Poundtown! I mean, