other ladies there, including two other people that Tooley works with (we were the only Americans). We sampled hand lotion, glitter massage bars, "Eggsnog" lip balm (isn't that a cute name? For those of you that don't know, "snog" is a British word for kiss), and fun stuff like that. We also had a snack of mince pies, which are pastries with fruity jam on the inside. They tasted pretty good! I learned that "floozer" is another word for someone who flirts a lot. (One of Tooley's coworkers called a guy that). The English phrases are so fun! Tomorrow, about 20 people from my school (English and Americans) are going to Bidford, where a guy from my school lives, to have Thanksgiving dinner. Yum! Hopefully there will be some fun American treats there. One girl from Louisiana had her boyfriend send her some cornbread mix! It's going to be weird walking around Stratford tomorrow, because to me it will be a holiday, but to the English, it's just another day! Tooley and I learned that they're building an ice skating rink in the center of town for a few days in December, which I'm excited about! We're also decorating the house on Saturday (Jeremy is going to pay Tooley back if she buys some decorations at Woolworth's). I'll be sure to post pictures from our Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow! I hope everybody has a wonderful Thanksgiving! Thanks for all of your prayers yesterday! :)

Scenes from the Lush party

One Down, Three to Go...This Semester, At Least!

2005-11-21T23:34:00.000+01:00

I just turned in my first paper today! Whew! Unfortunately, I have to write three more this semester. An hour before my paper was due, I tried to print it out, but my printer mysteriously would not turn on. After tinkering with it for about thirty minutes, I gave up and decided to copy my files onto a CD and print them off in the library. Well, my files wouldn't copy onto the CD. So I carried my laptop to the library, where I ran into Catherine, and she gave me some extra CDs to try. I FINALLY got my paper copied onto a CD, printed it out, and turned it in right on time. I figured out that the way my paper was formatted made it difficult to copy onto a CD. The paper in England (looseleaf, printer paper, any kind) is about an inch and a half longer and a teensy bit wider than paper in the U.S. (good ole 8 1/2 by 11), so I had to format my document to A4 style. A4 is the type of paper used in Great Britain. I know I've mentioned this before in my blog, but let me just reiterate how frustrating banks in the UK are. Walt, Tooley, and I always complain to each other about how much trouble we have trying to get to our money. Today I had to go to the bank three times just to withdraw my rent money. Jeremy said the banks have started making it hard for international people to open bank accounts because of 9/11. Apparently, some of the money used to fund certain terrorists attacks came from banks in England. Jeremy also said the banks have had problems with money laundering. The third and final time I went to the bank, I actually told the lady that I'm not a money launderer OR a terrorist (it's funny to think about how many times I've had to tell banks that...at least 2!), and that I just need to pay my rent. Luckily, everything got sorted out and my rent is paid! I really have a new appreciation for American customer service. It's just not a big concept in the UK. When you go to a restaurant, the average tip you leave a waiter in England is 10%, max. Lots of people don't even leave tips...it's just not a big thing here. Because of this, the waiters aren't too bothered about whether or not the customer is satified, comfortable, needs a refill, etc. Stores are the same way. Many shop clerks aren't always friendly or helpful. Tooley said that one of her managers even hung up on a customer when he was talking on the phone! Don't get me wrong, the service is fine in England, but sometimes I miss the whole "the customer is always right" motto. Tonight, I cooked tacos for supper, and I think they were pretty good! Junko (Jeremy's wife) is back from Japan...she was gone for a whole month! It's fun having her back because she's really sweet and really funny! I'll try to take some pictures of her and Jeremy soon and post them. Have a great day!

The Christmas lights in Birmingham. "Happy Christmas" is a very British phrase. :)

More Pics of Bath

2005-11-19T23:15:00.000+01:00

Today was the first truly foggy day we've had in England! Some mornings will start out a little foggy, but it clears up by the end of the day. Today the fog stayed all day! Tooley and I were talking to Jeremy about it, and he said that England really isn't foggy. We were surprised, because you always hear about the "London fog." Jeremy told us that now that the air pollution in England isn't as bad, the fog (I guess it was really smog) has gone away. He also told us that the weather has been unusually cold for this time of the year, and that it should warm up next week. Hooray! Oh, last week the Littlefords told me the key to making a "proper" cup of English tea (sorry I'm just now posting it) - you warm the teapot before you pour the hot water in. After you heat the water in the kettle, run warm water in the teapot, then pour in the hot water from the kettle and add a tea bag. And if you "take" milk in your tea, you pour the milk in the cup first and then add the tea. I love tea, so I thought this was an interesting little fact. :) Let me just say, the English really do love their tea! Whenever you visit another person's house, you will always be offered a cup of tea upon arrival. If you say, "No, thanks," you will usually receive a look of surprise, followed by, "Are you sure?" This has been my experience, at least! I love tea, but sometimes I'm just not thirsty. However, the surprised look on the person's face usually makes me reconsider and say, "Well, sure, I guess I'll have some." Maybe it's rude to refuse tea, I don't know. Tea time in England is around 4:00 p.m., and usually includes a biscuit (a.k.a. cookie) or scone of some kind. One thing I'm really starting to miss from the U.S. is central heating! Most homes in England use radiators, and it just isn't the same. Here are more pictures of Bath:

This bridge has little shops along the inside of it. Tooley and I stopped for baguettes in a little restaurant overlooking the river. :)

The scenery is gorgeous!

A Beautiful Day in Bath

2005-11-19T00:53:00.000+01:00

Today Tooley and I visited the beautiful town of Bath, England. Bath is about 2 hours south of Stratford-upon-Avon, just below the Cotswolds. We woke up early this morning to catch the train, but found out we would save twenty pounds if we took a later train. So, we took a little nap and then headed out. When we arrived in Bath, we went straight to the Roman Baths, which are the most popular attraction in the town. The Roman Baths were built between 65-75 A.D. as a temple to a Roman goddess (making them officially the oldest thing I've ever seen!), and are heated by warm springs in the ground. You can see them steam rising from the water. The Roman bath looks like, well, a big stone bathtub! The water used to be clear, but now it's a little green because of the algae. Tooley and I walked around the museum, which has remains of the original stone temple, including Roman coins and even jewelry. Then we went outside and stuck our hand in the water (even though you're not supposed to). It was nice and toasty, like a hot tub! The restaurant in the museum was giving out free samples of the water, so we tried some, but it was pretty gross - hot and salty because of the minerals. After we left the Roman Baths, we walked around the town. It's gorgeous! All of the buildings are made of beige stone, and it's more cheerful looking than some of the other towns which have gray stone buildings. Bath seems to be a very posh town! Jane Austen (author of Pride and Prejudice and Emma) is from Bath, and you can definitely see where she gets the inspiration for the settings in her books. The town is surrounded by green hills that have huge old houses built on them. For lunch, Tooley and I stopped at the Cadbury Cocoa House...yum! We had chocolate fondue for dessert, and it was fabulous. We walked around the town some more, and explored some of the shops. We stopped in the Bath Abbey, a magnificent old church near the Roman Baths. The Abbey was built in 1499, and it's enormous with beautiful stained glass windows. The weather was perfect for our trip - sunny with clear skies - but it was FREEZING! I do think I'm getting used to the cold weather, though! We had a wonderful trip, and I hope you enjoy the pictures!

A view of the main Roman bath from the street

The hot spring water flowing from an ancient tunnel

On the level with the baths

Cheese!

Bath Abbey

Inside the Abbey

I'll post more pictures of Bath tomorrow! :)

Leamington Spa

2005-11-16T23:16:00.000+01:00

Today I went to the town of Leamington Spa to do a little shopping. Although I brought my camera, I didn't really see anything that looked picture-worthy, so unfortunately I don't have any pictures to post. It's a really cute town, though! Leamington Spa became popular during the Victorian period because they discovered warm springs in the area. The royal family and wealthy tourists spent their vacations (or "holiday," as the English call it) in Leamington Spa. It's a very posh town with lots of cute stores. I had to take a cab to get to some areas of the town, and the cabbie and I had a nice chat. He's applying for a job in Stratford-upon-Avon and wants to study Shakespeare! He asked what I was doing in England, and when I told him I was in graduate school, he said, "Wow, you've accomplished a lot for a 19 year old!" Haha! I guess he's not very good at guessing people's ages. Good news...Paris hasn't been in the newspaper for the past two days, which means the rioting has gone down. I'm really glad, because that means we'll be safe and sound when the girls come over for New Year's. Whew! Also, I've become addicted to hot chocolate. I drink at least three cups a day! It's getting really cold here, and the hot chocolate is incredible in England. Tooley and I have different flavors of Cadbury's hot chocolate that we make at the house. We've taught our landlord, Jeremy, a new American phrase - "Stop, Drop, and Roll." We were in the kitchen talking about fires, and Tooley said that phrase, and Jeremy was so confused. He'd never heard it! We explained that children are taught to "Stop, Drop, and Roll" if they ever catch on fire. He left the kitchen, and we could hear him muttering the phrase over and over. Five minutes later, he came back in and said, "Well, it's a bit silly, isn't it?" He's funny! Now he thinks it's a pretty cool phrase. I learned that a "bubble and squeak" is an English dish where you mix leftover food together and fry it. And sprinkles are called "hundreds and thousands"...pretty appropriate name, huh? Tomorrow I'm going to be very studious and work on my paper all day, so my next post will be Friday night when Tooley and I get back from Bath. Get ready for some fun pictures...everyone says Bath is gorgeous!

More Updates from Kenilworth

2005-11-15T00:22:00.000+01:00

Since my post was so long yesterday, I'm going to finish talking about my weekend on today's post. :) Friday was Remembrance Day, a holiday which falls on the 11th day of the 11th month. On the 11th hour of that day, there is a two minute period of silence to remember all of the veterans who died fighting in English wars. It's like the British version of Memorial Day. The Royal British Legion sells poppies made out of paper that you're supposed to pin on your shirt, and the money raised goes to help out families of veterans. On Sunday, there was a big celebration in London where the royal family, Tony Blair, and leaders of the Commonwealth nations placed wreaths of poppies on the Cenotaph (a big memorial to the veterans). It was pretty cool! My parents have sent me ingredients to make banana pudding, and I'm really excited because none of the English people I've talked to have even heard of it! It was hard to try to explain how to the Littlefords how to make it. English and Americans have different meanings for the words "gelatin," "jelly," "jam," and "pudding." And they've never had Jello over here! Marfo is excited, too, because she's never heard of it either. This weekend, Tooley made Rice Krispy treats and we let Marfo and Jeremy (our landlord) try them. I think they were a hit! Jeremy asked how to make them, and when we explained, he said, "You liquidized a marshmallow? That's a sin!" He cracks us up! Today I was doing some research for my paper, and I realized that my teacher wrote one of the books that I'm using as a source! Isn't that weird? Apparently the teachers at my school are pretty famous...who knew? I don't know if it's a good or bad thing that I'm using her as a source, though. We'll see! This afternoon, Tooley discovered that they have Diet Dr. Pepper in England, except it's called Dr. Pepper Z (for zero calories), but it's the same thing. We've liked trying new foods and drinks, but it's always nice to have a little taste of home. One drink that I haven't tried yet is called Ribena, and it's some health drink that's supposed to give you vitamins and minerals. It looks pretty gross to me, but it's very popular over here. I've been drinking pomegranate juice, which is really good! On Wednesday, I'm going to take a little day trip to Leamington Spa to run some errands, and I'll bring my camera so I can post pictures. For some reason, it's also known as Royal Leamington Spa. On Friday, Tooley and I are going to take a train and visit Bath, England, which is supposed to be gorgeous. I can't wait!

My weekend in Coventry

2005-11-13T21:10:00.000+01:00

This weekend, I went to stay with the Littlefords in Conventry. They actually live in Kenilworth, which is a cute little suburb of Coventry. Bianca has been living with them for the past month, and will continue to live with them until she leaves for Brazil on December 9. David Littleford is the president of the Coventry Phoenix Rotary Club (my host club) and his wife Gill is so sweet! They're in their early 60s and have two children who are in their mid-thirties. The Littlefords are great, and really made me feel welcome. Kenilworth reminds me a little bit of Madison...a safe, small town with a good school district. Unlike Madison, however, Kenilworth is built around the ruins of a huge castle, Kenilworth Castle. On Friday night, Gill cooked fish (as in the kind that goes with chips), vegetables, and blueberry crumble. Fruit crumbles are popular desserts in England, and are very similar to what we call "cobbler." Also, the English very rarely use the word "dessert." They either say "sweet" or "pudding." Pudding can be anything from actual pudding to crumbles to cake! After dinner, we watched...TV! Hooray! I haven't gotten to watch TV since I've been here! Tooley and I have the British version of Netflix, so we mostly watch DVDs. I got to watch three episodes of "Friends," and I was in hog heaven! We also watched that new show "Brat Camp." Gill asked me if I thought children are worse in England or the U.S, and I told her that I think they're the same. Sure, we have crazy hoodlums in the U.S. that rob people and bring guns to school, but they have the exact same problem in England. In fact, on the BBC news, there was a report about how the schools are having an epidemic of bullies. At least three times a week we'll read in the paper about a girl getting stabbed in the eye in the lunch line, or a boy getting beat up after school, and even kids killing their classmates! We watched the England vs. Argentina football (soccer) match, which England won, and David and Gill told me about a baseball "match" that they went to in Seattle, which they said was "lovely." It was so cute hearing them talk about the pitcher throwing the ball to "that guy with the mask...what's he called...the catcher!" As you can see, baseball is NOT an English sport. On Saturday, we woke up and went to Leamington Spa to do a little bit of shopping. David and Gill went to Marks and Spencer (an upscale Wal-mart), and Bianca and I checked out some cute clothing stores. My absolute favorite stores in England are H&M, River Island, New Look, and Top Shop...SO CUTE! After we left Leamington Spa, we went home for lunch, and Bianca went to the theater with one of her friends who was in town for the afternoon. David, Gill, and I were supposed to work at the Rotary Disabled Sports Event, but they had too many people working, so they took me to see some old homes in Coventry. We went to Baddesley Clinton and Packwood House, which are old Elizabethan homes with gorgeous countryside. We walked around the grounds, and it was beautiful! Afterwards, we went to Melbicks, a popular lawn and garden center that was decorated for Christmas. By the time we arrived back at their house, Bianca was just getting home from the theater. Brian Russell and his partner Jean (they've been dating for 24 years but aren't married) came over, and we all went to a pub called The Anchor for a nice meal. Brian is the Vice President of the Coventry Phoenix Rotary Club, and he and Jean have a daughter that's three years younger than me. I learned a new phrase..."getting your mickey." You can also say "taking your mickey." Tooley and I have heard it before, and it means getting a rise out of someone. That's the British humor for you...they like to try and get you riled up. If someone from England was "trying to get my mickey," they would make a joke about the Revolutionary War. The common joke here is "Do you know what they told the Queen when the war broke out against the colonies?" "No, what?" "Oh, it's nothing, just a skirmish on the outskirts of the Empire." Clever, huh? Funny story...I had to ask Gill what a faggot is, because it was on the menu! I had no clue what it could mean, and I was a little embarrassed about asking her, b/c it's such an un-P.C. term. Apparently, faggot means meatball. Good to know, huh? Today (Sunday), we watched the Remembrance Sunday celebration (I'll write more about that tomorrow), and had a delicious home-cooked lunch of chicken, parsnips, new potatoes, cauliflower and cheese, stuffing, and apple crumble. Bianca and I went walking around Kenilworth and checked out the castle, and then they brought me back to Stratford. It's nice being back! I started getting really homesick in Kenilworth...I think it was because I was staying in a real home with a family. It sure made me miss my home and family and friends! When I got back, Tooley told me that she had gotten really homesick this weekend, too, so we talked and feel much better now. I miss everyone from home, so please call or send me an email if you think about it! :) Tomorrow I'll write more about the weekend, because this post is already pretty long. I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Me and Bianca before going to eat at The Anchor

Brian Russell, Jean, and David Littleford

Gill Littleford, me, and Bianca

Ever heard of Opal Fruits?

2005-11-10T23:50:00.000+01:00

The past two days, I've been very studious and have worked on my essay that's due on the 19th. The topic: Did the use of male actors in Shakespeare's plays confine or liberate female roles? Pretty dorky, huh? I'm arguing the "confined" point of view. Luckily, my teacher, Cath, is really cool and is letting me use American spelling and bibliography! The English spell quite a few words differently than we do in the good ole U.S. Examples: tire = tyre, realize = realise, color = colour, favorite = favourite, program = programme, center = centre, etc. On Wednesday night, Tooley cooked tacos with the taco mix her mom sent from home. Yum! My parents mailed me some Jello pudding mix and Vanilla wafers so that I can make banana pudding...I can't wait! The Christmas lights on the main street in town were on Wednesday night (just a test), and they were gorgeous! I can't wait until all of the lights are on for good so I can take pictures and post them for everyone to see. The big news in England is that Tony Blair may be out of office sooner than expected. The MPs (Ministers of Parliament) in the House of Commons (like our Congress) just vetoed Blair's plans for school and terror reform. Gordon Brown (currently the Chancellor of the Exchequer...kind of like the treasurer) will replace Tony Blair if he ever steps down from the office of Prime Minister. High tensions for the Labour party! Tooley learned an interesting tidbit at work today...Starbursts candy originated in England under the name Opal Fruits. When the company tried to market them in the U.S., manufacturers refused to produce them because the name was misleading...they weren't really fruit candy. They changed the name to Starbursts for American consumers, and seven years ago, ended up having to change the name in England, too, to save on production costs. Tooley said one of her coworkers used this as an example of Americans thinking we're bigger and better than other countries. (We get comments like that a lot). Our landlord also makes comments about how Americans think they have to drive huge cars and live in huge houses. I would say for the most part, the English really do like Americans, but view the country as a whole as extravagant and conceited. But you'll rarely find an English person who is rude to an American just because they're from the U.S. Tomorrow, I'm going to Conventry for the weekend to stay with Bianca and the Littlefords, so my next post will be either Sunday night or Monday morning. Have a great weekend!

After Seeing Madonna, Life is Dull

2005-11-09T00:02:00.000+01:00

After seeing my favorite movie stars in my favorite city, life in Stratford seems a little dull! :) Actually, it's nice living in a small town with a laid back atmosphere...it reminds me of Madison! I've been doing some school work, and Tooley and I have been catching up on our sleep...our train left London at 5:15 a.m. on Monday, so we were pooped when we got back. Tooley was off work today, so we ran errands and planned trips. Mary Virginia Morgan is coming to visit in January, and she and Tooley are going to travel around Europe for a few weeks. I'm going to go to Spain and Switzerland with them, and I'm pumped! We're planning to go yodel-ing on the Alps. :)
The current group of Rotary Scholars from Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia have a group page online that we can go to and write about living abroad, problems, fun experiences, etc. One girl, Anna, is living in India, and wrote about her living conditions. After one month of showering from a bucket of water and using the bathroom in a latrine, she has just moved to a building with running water and plumbing. She has to sleep with a mosquito net on her bed to keep animals out (furry and non-furry), and has to pick cockroaches out of her soup. Wow! When I read that, I felt like the luckiest girl ever! Not only do I have a nice, clean, safe place to live, but I also speak the language and have one of my good friends with me. I may not be taking a trip to India any time soon...
Tonight, Tooley and I ate at "A Hole in the Wall," which has two-for-one pizzas on Tuesday night. We had the most delicious dough balls with hummus...yum! Good news...if anyone has been following the news about the riots in Paris, I think everything is starting to get under control. The news in England said that the attacks last night weren't as bad as they have been, and President Chirac has declared a state of emergency, which is good because it means he can impose a curfew and confiscate weapons in Paris. Hopefully everything will be resolved soon! That's all the news in Stratford-upon-Avon. I hope everyone has a great day!

The Harry Potter World Premiere

2005-11-07T09:52:00.000+01:00

Yesterday (Sunday), Tooley and I took the train to London to go to the world premiere of the newest Harry Potter movie, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." (Well, not really the actual premiere, just where the stars walk down the red carpet). We arrived in London around noon, and browsed through some of our favorite shops on Oxford Street...H&M, River Island, and Topshop. We had lunch at Subway, which was a nice treat because I haven't had Subway since I left the U.S.! Then, we checked into our hostel and made our way to Leicester Square, where the premiere was held. Leicester Square is an open square surrounded by three movie theaters, the Half Price ticket booth for West End (Broadway) shows, and fun restaurants. The Square was PACKED...the papers this morning said there were about 7,000 fans at the premiere. The middle part of the Square and the section leading into the Odeon Theater had big plastic walls up for photographers to take pictures. Unfortunately, it meant the rest of us could only see the inside of the wall on a big screen that was set up outside. All of the fans were lined up and down the road, and Tooley and I got next to the entrance of the blocked off area, where we would be able to see the stars get out of the cars and walk inside the walled area. We got to see ALL of the Harry Potter stars, except Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort), Michael Gambon (Dumbledore) and Alan Rickman (Professor Snape), who were either filming or out of the country. We didn't see J.K. Rowling, either, so figured they snuck her in the back entrance. We didn't get very good pictures of Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), because they whisked him into the main press area for interviews and autographs. Emma Watson (Hermione), signed a few autographs and walked in behind him. Rob Lowe snuck in very quietly with his kids, and he's VERY cute in person! Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid), Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), and Katie Leung (Cho Chang) were so close to me that I could have reached out and touched them. My favorite star spotting of the night was...Madonna! Her daughter, Lourdes, is a huge Harry Potter fan so she brought her to the premiere. Madonna is gorgeous, and very thin! Claudia Schiffer arrived right behind Madonna, and looked stunning. Lots of famous English movie and TV stars also came, but Tooley and I didn't recognize many of them. I was surprised that no one arrived in a limo - just minivans or nice cars! Tooley and I are HUGE Harry Potter fans, so getting to see all of the stars in person was definitely one of the coolest things ever! After the premiere, I ate at my favorite restaurant, Wagamama's, and Tooley and I walked around the city. London is such an amazing city...I just love it! We woke up EARLY this morning to catch the train back to Stratford because Tooley had to work today. Enjoy the pictures!

The back of Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter)'s head...they whisked him in so fast, it was hard to get a good shot!

Rupert Grint aka Ron Weasley

Robbie Coltrane aka Hagrid

Tom Felton aka Draco Malfoy

Mr. Filch

Bonnie Wright aka Ginny Weasley

Katie Leung aka Cho Chang (Harry's girlfriend)

Maggie Smith aka Professor McGonagall

Madonna and Lourdes...WOW!

Claudia Schiffer

I love London!

Movie Stars Everywhere!

2005-11-06T22:28:00.000+01:00

Hello from London! Tooley and I just got back from the pre-premiere of Harry Potter, and it was awesome! Check back tomorrow for pictures of: Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid), Maggie Smith (McGonagall), Ginny Weasley, Claudia Schiffer, and...MADONNA! We defintely saw Madonna! We also saw Rob Lowe, Emma Watson (Hermione), Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), and the little boy from "Finding Neverland," but we couldn't get pictures. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Guy Fawkes Day

2005-11-06T01:01:00.000+01:00

School on a Saturday...not my favorite way to spend the weekend, but class wasn't too bad. We spent the whole day talking about Macbeth, so if you have any questions about that play, throw them my way. :) Just kidding! After class, Tooley and I ate dinner downstairs with Catherine and Marfo, and goofed off for awhile. A Japanese lady is staying at our house for two weeks (there's one extra room that our landlord and his wife keep open for their friends), and she talks nonstop. She's an English teacher in Japan, so she asks us a million questions whenever we see her downstairs. Sometimes it's hard to get out of a conversation with her, so the four of us girls usually try to avoid her. We always joke around that we're going to leave a note on the lady's door telling her to come see Marfo (Marfo would kill us), and we text each other warnings if the Japanese lady is in the kitchen. After supper, Tooley and I met up with Natalie and we went searching for a bonfire to go to for the Bonfire Night celebration. Unfortunately, we found out that the main bonfire at the rubgy club is going to be tomorrow night, when Tooley and I are in London. We decided to go watch the fireworks display put on by the Swan Theatre, so we sat outside of a pub, the Dirty Duck, and drank coffee until it was time for the fireworks. There are two main theaters (or, if you're English, "theatres") in Stratford, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Swan. They're right next to each other on the bank of the River Avon. A lot of people from my school were hanging out at the Dirty Duck waiting on the fireworks, including my teacher! Some of the theater actors came to have a drink, so it was neat seeing them. The fireworks were gorgeous, and it felt like the Fourth of July. Natalie said she felt like singing "The Star-Bangled Banner," but I don't think the English would have appreciated it. :) Fun fact: The English national anthem, "God Save the Queen," is set to the tune of "My Country Tis of Thee." Tomorrow we're off to London! :)

Class and Bonfire Night

2005-11-04T23:31:00.000+01:00

Hi everyone! I just got back from my Friday night class. I must say, class on the weekend really isn't that bad. On Friday, we meet from 6-8:45 p.m., with an hour break. On Saturday, class starts at 10 a.m. and lasts til 5:30, with two thirty minute breaks and a two hour lunch break. If we have class on Sunday, it starts at 10 a.m. and lasts til 3, with an hour and a half for lunch. I have class for two weekends in a row, and then I'm off for two weekends. So after this weekend, I only have two weekends of class left in this semester! I'm one of two Americans in my classes. The other American went to Yale, and it's nice to have someone to exchange weird looks with when people in our class make an English joke that we don't get. (That happened tonight!) The weather is slowly but surely getting much colder. It felt like November today...cold and windy. I'm not a fan of the sun setting so early, but it'll be worth it in the summer when the sun doesn't set til 9:30 or 10 p.m. Tomorrow night is Guy Fawkes Day/Bonfire Night, which is a big holiday in England. In the early 1600s, a man named Guy Fawkes tried to burn down Parliament (anyone recall the Gunpowder Plot from history class?), but he was caught. Every year on Bonfire Night, big bonfires are held where people burn stuffed dolls representing Guy Fawkes. Tools and I are going to go to a big bonfire tomorrow night at the Rugby Club in Stratford.

Tooley and I just got off of the phone with our good friend Jennings, who is in law school at Ole Miss, and a huge George Bush supporter. We were telling her how open people are in England about their dislike of George Bush and Tony Blair. (I have no idea who the English actually do like politically...the newspapers are always complaining about every President, Prime Minister, and electoral candidate). I think it's a European thing, because when I was in Italy last summer, I saw anti-George Bush graffeti in Florence! Jennings is coming to visit me in England this summer, and asked us what people here would do if she wore an "I Love George W. Bush" shirt. We told her that nearly everyone who sees the shirt will probably say something very negative to her, whereas in the U.S. (especially in the South), most people wouldn't think anything of it. Tooley and I have figured out that the best thing to do if you're in a crowd of people who aren't fans of Americans is to just say that you're from Canada. We've never actually had to do that...yet! Anyways, Jennings claims that she is going to wear the shirt when she comes to visit, so we'll see...:)

I read on the internet that people are going to be camping out in Leicester Square on Saturday night for the Harry Potter premiere on Sunday. Wow! That's dedication, because the stars don't start coming down the red carpet til 5 p.m. Hopefully we'll be able to get close enough to see some famous people!

Have a great day, and I'll post pictures of Bonfire Night tomorrow night!

Jennings loves George W! :)

Michelle's Birthday and Harry Potter

2005-11-02T23:51:00.000+01:00

Good news...the spaghetti I made last night was actually pretty good! Of course it wasn't as good as my mom's, but that's to be expected. Today I actually did a lot of research for my paper - not fun - but at least I was productive. I have class this weekend, and on Sunday Tooley and I are going to the premiere of the new Harry Potter movie in London! We're so excited! Both of us LOVE Harry Potter, and although we aren't going to watch the actual movie, we're going to hang out in Leicester Square and watch the stars walk down the red carpet. :) Lots of other movie stars are supposed to be there, like Hugh Grant and maybe even...Jude Law! So next time you read People Magazine or Us Weekly and see pictures from London movie premieres, that's where we're going to be on Sunday! Maybe we'll end up in People Magazine...just kidding. We're going to spend Sunday night in London and take the train back to Stratford very early on Monday morning because Tooley has to work. The weekend after that, I'm going to Coventry to spend the weekend with Bianca (Rotary Scholar from Brazil) and her host family, the Littlefords. David Littleford is a member of my host club, Coventry Phoenix, and his wife Jill is really sweet. Tonight Tooley and I went out to eat at Cafe Rouge with a bunch of girls for Michelle's birthday. The restaurant was really good! It's a French restaurant, so I had crepes (stuffed with cheese, mushroom, and lentil) for supper and crepes (stuffed with chocolate and bananas) for dessert...yum! During supper, Tooley and I tried to speak Italian to Marfo (she's from Greece, but fluent in Italian, too) but she kept laughing at us! She was practically rolling on the floor when Tooley said "autobus," which means bus, but the vowels are pronounced differently so it's hard to say. Marfo said it sounded like we're combining French and Italian. Oops! I guess we need to keep practicing with the Italian starter kit that Tooley bought! We redeemed ourselves by listing letters of the Greek alphabet - after four years in a sorority you learn almost all of them! Marfo was very impressed. Funny story - during the meal, we were talking about toga parties, and Marfo asked us what togas are. We were like, "You know, a toga! Like the Greek gods wear." We couldn't get over the fact that she's from Greece and didn't know what we were talking about. She said togas aren't Greek, and she's never even heard of one. They call the garments the Greek gods wear another Greek name. So now we have no idea where togas came from! Maybe the Romans? Supper was very fun, and afterwards we walked around until it started to rain. I've attached some pictures of Michelle, Marfo, and Natalie.

Tooley, Marfo, and Michelle at Cafe Rouge

(American) Natalie and me

Halloween!

2005-11-01T17:30:00.000+01:00

Hiya! (That's the traditional English greeting, whether it's friends, strangers, or cashiers in a store). I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween! Sadly, Halloween in England isn't as big of a deal as it is in the U.S., but everyone says it gets bigger and bigger every year. A few stores had Halloween decorations up, but most stores are already decorating for Christmas! All of the Christmas decorations in the town are up...snowflakes, stars, and bells made out of tinsel are hung between the buildings and over the streets. It's really pretty! I can't wait to see Stratford when the Christmas lights are turned on. There's a big celebration exactly a month before Christmas when the lights are turned on. I didn't see any trick or treaters last night, but Tooley did! She came downstairs to eat supper, and saw five trick or treaters through the glass door. They asked for some candy, but Tooley had to tell them that we didn't have any. Jeremy didn't want to buy any candy! Isn't that sad? The weather in Stratford is still gorgeous...sunny every day! Daylight savings time isn't too fun, though...it's dark by 5:00 p.m. Until December 21st (the winter solstice) the hours of daylight are going to get shorter and shorter. Everyone has been telling me that eventually the sun will rise at 8 or 9 a.m. and set at 4 p.m.! That's not going to be fun, but after Dec. 21 it should get much better. Walt and I have officially booked our trip to Egypt...we'll be there from Dec. 14-21! I can't wait! Ashleigh, Jessica Wells, Emily Cole, and Emily Ethridge will be here after Christmas, and we're going to ring in the New Year in Paris! I'm so glad they're coming...it's going to be so much fun! Our hotel rooms are booked, and we're good to go. :) Tooley's brother Ti-Voed "The O.C." episodes that we've missed this season and mailed them to us, so we're all caught up! I really miss that show. Tonight, I'm going to attempt to cook spaghetti, even though I know it won't be as good as my mom's. Tomorrow is Michelle's birthday, and we're all going to eat supper at Cafe Rouge, a French restaurant in town. Have a wonderful day!

Rotary District Conference

2005-10-30T22:28:00.000+01:00

Well, it's Sunday night and I just returned home from Rotary District Conference in Southport, England (right next to Liverpool). My host counselor, Mike Taylor, and his wife, Judy, picked me up Friday morning and we headed to Southport. Southport looks different from other English towns I've seen because it's not very old. Most of the buildings and houses are Victorian style, instead of 400+ years old like every other town in England. :) When we first arrived, I went to a tea dance with Mike and Judy. We had cream tea (scones, jam, and tea), and many of the Rotarians were doing some old school dancing (and by old school, I mean the Charleston). All of the Rotarians stayed at the Prince of Wales Hotel, and the ambassadorial scholars and youth exchange scholars stayed at the Carleton House Hotel. My roommate for the weekend was Bianca Reis from Brazil, and she was wonderful! She's a Youth Exchange Scholar who has been living in Coventry since last December. She lives with different families in Coventry, and is going back to Brazil in 6 weeks. Bianca and I got along really well! The other scholars included: Jessica from Texas (her husband, Hector, is from Venezuela and also getting his ph.D. at the University of Birmingham, Rebecca from Utah, Rinko and Yoshi from Japan, Amber from Taiwan, Vilma from Lithuania, Clement from Malawi (in Africa), and Gustav from Sweden. Gustav speaks flawless English...I was very impressed! He barely has an accent! The scholars pretty much stuck together the whole weekend. On Friday and Saturday night we ate at a DELICIOUS and very posh restaurant, compliments of Rotary, that served very beautifully arranged gourmet food. On Friday night, we watched the Smackees perform, which is a group of four singers (one guy and three girls) who sing selections from different musicals. It was really great, and many people sang along. On Saturday morning, we ate a full English breakfast, which consists of hash browns, baked beans, poached, fried, or scrambled eggs, boiled tomatoes, boiled mushrooms, and bacon. I just ate scrambled eggs and a croissant...I'm not quite ready to go all out! We listened to speakers until 1 p.m., and had the afternoon free to shop and roam about the town. One group that spoke on Saturday was a Group Exchange from England that spent a month in New York. I was excited about hearing them speak, because I love hearing what the English think of the U.S. Well, some people in the group didn't have the best things to say. In fact, me and the other two Americans got very offended. At first I thought we were just being sensitive because they were talking about our home country, but after they finished, Bianca turned around and said, "Are you ok? They were really rude!" One man said that all Americans ever think about is the Revolutionary War, and that he enjoyed telling the Americans what REALLY happened...that the English didn't care about the U.S., and how we think it's some big victory but the English didn't care if they lost the American colonies or not. He continued talking about the negative aspects of our school systems, and all of the crime. Throughout all of this, he would make jokes about Americans, and the whole audience laughed. Jessica, Rebecca, and I just sat there like, "Is this really happening?" Another guy who spoke is a journalist in Birmingham, England, and heard about a group of kids in New York who electrocuted a dog just to be mean, so he wrote an article that said all Americans electrocute their dogs. Afterwards, Rebecca and I talked to the journalist and told him that we hope he doesn't really think Americans are like that, because neither Rebecca nor I electrocute our dogs. We told him that it hurt our feelings that he would be so negative and generalize a whole country based on what a few people do. His only response was, "Well, Americans are much nicer than the English." We said, "Well, return the favor!" He apologized twice and was much nicer the rest of the day. We even joked about it later! Honestly, though, I couldn't imagine returning to my host club in Mississippi and speaking negatively about England. I'm sure the Rotary Club in New York that hosted this group would be very hurt if they had heard how their hospitality was repaid. Saturday night was the Fancy Dress (costume) party, and the theme was Musicals. The Rotarians went all out! One club went as Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, another went as Singing in The Rain, and there were many more. The funniest and most disturbing was the group that went as the Rocky Horror Picture Show...one man came dressed in a bustier and garters...nothing else! Wow! The party was a lot of fun! The ambassadorial scholars dressed as Cats, and we showed those older people how to break it down. :) The band played fun oldies music and we got in a circle and danced. Clement showed us some funny African dance, and Gustav lip synced to ABBA. Even Mike and Judy got out there with us! On Sunday morning, we listened to more speakers, and the last one was Angela Baker, who started the Calender Girls. Remember the movie "Calender Girls," about the older women who pose nude to raise money for charity? Angela Baker came up with the idea to raise money for leukemia research after her husband died. She was a great speaker, and had some interesting photos! After the conference, we packed up and headed out. On the way home, I explained to Mike and Judy what jack o'lanterns and sororities are (they had never heard of either of those things!), and they told me that "back yard" is a derogatory term in England...what we call back yards, they refer to as gardens. The English think of back yards as old, dirty, stone areas in the back of houses. So don't tell the English that you like their back yard, or they just might get offended! :) Mike and Judy were wonderful and fun to be around, as usual, and I really liked getting to meet other scholars my age. Overall, the conference was a success and lots of fun.

Ballroom during the Fancy Dress Party

Bianca and me - her club was dressed as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Angela Baker, one of the "Calender Girls"

It Sure Is Nice To Have The Internet!

2005-10-28T00:22:00.000+02:00

Tooley and I have enjoyed having the internet for the past 24 hours! :) The past few days have been great...the weather has been sunny and 65-70 degrees. On Tuesday night, I went to eat pizza at this little restaurant called A Hole in the Wall with Michelle, Marfo, English Natalie, American Natalie, and American Natalie's boyfriend, Jonathan. Jonathan is a grad student at the University of Alabama, where Natalie is getting her ph.D. He came to England for 10 days to visit, so all of us went out to eat Tuesday night to meet him. Wednesday afternoon, I was walking through town and saw a man painted silver, wearing a Shakespeare mask, and standing on a box. Near the box was a sign that said Shakespeare's Ghost and a hat to put money in. He would stand very still, and when someone put money in his hat, he'd yell BOO and jump off the box. It was so scary but also hilarious! On Wednesday night, Tooley cooked a delicious meal of chilli and nachos. Her sister mailed some chilli mix from the U.S., so it tasted just like home. :) I picked up some yummy chocolate desserts called Fairy Cakes (after the brownie/pudding incident last week, I'm scared to try to bake again), which are chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing on the inside. When I was buying the Fairy Cakes at the grocery store, I saw that they were also selling googleberry muffins. Isn't that random? I have no idea what a googleberry is, but the muffins had red icing on them. I asked Michelle and English Natalie, but they had never heard of it, either. I also asked Michelle and Natalie what elderflower and blackcurrant are, because those are popular flavors for tea, dessert, and fruit juice. I had never heard of them until I got to England, but apparently elderflower is like raspberry and blackcurrant looks like a big blueberry but tastes like a cranberry. Another interesting bit of information...on Wednesday night, Tooley and I were talking to our landlord, Jeremy, about how weird it is that Starbucks and other coffee shops close at 6 p.m. in Stratford. We told him that most coffee shops stay open til at least 11 in the U.S. He said, "Well, Starbucks just can't compete with the pubs." He explained that England is a pub society, and people hang out in pubs the same way Americans hang out at coffee shops. The legal drinking age in Europe is 18 (you can buy cigarettes at 16), so everyone under 18 hangs out at McDonald's (no joke!) and once you turn 18, you go to the pubs. People don't always go to the pubs to drink...most people go to eat, watch football (soccer), and socialize. So in a way, a pub is the English version of an American Starbucks or coffee shop. This weekend, I have to go to the Rotary District Conference in Southport, England. Mike and Judy are picking me up Friday morning, and we'll return Sunday afternoon. I'll get to meet some other Ambassadorial Scholars, so that will be nice. I also have to miss class to go to the conference! Below, I've posted pictures of our room and our new "work station" for our computers. :) I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Our beds - mine has the purple comforter and Tooley's has the navy

Our "workstation," which consists of two laptops, a modem, a router, the Vonage phone, and the UK phone

Scotland Pictures and Some Good News

2005-10-26T17:47:00.000+02:00

Hallelujah! After 5 hours of blood, sweat, and tears, our phone line and internet is officially connected! Call us at 601-427-0310.

Edinburgh Castle

Street in Edinburgh

Tools and me modeling the Scottish garb...tartan kilts and wraps

Holyrood Castle, where the Queen lives when she comes to Scotland

View of the city

Another view of Edinburgh Castle

A hairy coo aka Highland cow

Me, Catherine, and Tools with a random bagpiper

Glen Coe, home of the McDonald clan

Gorgeous scenery!

Loch Ness

Another picture of Loch Ness - the water is black because of the peat. All of the water in Scotland, even the tap water, comes from fresh springs. Although the water looks dirty, it's actually very clean

Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in Scotland. The top part is hidden in the clouds, but it's there!

Scotland...WOW!

2005-10-25T13:00:00.000+02:00

Tooley, Catherine, and I just returned from a wonderful three day trip to Scotland! Wow...Scotland has the most breathtaking scenery I've ever seen! My internet SHOULD be connected tomorrow, so I'll put up pictures soon, b/c I can't wait for everyone to see the Edinburgh, the Highlands, the Loch Ness, and a hairy coo! :) (A hairy coo is a Highland cow, and they're actually really cute.) We arrived in Edinburgh early Saturday afternoon, and settled into our hostel. PK Thomas, one of Tooley's and my friends from MSU, used to work at the Castle Rock Hostel, so he recommended that we stay there. It was really nice, and located right across the street from the beautiful and enormous Edinburgh Castle. The three of us walked along the Royal Mile, which is a street in Edinburgh (pronounced Edinburra) that has a castle on either end. On one end is the Edinburgh Castle, and the other end is Holyrood Castle, which is where the Queen stays when she comes to Scotland. Both of the castles are on top of cliffs, and they have an old, spooky look to them...gray stone, tall towers...but they're both beautiful! We tried some real Scottish food, including pies (not the dessert...meat/cheese baked into a breaded shell), Scotch pancakes (very sweet and delicious), and lentil soup. We just couldn't bring ourselves to eat haggis...sheep intestines. Yuck. We also ate at a cute little Italian restaurant. Almost every souvineer shop in Scotland sells kilts...it's so funny! We actually saw quite a few guys wearing them, too. Kilts are traditional wedding attire for Scottish men, even today! Saturday night, we went on a Ghost and Ghouls tour of Edinburgh, which is rumored to be the most haunted city in Britain. We saw haunted churches, underground vaults, and learned about the ghosts that supposedly haunt the city. Edinburgh actually does look a little spooky at night. The tall, gray, stone buildings, old churches, cobblestone streets, looming castles...put all that together with a cold, windy night, and it's a little scary! :) On Sunday, we took a 12 hour tour of the Highlands...beautiful! We saw where parts of "Braveheart" and "Harry Potter" were filmed, and learned a LOT about Scottish history. The mountains (the Scottish word for mountain is Ben) were incredible...bright green, with a little snow at the top of the tallest ones. We went on a boat cruise on the Loch Ness...home of the Loch Ness monster! Sadly, we didn't see Nessie, but they sell lots of Nessie dolls in gift stops all over Scotland. :) The weather in Scotland was very cold, especially in the Highlands. It got down to 45-50 degrees on Sunday night! Our tour guide, Penny, was great and had a wonderful Scottish accent. I love hearing Scottish people talk - the accent has a soothing cadence, and it's kind of melodious. Some people were hard to understand because they were speaking Scots, which is a strong dialect in Scotland. Some of their words are English, but they pronounce the vowels differently, so it's impossible to understand. And some words are completely different! Penny said that language experts are debating whether or not Scots is a language or a dialect. On Monday, we explored the city a little more and did some shopping. We got a glimpse of the typical Scottish weather...cold, windy, and rainy. By the time we got on our train Monday afternoon, we were completely soaked. Tooley and I observed that the fashion trend of tucking jeans into tall boots isn't so much a trend as just plain practical...it keeps your jeans and socks dry! We were really sad to leave Scotland on Monday - it was beautiful, fun, and an awesome experience! I think anyone would love seeing the Highlands. It's nice to be back in Stratford-upon-Avon, though, where the sun is shining. :) Our internet should be connected tomorrow, so everyone please call us! Don't forget about the time difference...we're six hours ahead of Mississippi. If for some reason the internet or phone aren't working, don't be surprised...I'm sure a few delays will pop up between now and then. :) I miss everyone!

We're off to Bonny Scotland!

2005-10-21T12:17:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, our broadband equipment finally arrived...hooray! The telephone repairman also come and fixed our phone line. However, as I predicted, we had a slight problem. To make a long story short and avoid going into computer-talk, I'll sum it up: our internet equipment does not connect to our Vonage phone. The Vonage phone lets us call the U.S. as a local call, and also lets Tooley and me get onlie at the same time. After visiting numerous computer stores yesterday, Tooley and I discovered that we would have to buy a new modem that would work with our phone router. Sad! Our internet will be connected on October 26, so hopefully we'll get a new modem by then! I can't wait! :) Our phone number is 601-427-0310, so everyone please call us on and after October 26...it'll be like calling a cell phone in Mississippi! In other news, the Fair is back in town! It's called the Runaway Mop, and it's a smaller version of the Mop Fair from last week. All the school children come to the fair on their lunchbreak and ride the rides. It's Friday, so that means there is a market in town...I'm about to go check it out! :) Yesterday I found a huge antiques store that has lots of fun costume jewelry - there are so many great shops in Stratford! Early tomorrow morning, Tooley, Catherine, and I are taking a train to Birmingham, and then catching another train to Edinburgh, Scotland. I'm so excited! The train ride is supposed to beautiful, because we go through the northern part of England and southern part of Scotland. Luckily, we don't need our passports because Scotland and part of Ireland make up the United Kingdom, so the government recognizes it as one big country. On Saturday we're going to explore the town and MAYBE go on a haunted tour if we can get tickets. Walt (my friend in Edinburgh) told me that Edinburgh has the reputation of being the most haunted city in the world. All day Sunday we will be on a tour through the Highlands, including Loch Ness and Glen Coe. We're leaving Monday afternoon. The weather is supposed to be COLD in Scotland this weekend...in the 50s (10 degrees Celsius). I won't be able to post again until Tuesday, but I'll be sure to put up lots of pictures when I return! MSU's homecoming is this weekend...Go Dawgs! :)

Endeavors in the Kitchen

2005-10-19T12:21:00.000+02:00

Last night, Tooley and I tried our hands at cooking. She made her mom's potato soup recipe, and I made brownies. Cooking in the UK is quite an experience, mostly because the stores here don't sell many of the same ingredients that we have back home. My plans to make banana pudding were nipped in the bud when I discovered that Jello does not exist in the UK (I found something similar, though), and neither do Nilla wafers. One thing that I like about the grocery stores here is the selection of fresh bread. Each grocery store has a huge bakery that makes all kinds of delicious bread that you won't always find in American grocery stores. Tooley and I bought some delicious bread to go with our soup. Most homes in the UK have gas stoves, which Tooley and I aren't familiar with at all. For supper, we generally boil water and make pasta, or heat up a dinner in the microwave. To make brownies, however, I had to actually use the oven. The recipe said to cook the brownies for 25 minutes, but after 10 minutes, the top was starting to burn but the rest of the mix had not cooked. It was almost like the brownies had been broiled instead of baked! Our landlord was out, so we couldn't ask for help (you can't really tell what you're doing just by looking at the knobs on the oven, unfortunately) so instead of brownies, we had chocolate pudding...made from brownie mix. :) It was actually pretty good! By the time the soup was ready, we looked around the kitchen to observe the damage we had done. I honestly think we used every pot, bowl, cup, knife, spoon, and fork in the whole house! Well, the soup, bread, and pudding were delicious, and it didn't take us TOO long to clean up! :) We had fun. Yesterday, I received a package from my parents full of my favorite magazines (Us Weekly and People), so I feel like I'm up to date on what's going on back home. Jennings sent Tooley and me a Halloween care package, so now our room is all decorated for Halloween! :) Thanks!

Rotary Meeting and Ordering Internet

2005-10-18T13:35:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I attended the Stratford-upon-Avon Rotary Club, which meets at a hotel right down the street from my school. My host counselor, Mike, picked me up and we arrived at the hotel at 12:20. This Rotary Club is an all-male club, so it was just me and about 50 old men. Everyone was very polite, and didn't seem bothered that a 22 year old American girl was sitting in the middle of 50 businessmen from the Stratford area. :) I'm really starting to get the hang of the British style of eating...fork turned over backwards, and never setting down the knife. Cooked carrots seem to be a common food in England, because almost every single British meal I've had includes them. After lunch, we gave the royal toast ("To the Queen!") and the meeting began. At the end of the meeting, I gave a ten minute introductory speech. I think everything went well! Afterwards Mike and I walked with Phil Littleford, who was the previous Rotary president, back to his office. Mike was telling me that it doesn't snow as much in England as it used to, thanks to global warming, and then started describing how to make a snowman! I didn't want to be rude and tell him that I know what a snowman is...it's not THAT hot in Mississippi, so I just smiled and listened politely. It was really funny! My next class meeting is the last weekend of October, which I unfortunately have to miss so I can attend the Rotary District Conference in Southport, England. Mike was going over the itinerary of the conference, and mentioned that one night we would be wearing fancy dress. I immediately started thinking, "How long would it take my parents to mail one of my formal dresses to England?" Then Mike went on to explain that the theme of that night would be musicals, and his club was dressing as Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Mike noticed the confused look on my face, and explained that "fancy dress" means "costume." He laughed when I told him that it means formal gown or tuxedo in the U.S. Luckily, I don't have to dress in costume on the Fancy Dress night...thank goodness! Today, Tooley and I ordered our Broadband internet service...hooray! It should be here in 7-10 days, but after all the trouble with banks, phone lines, etc, I wouldn't be surprised if we had a few problems getting it connected. Oh, well, what can you do? Since the big news in the papers has been the British political parties, I'll try to give a quick summary of how it works. There are two main political parties, Conservative ( aka Tories) and Labour. Tony Blair, the prime minister, is a MP (member of Parliament) for the Labour party. The Tories are trying to find a candidate to be the leader of their party, and it's between about four men. Two of these men, David Davis and David Cameron, have been in the paper quite a bit lately. The Labour party wants Gordon Brown to be Tony Blair's successor, and many people want Tony Blair to step down early so that Gordon Brown will already be the leader of the Labour party when it's time for the elections. In the election, the people vote for MPs, and whichever party has the most MPs is the leading party (I might be a little off on that, but I think that's close to how it works). The queen actually does have a role in British politics! During the election, when one of the political parties reaches a certain number of votes, they have to ask the queen's permission to form the party and choose a leader. Funny, huh? Tooley and I have learned all of this from the newspapers and her coworkers at Woolworths. Some of it may be a little off, but I think most of the details are pretty accurate. Hopefully that explains a little bit about British politics! :)

Native Americans in Stratford

2005-10-17T12:19:00.000+02:00

I hope everyone had a great weekend! On Saturday, I went to the farmers market in the center of town. Every weekend there is a new market, so you never know what to expect! I love when the farmers market comes, because all of the booths let you sample their food. :) So, I spent a good forty five minutes walking along from booth to booth sampling fish, cheese, marmalade, bread, all kinds of yummy food. One thing I couldn't bring myself to try was the Buffalo Ice Cream. I have no idea what that is, or why it's called Buffalo, but I can only imagine. On Saturday night, I went to a birthday party at my school with Natalie and Michelle for a guy named Andy. It was fun getting to meet more people, and a barbershop quartet even came and sang! On Sunday, Tooley had to work, so I went to the grocery store and also bought my Youth Rail Card, which allows students to get reduced rates on train tickets. Europe has really great deals for students, more so than in the U.S. Almost any tour, train, or museum you go to offers student discounts. Tooley and I are going to cook dinner (as opposed to heating something up in the microwave) on Tuesday, and I was planning on making banana pudding. Unfortunately, England has not yet been introduced to Jello OR Vanilla wafers...how sad! So, any plans I had to make banana pudding are out. Another girl I go to school with said that her boyfriend is bringing over 6 packs of cornbread mix when he comes to visit, because you won't find that in the UK, either! I saw an odd sight on Sunday afternoon...Native Americans, in full headdress, playing pipes and drums across from the Pizza Hut! I was very confused about why Native Americans were performing in England, but I eventually figured out that they were here promoting a clean environment. Still, that's not something you see everyday! On Sunday night, I went to church with Catherine at Renewel Church. I really liked it! The preacher was great, and everyone was really nice. It was a little different than any church I've ever been to (speaking in tongues, annointing with oil...no joke!) but the message and songs were great. Catherine made a good point about church in England...England is such a secular culture, so going to church isn't so much a social event like it can be in the South. Everyone who goes to church in England goes because they really want to be there. After church we went to a housewarming party for three students who just moved into a flat near the school. Everyone brought food, so we feasted on pizza, quiche, stuffed mushrooms, you name it! Today I'm going to the Stratford Rotary Club to give an introductory speech and eat lunch, so everyone wish me luck! :) Have a great Monday!

No Class this Weekend...hooray!

2005-10-15T12:36:00.000+02:00

This weekend and next weekend are my break between classes, which means...I have nothing to do! Well, I guess I should start working on my essays, but we'll see. :) On Friday, I ran some errands and discovered my new talent...browsing through stores without buying anything! (Dad, if you're reading this, I'm sure you're very happy to hear this). Although this may not sound like much, it's actually quite a challenge. Since Stratford is a tourist town, it has the cutest stores for clothes, antiques, jewelry, home furnishings, you name it. We also have a market every weekend, which is fun to browse around. Friday night, Tooley, Natalie, and I ate a yummy dinner at the Golden Bee pub, then walked around town for a while. Everything closes early in Stratford (it makes me miss Super Walmart, which never closes), so after six, the only places open are pubs, Tesco grocery store, one convenience store, and the movie theater. We stopped at Bella Italia and split a delicious chocolate dessert, had coffee, and talked for a few hours. It was a nice, fun, low-key night. This time next week, I'll be on my way to Scotland...hooray! Today I'm going to catch up on some reading, and tonight Tooley and I are going to a birthday party for a guy I go to school with named Andy. Good news...my debit card FINALLY came in! But just when I thought my problems with the bank were over, they told me that my PIN number would arrive in the mail in four days. Why in the world they can't give me the PIN number with the card, I have no idea. Poor Walt and Tooley still don't have their debit cards. I also got a check book, but it looks completely different from American check books, so I have no clue how to use it. Hopefully all of my bank problems should be solved once I receive my PIN number...but you never know! :) On Monday, I'm attending the Stratford-upon-Avon Rotary Club meeting, so that should be interesting. The big news in England is the discovery that Sienna Miller has been cheating on Jude Law with one of his close friends. I'm also learning more about the British political system than I ever thought possible! :) It's really fun and interesting, though. I hope everyone back home is having a wonderful weekend!

Fun New Pictures

2005-10-13T17:37:00.000+02:00

A friendly carnie let Tooley and me pose on a ride while they set up for the fair

The Elves from the Elfin School :) Aren't they precious?

A street in Chipping Campden, a tiny Cotswold village

Some of the really old houses still have small doors, as Tooley is demonstrating

Beautiful countryside! It was a little foggy...sorry the pictures aren't very clear!

Broadway Tower

This picture and the next are from the Fair

Fun at the Fair

2005-10-13T12:47:00.000+02:00

Last night, Tooley and I went to the Fair! Hooray! We went with Natalie (from Alabama), Marfo (from Greece), and Michelle (from England). Those girls are so much fun...we love hanging out with them! About an hour before we left for the fair, the electricity in Stratford-upon-Avon went out. Luckily, the fair brought it's own generators in, so it wasn't affected. However, Tooley and I had to eat dinner by candlelight, and listen to our landlord talk about wearing wooden clogs on a fair ride in the 80s. Haha! He's hilarious! It rained off and on last night, but that didn't seem to bother anyone...the fair was still going in full swing! The five of us rode the Waltzer (it goes around in a circle, and each car also spins), the carousel, and my personal favorite, Bounce. The Bounce ride spins you around, and drops your car up and down the whole time...it was SO fun! And it's one of the few rides that won't make you nauseous. Marfo had never ridden a carousel before, so we rode it with her. As soon as the ride started, however, we realized that all of us were riding on wooden horses, except Marfo! She had somehow gotten on a random wooden chicken...why there was a wooden chicken in the midst of carousel horses, I have no idea. So, I switched with her so she could get the full carousel experience. :) After the rides, we loaded up on food! Michelle shared her hot chestnuts with us, which none of the Americans had ever tasted before. They were pretty good! She also let us try some flying saucers, which are popular fair candy in England. They tasted kind of like SweetTarts. We also got some candy floss (known in the U.S. as cotton candy). We passed a food booth called the American Diner, where one would assume they sell American food. Instead, the menu consisted of food like french fries with curry sauce and green peas with mint sauce...I hope they don't think we really eat that stuff in America! Natalie got the fries and curry sauce, but they weren't really that great. I learned that bumper cars are called Dodge'Ems, and that most of the British fair rides are much faster and higher than American rides (which can be good or bad). We had a lot of fun walking around, eating, and riding the rides. :) The fair leaves today, but it's coming back on Saturday...hooray! The fair on Saturday is called the Runaway Mop, and is a smaller version of this week's fair. It's called the Runaway Mop because the men in town used to run off with the fair! At least that's what a lady told Tooley at Woolworth's. :) Tomorrow, my debit card should arrive...yea! I talked to Walt in Scotland, and he is having a LOT of trouble with banks, too. Walt, Tooley, and I have observed that customer service in the UK is not at all what it is in the U.S. You know the saying, "The customer is always right"? Not always the case in the UK! Somehow, the cute British accents make everyone sound more polite than they actually are. :)

Our Adventure in the Cotswolds

2005-10-12T13:18:00.000+02:00

Tuesday morning, Tooley and I woke up and prepared to head to the village Chipping Campden for a fun day of shopping and sightseeing. When we arrived at the center of town to catch the bus, we saw...that the Mops Fair had arrived! Hooray! Stratford looks COMPLETELY different! There are rides, booths, games, and what-not throughout all of the major streets! It reminds me so much of the fair back home: awesome rides, greasy food (fish and chips instead of chicken on a stick), carnies (from East Europe instead of redneck towns), and lots of games. I've been sad about missing the Mississippi State Fair, but what a little blessing to have the fair brought to me! :) We left Stratford and rode the bus to Chipping Campden, which is about 35 minutes away. That town is adorable! All of the building are made out of brown stone, and it looks like the town hasn't changed much since the 1700s. We browsed through little stores and antique shops, and decided to go on the Cotswold Way walk, which leads you around the outskirts of the village and into the beautiful hills of the Cotswolds. We starting walking up a path on a hill, and after about twenty minutes, Tooley and I were like, "Where's the scenery? What's going on here?" All we could see was a farm house at the top of the hill. We stopped for a second, and turned around...there was the most breathtaking view! We started cracking up, because the scenery had been behind us the whole time! We just had to keep climbing higher in order to see it. I took lots of pictures, which I'm going to try to post later today. The farms on the hills look like patchwork quilts, because they're separated by hedges and bushes instead of fences. The grass is SO green! Tooley and I kept walking through fields, and over hills, and finally...realized we had stumbled onto the wrong path! The path we had been on was supposed to be a two hour walk around Chipping Campden. We had made some kind of zigzag detour through a field and ended up closer to the next town, Broadway! I was actually kind of excited, because I visited Broadway on my last trip to England with Jeannie, and we loved it! So we followed what we thought was the path to Broadway, and passed by the Broadway tower, a beautiful stone tower that is the highest point in the Cotswolds. Somehow, we got off THAT path and ended up on some deserted road. It was really kind of funny...what else can you do in a situation like that but laugh? So we walked along the road, and finally flagged over a guy driving by, who pointed us in the direction of Broadway...two and a half miles away (by this time, we had been walking 4 hours)! So we walked through another field, down a hill, past a farm and beautiful farm house, along a narrow road, and made it to Broadway, over five hours after we left Chipping Campden. We were so blessed, though...the whole time we were walking, we saw more and more dark rain clouds moving in, but the rain held off until we reached Broadway! When we arrived in Broadway, we went to a hotel and called a cab. We made it back to Chipping Campden fifteen minutes before the last bus headed back to Stratford...whew! We made it back to Stratford upon Avon around 7:30, and the fair was in full swing. Tooley and I made the rounds, and sampled some delicious chocolate fondue! We're going to go back to the fair tonight with some other people to ride a few rides. I can't wait! **Fun fact: Prince William is working at my bank! I have a bank account at HSBC, which I just found out is the world's second largest bank. Prince William will be interning at the branch in London for a few months. How cool is that? :)

Fun Weekend!

2005-10-10T15:29:00.000+02:00

This weekend I had my second class, which means I have a break for two weekends...hooray! That also means I need to start working on essays, which is not going to be fun. My teacher this weekend was Dr. Alex Lindsey from Cambridge University. He is a tiny little man, but very nice and intelligent. My classes usually run from 6-9 p.m. on Friday night, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. on Saturday (with nice long breaks!) and 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on Sunday. It's really not bad at all! Saturday night, Tooley and I ate dinner with Natalie (from Alabama) and Michelle (from England) at Natalie's house. Natalie is living in a professor's house who teaches at UCLA during the year. Natalie cooked spaghetti and salad for us, and Michelle brought a chocolate cake. After dinner, we watched a movie and chatted. It was really fun! Michelle picked up Tooley and me and drove us to Natalie's...it's always a treat to ride in a car! haha! On Thursday, I learned that I had to attend a Rotary Club District Welcome Meeting that was being held Sunday in Birmingham. I was nervous that my school would not excuse me from missing class, because I found out about the meeting on such short notice. Luckily, Dr. Lindsey was very understanding and excused me from class on Sunday. Mr. Pearce, the man in charge of Rotary Scholars for England, had arranged for me to be picked up on Sunday morning for the meeting. Well, on Sunday morning, I got up, got dressed, and waited outside for my ride...for 40 minutes. No one ever came! I had given Mr. Pearce my cell phone number, but he had never called, so I figured my ride forgot to pick me up. I went to the internet cafe to send him an email, and saw that he had sent an email to me on Saturday night saying that he couldn't find a ride for me to Birmingham, so I needed to take a train, and then a taxi to some hotel. Since my internet isn't hooked up yet, and my school's library closes at 5 p.m., I had no way of knowing about the change in plan! I called my host counselor, Mike, and told him the situation. He had no idea about the change in plan and felt awful about the mix-up. He was very unhappy with how Mr. Pearce handled the situation. Mike is wonderful, I'm definitely lucky to have a great host counselor! So by the time everything was sorted out, it was too late for me to go to class, so Tooley and I spent the day browsing through shops and taking it easy. :) We had a great weekend. Today, I woke up to the sound of the Elves (that's what Tooley and I call the children who attend the Elfin School next door) playing kazoos and recorders. It was cute! I'm going to try to take a picture of the Elves, b/c they look so adorable in their uniforms! The weather has been wonderful...sunny and 70 degrees! It was nice not having to wear a fleece today. I just booked our trip to Scotland (Tooley, Catherine, and I are going on Oct. 22-24) and I'm so excited! Tomorrow Tooley is off from work, so we're going to visit Chipping Camden, a little village about 30 minutes away. It's supposed to be a very cute village, and we're going on a Cotswold Walk, which is a trail that goes through the beautiful countryside. :) I hope the weather is this nice tomorrow!

Pictures!

2005-10-09T14:35:00.000+02:00

Hey everyone! I'm at an internet cafe, and it's the only place I can upload pictures onto my blog, so here are some pictures and I'll update my blog tomorrow. :) Enjoy!

The grass here is SO green...it looks like everyone has a golf course in their yards!

Holy Trinity Church, a beautiful old church where Shakespeare is buried! He wrote a message forbidding anyone to remove his bones.

Scenic shots

Yorkshire Pudding...yum!

2005-10-06T13:17:00.000+02:00

Well, last night was my first Rotary Club meeting to attend in England! My host club is the Coventry Phoenix Rotary Club, and they meet in a pub called The Woodhouse in Coventry. My host counselor, Mike, picked me up in Stratford-upon-Avon, and drove me back to his house in Birmingham, where I hung out with him and his wife, Judy. She fixed tea and yummy biscuits (cookies), and it was fun getting to know them better. Mike and I arrived at The Woodhouse around 7:30 p.m. Their club is smaller than the Madison/Ridgeland Rotary Club, and although many Rotary Clubs in England are still male-only, their club has three female members. However, none of the women were at the meeting, so it was just me and 20 men between the ages of 50 and 70! I had a lot of fun, though. Everyone was really nice and had a great sense of humor. The club president was out, and the vice-president was filling in, and everyone kept giving him a hard time, which was funny. We had a meal first, then the meeting started after everyone finished eating. The meal consisted of roast, new potatoes, cooked carrots, and...Yorkshire pudding! I've heard of it, but never had it before. I was envisioning a liquid, pudding-like desert, but in reality, Yorkshire pudding is bread! It looks like a roll, but it's made with something that tastes like pancake batter. No one could believe that I had never tasted it before. For desert, we had a yummy sweet roll with cream called a rumbaba. After the meal, everyone stood up, and toasted the queen ("To the Queen!"), took a sip of their ale or water, and we began the meeting. I just had to give a short introductory speech, so that was a good warm up for future presentations! The meeting lasted about 2 hours (including the meal), but I had a lot of fun. It was nice getting to ride in a car again...it's been awhile! It's a funny feeling riding in the passenger seat...I felt like I should be driving, because the English passenger seat is where the American driver's seat should be. Whenever I come home and start driving again, everyone look out, because I might be all over the place! (Just kidding!) I have class again this weekend, but a small conflict has developed...I'm supposed to attend a Rotary Club Welcome Meeting for all of the clubs in the district on Sunday, but I have class on Sunday. Mike and I talked about it, and decided there was nothing I could do, and I would be excused because of my class. However, the man in charge of the Ambassadorial Scholars just emailed me and said that I HAVE to come to the meeting, class is not an excuse. So, I have to find a way to tell my school! (There's a strict attendance policy). Everyone pray that it gets sorted out!

Tooley's First Day of Work

2005-10-04T13:37:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, Tooley began her first day as a Woolworth's employee. She's got a great schedule...9-6 on Tuesday through Friday. She gets a three day weekend, which will be great when we travel. I went to see her yesterday afternoon. She looked very professional in her red shirt and nametag that said...Julia! Apparently, there are 5 Sarahs who work for Woolworth's, and they ran out of Sarah nametags. You have to have a nametag to work on the floor, so she had to choose between Julia or Sam. I think she chose wisely. :) While she worked, I went to the library, ran some errands, and went to the gym. Our gym is great...it reminds me of a mix between the Sanderson Center and the Courthouse. On our first visit to the gym (called the Banana Fitness Club), Tools and I realized halfway through our workout that we were on the exact same machine, wearing the exact same outfit! I'm sure we looked super cool (just kidding). It's strange getting used to measuring distance in kilometers, weight in kilograms or stones (1 pound = 14 stones), and temperature in Celsius. Let's just say I've had to do a lot more math than I planned on! Tomorrow night, I have to give my first speech to a Rotary Club! Luckily it's my host club (Coventry Phoenix), and it's just a short introduction speech. My host counselor, Mike, is awesome and is coming to pick me up, drive me to his house in Birmingham to hang out with him and his wife Judy for awhile, drive me to the meeting, and then drive me back to Stratford. It's been over two weeks since I've been in a car...what a strange feeling! Tools and I have gotten used to walking everywhere, though. The distance from my house to my school is the same distance as walking from the Chi O house to the Forestry building (3 minutes). The distance from my house to the gym is the same as walking from the Chi O house to the Sanderson Center (not too bad...about 12 minutes). Our big grocery store (there's a small one nearby) is about a 10 minute walk from our house, and it's right next to the train station. Last night, Tools (Julia?) and I went to a Thai restaurant to celebrate her first day of work. I liked it, but I don't think Tools was a big fan. I really think I can eat just about anything! Yesterday I was getting sad because I remembered that I was going to miss the Fair back home...I don't think I've ever missed it! Strangely enough, Tools and I found out that there is going to be a big fair in Stratford-upon-Avon next week...how awesome is that? It's called the Mops Fair, whatever that means, and it's supposed to be really big. I doubt there will be any taffy or fun rides, so everyone in Jackson needs to eat lots of taffy, frozen bananas, and chicken on a stick for me, and ride lots of rides. :)

I Survived!

2005-10-03T12:13:00.000+02:00

Well, I made it through my first weekend of class! Whew! This semester, I'm taking two "modules;" Shakespeare's Theatre (which I had this weekend) and Shakespeare's Legacy (next weekend). I have class two weekends a month, which is awesome because I get the other two weekends off. This weekend, my class was taught by Dr. Catherine Alexander (she told us to call her Cath, which is a common nickname for Catherine in England), and she's great! There were 18 people in my class, and I was one of two Americans. The other American went to Yale! I was also the youngest person in my class...and the youngest person at the Institute. Everyone in my class is super nice, and they're all very smart. On Saturday night, we went to see "As You Like It" at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (which, by the way, Sienna Miller is starring in in London!). It was really neat, but our seats were pretty stiff and close together, so that made it hard to stay still for 3 hours. It's funny taking notes in class over here, because the paper in England is longer than American paper, which I never knew til now. All paper in the U.S. is 8 1/2 by 11, but here it's about 8 by 13, a noticeable difference. Our class was over Sunday afternoon, and boy was it a good feeling! Sunday night, our landlords, Jeremy and Junko, had a party for all of the tenants...me, Tools, Catherine from Texas, and Omarfola (I have no idea how to spell her name, but you pronounce it Marfla) from Greece. Cat and Omarfola are a year older than me, and also go to the Institute. Tools and I have gotten to be good friends with Cat, but Omarfola just moved in. She's so fun, and really nice! Since Junko is from Japan, she made homemade sushi...yum! We also had some Japanese beans (sadly, not edamame) and some pumpkin stuff that only I liked. We ate, talked, and laughed for over two hours! Jeremy is really nice but really quirky and funny, and says the most random things. Junko is the cutest little Japanese lady (they're both in their early 50s), but speaks broken English, so sometimes it's hard to understand her. She says "Herro!" for hello, and "corragen" for collagen (it took awhile to figure that one out!), and the funniest is "lice" for rice! At dinner, we talked about American holidays and British holidays, which was interesting, because they're not all the same. No Thanksgiving over here...sad! In the past five years or so, people in England have started celebrating Halloween. The English know a lot about American culture from watching TV - West Wing, Friends, Will and Grace, etc. Jeremy told us that he hates Halloween, and we were like, "Why? Don't you like to pass out candy?" He gave us a strange look and said, "No." Tools, Cat, and I started talking about how cute it is to see little kids dress up and go trick or treating, then Jeremy said, "Oh, they don't dress up here...they just go around ringing doorbells and asking for money." We started cracking up...it looks like Halloween got lost in translation! Oh, well! Today (Monday), Tooley starts work! She's excited! I'll try to take a picture of her in her Woolworth's shirt and post it. :) I miss everyone...I hope y'all had a great weekend!

Brrr!

2005-09-29T18:42:00.000+02:00

It's getting a lot colder! The past few days, Tools and I have been wearing our fleeces, scarves, and gloves! Last night, Tools went outside to talk to her boyfriend on the phone, and she looked like she was dressed to go skiing. :) Our landlord refuses to turn on the heat for another few weeks, claiming that NO ONE in Britain has turned on their heat THIS early. Fun news...the Stratford upon Avon Festival of Food has officially begun! There's a big tent set up in the center of town with lots of food vendors. Today I sampled some cheese, hot chocolate, prawns, and honey roasted cashews. Yum! Tomorrow (Friday), our school is taking a bus to Birmingham (about 45 minutes away) to get our ID cards and have a reception at the University of Birmingham's main campus. My class also starts tomorrow night, at 6. I have class on Saturday at 10, then we're going to see "As You Like It" at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre at 7:30. On Sunday, I have class again at 10. It's going to be a busy weekend! I'll try to update my blog sometime this weekend, but if not, be looking for an update on Monday! I have NO idea what my classes are going to be like, so this should be interesting. :) Good news - Tools had a job interview today at Woolworth's! Woolworth's is like a high-end dollar store. You can buy nice stuff like DVDs, candy, school supplies, and electronics at discount prices. Today I went for a walk (there are lots of neat trails around the town), and brought my camera along so I could show everyone more of Stratford! This really is a picturesque little town...weeping willows hanging over paths along the River Avon, swans swimming, cute old couples walking and holding hands, little kids in school uniforms. It's amazing how OLD this town is! I'm not sure the exact date it was founded, but I know it's at least 700 years old. There's a building down the street from my school that was built in the 1400s, and it's still in use! One bad thing about all of the towns in England being so old is that the sidewalks are uneven. As the years go by, people just keep building over previous sidewalks and foundations, and eventually the sidewalks and roads become a little uneven because of the many layers beneath. As a result, Tools and I usually trip at least twice a day...it just can't be helped! :) We try to be graceful about it, though.

Costa Coffee...our favorite coffee shop! I recommend the mocha frescato (it's like a frappachino)

Ok, it looks like my internet connection isn't too good right now, and this is the only picture I can upload. But I do have more, and I'll do my best to post them soon! :)

FINALLY!

2005-09-27T16:26:00.000+02:00

Good news...I now have a bank account in the UK! My school has a deal with HSBC, and they let me open an account, no problem. So today was definitely a good day. I didn't have orientation today, so Tools and I ran errands. We read a really interesting/disturbing article in the British newpaper today (it may have been in American newspapers, too, I'm not sure). The article was based on the results of survey, and said that Christianity or the belief in a God is unneccesary for a successful, peaceful society, and is often found to be detrimental to societies. The report said that British society, which is mostly secular, is faring better and much more successful than American society because there are fewer murders, kidnappings, etc. in England. It also compared France, Scandinavian countries, and China with the U.S., saying that these countries are becoming less and less Christian, and their societies are improving. Basically, it implied that the problem with American society is the large Christian population and beliefs. Isn't that disturbing? The survey never mentioned the fact that governments of all of these countries are very different, and most have harsher punishments than the U.S. regarding crime. Tools and I really had a lot of problems with that article. It's amazing what you see in the paper over here. Censorship isn't very big in Europe. We opened a newspaper last week, and saw a picture of a naked girl saying that she likes Prince William, and thinks that he and his girlfriend make a cute couple. We were like, does she have to be naked to say that? Honestly! Lots of advertisments in magazines here show a lot more skin than magazines in the U.S. American censors would have a field day over here! :) We also read that a Dutch television station is planning a program that films participants doing drugs, having sex, etc, and then interviews the participants afterwards. It's pretty unbelievable. Anyway, this weekend is the Stratford upon Avon Festival of Food...how awesome does that sound? I can't wait! Unfortunately, my classes are on the weekend, but the one on Saturday doesn't start til ten, so maybe I can wake up early and take part in the festivities. :) Tooley isn't too excited, because it'll mostly be British food. I think she's starting to like it a little better, though.

I'm Not a Terrorist!

2005-09-26T15:58:00.000+02:00

What a crazy day! This morning, I woke up, had breakfast, and went to open a bank account. This is not as easy as one would think. There are four main banks in England...Lloyd's, NatWest (National Westminster), Barclay's, and HSBC. Without a bank account in the UK, I cannot get a phone line (Tooley's program helped her open an account, so our phone will be in her name), join a gym, or even get a library card! I will also have to keep paying exchange rate charges when I use my American debit card...not fun! To open a bank account as an international student, you must have: proof that you are attending school, your visa, passport, and proof of address. Small problem...they only way I can get proof of address is to have a bill sent to my house in England. I can't get a bill sent to my house unless I have a bank account, plus my bills are included in my rent. See the problem? So I went to NatWest first, where the lady told me since I don't have bills in my name, I needed a job in order to have proof of address, even though I'm a student. No, thanks! Then, I went to Barclay's, where the lady refused to open an account for me, and basically implied that I might be a terrorist. I told her (very kindly), that I'm NOT a terrorist, I just want to have my money in the United Kingdom, and get a debit card. I really didn't think I matched the profile of a terrorist, but you never know! It was an interesting experience, to say the least. :) I went back to NatWest, where they told me to go to the Inland Revenue Service (whatever that is!), and they could help me get proof of address. The man at the Inland Revenue Service was very nice and helpful, but told me I need to get a National Health Insurance number (keep in mind this is a Socialist economy, and health insurance, doctors appointments, surgery, etc. are paid for by the government). In order to get this number, I have to take a train to a town forty minutes away. Without this number, I can't even go to the doctor. My school recommends that all students register with a general practitioner as soon as they arrive in Stratford, because if you get sick, you can't see a doctor unless you are registered with one. So basically, it's been a dead end street every way I turn. By this point, I was very frustrated, and vented to my dad for awhile. This afternoon, I had an orientation program for my school. I've met some really nice people! I'm the youngest student here, but only by a year. I think I may be in over my head...if anyone reading this is a Shakespeare scholar, please let me know so I can call you with questions! :) This afternoon, I feel much better about things, and I think I may be able to open an account at HSBC...hallelujah! Tooley has been spending the day filling out job applications and trying to follow up with the phone company. It rained here last night, and the weather has gotten much cooler. It feels wonderful! I have orientation all week, which I'm looking forward to. Scott Watson and I were talking about meeting up in Amsterdam before he heads back to the U.S., but orientation has put a kink in those plans. I hope everyone in Starkville is ok after the tornado...how scary! Wish me luck opening a bank account! I'll try to send some of this cold weather back to Mississippi. :)

It's a Different World...

2005-09-25T18:46:00.000+02:00

Last night, Tools, me, and Katherine (a girl who lives in our house from Texas..she's really cool!) went to see the new Pride and Prejudice movie with Keira Knightley. It's SOOO good...a major chick flick! It's one of my favorite books. It was fun going to see a movie...just like home! :) The previews are a little different, but that's to be expected, I guess. This morning, the three of us woke up and went to church at...Stratford-upon-Avon Baptist Church! Imagine that, a Baptist church in England! I guess I went thinking it would be just like Broadmoor or Adaton Baptist, but boy was I wrong. The church was very small, with about 60-70 people in the congregation. We sang a lot of the same songs that we sing in Baptist churches in Mississippi, but everything else was pretty different. The church seemed pretty charismatic...everyone waving their hands in the air, people in the congregation bursting out in prayer. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but it's different than what I'm used to, and not quite what I was expecting. The church is currently looking for a permanent pastor, so a guy from Birmingham, England was filling in. He's no Rob Futral or Scott Cappleman, which made me really miss home. Halfway through the service, an old lady starting convulsing and had to be put on a respirator! It's sad, because many of the English people are not Christians, and if they are, they're mostly Anglican or Catholic. After church, we went to Morrison's, the awesomely huge grocery store, and stocked up on food for the week. At three o'clock, Katherine and I had to go to the Shakespeare Institute for an introductory tea (we tried to get Tools to come, too, but no luck!). I met a lot of nice people there, and even some girls from North Carolina, Louisiana, and Alabama! Everyone there seemed very...in love with Shakespeare. I mean I like Shakespeare and all, but I'm by no means the Shakespeare scholar. I'm in England more for the experience and to speak to Rotary Clubs for my scholarship. Hopefully I'll be able to get by. Luckily, my program doesn't require me to write a thesis...whew! :) I tried my first digestive (NOT what it sounds like...it's another name for cookie!), and it was really good! The cookies in England are called "biscuits" or "digestives." Only chocolate chip cookies are actually called cookies. After the tea, Tools and I headed to Snappy Pizza to use the wireless internet, and that's where I am now! Everyone please pray that I do well in school, and that we find a good church to go to in Stratford!

A Rainy Day in Warwick

2005-09-23T19:08:00.000+02:00

Today, Tooley and I took a train to Warwick, a little village about 15 miles away. It was rainy a little cool today, but the weather cleared up this afternoon. Warwick is a cute little town, but very limited on restaurants and shopping. I guess we've gotten spoiled in Stratford! I've been surprised at how many Indian restaurants there are in England! The majority of the restaurants in tiny Warwick were Indian. When Tools and I arrived, we headed straight for Warwick Castle, a beautiful castle on the outskirts of the town. It was huge! We had a lot of fun looking around and posing for silly pictures with the statues. We climbed to the top of the tower and had a beautiful view of the town and surrounding countryside. I wish the weather had been clear, because the mist from the rain obstructed the view of the countryside when I took pictures. I just love the English countryside! The grass is bright green, and instead of seeing cows like you would in Mississippi, you see sheep. After we toured the castle, we walked around the town. I had a scone, clotted cream, and cup of tea in a little tea room, then we had a light lunch in a restaurant down the road. By the time we got back to Stratford-upon-Avon, the skies were sunny! On Fridays, there is a little market in the center of town, which I can't wait to check out. Tools and I walked around trying to find a gym to join, and then we stopped by McDonald's for Tools (she's not a fan of the food here). We really wanted to get on the internet, but the library and internet cafe close early on Friday, so guess what we did...walked around the town with our laptops until we found a wireless internet connection! Haha! So now we're in Snappy Pizza, munching on chips (french fries) and checking our email. Today has been very fun! Check out the pictures of Warwick (sorry the format looks a little funny):

A street in Warwick

Warwick Castle...we climbed to the top of that tower!

Front view of the castle

Tools and I got in trouble for goofing off...just kidding!

Me dancing with a statue

Tools was parched from walking around the castle :)

A view of the countryside from the tower...I hope you can see it through the rain!

Away From the Hustle and Bustle

2005-09-22T18:33:00.000+02:00

One thing Tools and I love about Stratford is the relaxed atmosphere. London is amazing and SO much fun, but it's a huge city (7 million people!), and that can take a toll on you. Life in Stratford is very laid-back and relaxed. There are lots of cafes and bakeries where people sit outdoors and sip on tea, and families walking around. We see lots of school children wearing their uniforms and roaming the streets, which makes me wonder when exactly they have class. The little kids here are adorable in their school uniforms! And hearing them say things like, "Mummy, can I have some tea?" is SO cute! There's a school for kids ages 2-6 called the Elfin School right next door to our room, and it's fun hearing them laughing and run around whenever we leave to hit the town. We say, "The elves are out!" (Get it? Elfin school? Elves?) Tools and I have really started to learn our way around the town without a map, which is nice. One thing I miss is not knowing what's going on back home! I miss People Magazine and US weekly, and the Clarion-Ledger. Since the only places we can get on the internet are internet cafes and the library (until our broadband gets hooked up!) we're on a time limit and can't read the online newspapers from back home. All the newspapers here are talking about Kate Moss's cocaine addiction, and the hurricanes back in the U.S. Tonight, my Rotary host counselor and his wife (Mike and Judy Taylor) are coming to visit, so that will be fun! Tools and I really like our landlord and his wife! They crack us up. Jeremy and Junko (his wife, who is Japanese and so cute) are very laid-back and outgoing. Jeremy will say something random and hilarious, and Junko just laughs at herself because she gets confused easily. And Tools and I just laugh at them! We have a lot of fun. :) Tomorrow, Tools and I are taking a train to Warwick, a little village to the south that has a beautiful castle. I'll take lots of pictures!

Pictures...FINALLY!

2005-09-21T15:00:00.000+02:00

Here are some pictures of Stratford-upon-Avon:

Our room at 27 Evesham Place

We have a nice bathroom, walk in closet, and tons of storage space

The view from our window

A street in Stratford...aren't the buildings cute?

The birthplace of you-know-who...Shakespeare!

This picture and the next few are scenes from the River Avon, which flows through the center of town and has lots of cute little canals running off of it

In the distance you can see the steeple of Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare is buried

There's a cute little park and grassy knoll along the river
We just love it here! Everyone come visit!

Ave, Tools, and...Shakespeare

2005-09-20T18:12:00.000+02:00

Well we made it to Stratford-upon-Avon! I'm SO sad that our internet won't be hooked up for a month, because I can't hook up my camera to the computers at the library to show everyone pictures! I'm gonna try some other places, because I want everyone to see how cute the town is. On Monday morning, Tools and I took a train to Coventry to meet Mr. Geoff Lockett, a member of the Rotary Club. He and his wife Eirlys cooked a delicious meal for us (even Tooley liked it!) and drove us to Stratford-upon-Avon. On the way, we learned that lanes in the road are called "carriageways" in England. Our new house is so cute! It's a room at a Bed and Breakfast, and the room is spacious with two twin beds, a bathroom, and a kitchen downstairs that we can use. Our landlord, Jeremy, reminds us of a male Lauren McIntosh (love you, Laur!), and is really nice and funny. We strolled around the town and saw the most wonderful thing ever...an H&M only two minutes from our house! Are we lucky or what? Tools applied for a job there today, so wish her luck! We ate a yummy dinner at a little pub called The Garrick, which we really liked. The town is really cute, and has everything we need...clothing stores, grocery, drug stores, Costa coffee (yum!), etc. It's a very safe, quaint, picturesque little English town. The population is about 20,000, and it's the 7th largest tourist site in England, thanks to William Shakespeare. Today (Tuesday), we woke up and went to Morrison's, the large supermarket in town, and loaded up on groceries. Then, I went and looked around my new school, and Tooley applied for a few jobs. We roamed around a little more, and now I'm in the library updating my blog! :) The weather has been great! It's warmed up a little, and the sun is shining. The river Avon flows through the middle of the town, and there are weeping willows hanging over it and swans swimming around! The town has a very relaxed atmosphere, which is nice, and we feel very safe. Our Vonage phone and internet won't be hooked up for about three weeks, which we're a little frustrated about, but maybe it'll be sooner! Tonight, we're just going to take it easy and do a little more exploring. We're planning on taking a road trip sometime soon to a little village in the Cotswolds, which Stratford-upon-Avon borders.

Goodbye London!

2005-09-18T22:08:00.000+02:00

Today was our last full day in London...sad! It's been so much fun. The weather was a little overcast and cool today (we've been wearing jeans, long sleeves, and jackets, a little different from September in Mississippi!), so it was a perfect day for...shopping! :) This morning, Tools and I woke up and went to Knightsbridge, the area of London where Harrod's is located. We made a pit stop at H&M to load up on some much needed and very fun winter clothes. Then we explored Harrod's. That is probably the most impressive and expensive store I've ever been in! It's owned by Mohommad Al Fayed (the father of Princess Di's boyfriend who died in the car crash with her), and has very upscale food, clothes, shoes, etc. We browsed through Dolce and Gabbana, Versace, Gucci...wow! It was really neat! Then we went to Bond Street and Regent Street, which have fun shops that are more affordable than Harrod's. We walked through Regent's Park, which is in my opinion the most beautiful of all of the parks in London. There are lots and lots of roses, and the ponds have weeping willows hanging over them and swans swimming around. Very picturesque! It was a very fun last day in London. :) Tooley isn't really a big fan of the English food, but I'll eat anything so I can usually find something. The food here is pretty bland, and they eat weird combinations like egg and prawn (shrimp) sandwiches. It's just different, and takes a little while to get used to. The foods from home that I miss are Honey Bunches of Oats, Minute Maid Orange Juice, Campbell's soup, and fried chicken tender salads. Oh, well, what can ya do? Tomorrow we're going to take a train to Coventry and meet Geoff Lockett, a member of the Coventry Rotary Club, who will then drive us to Stratford-upon-Avon.

Camden Town, a fun place to shop

The dome of St. Paul's Cathedral, where Princess Di was married and where they "Feed the Birds" in Mary Poppins

Sunset over London

This and the one below are of Regent's Park

Shopping in the City

2005-09-18T00:38:00.000+02:00

Today was another beautiful day! Tools and I have been blessed with gorgeous, cool, sunny weather. And another blessing...Tooley's luggage arrived! Hooray! It was delivered at three in the morning...random, but she was just glad to finally have a toothbrush. Haha! Today, we went shopping in Camden Town, a really fun, funky little area in north London. It's probably my favorite place to shop in London! They have food vendors and stores from all over the world! (If anyone has seen the Mary Kate and Ashley movie where they go to London, this is the area where they go shopping and try on clothes). There's a really crazy shop in Camden called Cyberdog, and they sell futuristic, spacey clothes...it's hilarious! They also have a techno DJ. We spent most of the afternoon in Camden Town, then rode the Tube to see St. Paul's Cathedral (where Princess Di and Prince Charles were married, and where they "Feed the Birds" in Mary Poppins). Unfortunately, I can't hook up my camera to the computer in this internet cafe, so I'll post pictures later. Then we walked along the Thames and checked out a fun festival. We ate some Alabama Fudge Chocolate Cake (haha!), and strolled around the town. London has such neat, cute little streets and alleys! I love it! I miss everyone!

The Sun Came Out!

2005-09-16T19:27:00.000+02:00

Well, it's a beautiful day in London...the sun is shining and it's about 65 degrees with the wind chill. It's very windy here...yesterday my umbrella blew inside out a total of six times. Very impressive! :) This morning, Tools and I woke up, grabbed some bagels, and she went to her Bunac work visa orientation program. Her program is GREAT, if anyone wants to come work in the UK for 6 months, look into it! After her orientation, we got...cell phones! (gasp!) We were SO excited...now we can be connected to everyone again! It's going to take a couple of days to get them up and running, but everyone be expecting a call or text sometime soon, ok? :) We explored London somemore and walked along the Strand and Trafalgar Square. Tonight, we're going to see the musical "Chicago." We're excited! After the musical, we're going to get tea at the Marriot, a really nice hotel that has an amazing view of Big Ben. Unfortunately, Tooley's bags STILL aren't here. Boo! Hopefully by tonight they will have arrived at the hostel. Now it's time for...Brit Speak! Here are a few British words I've learned: brolly = umbrella, cheers = thanks, lifts = elevator, car park = parking lot, wellies = rain boots, queue = line, take away = take out, rubbish = trash, trainers = tennis shoes, trousers = pants, bum pack = fanny pack (Laurel!), jumper = sweater, potty = crazy (Jeans!), mobile (pronounced mo-BILE) = cell phone. This afternoon, Tooley and I were running late to her appointment at the bank so we took a cab, and told the cabbie to take us to Aldwych Street. We pronounced it Al-dwich, and he laughed at us and said it's pronounced (All-dwich). Oops! We're trying to get our British accent down pat, but we slip up every now and then! :) Last night, Tooley and I stood on the Westminster Bridge over the Thames...it is unbelievably gorgeous! At night, all of the buildings along the river, including St. Paul's Cathedral and Big Ben, are lit up with white and blue lights...it's incredible. I think it's probably the most romantic spot in the world! London at night is breathtaking!

Big Ben at night...this picture just doesn't do it justice!

A scene of London from Trafalgar Square. You can see Big Ben poking through the skyline! (Can you tell that Big Ben is my favorite London landmark?) :)

Tools and me in Trafalgar Square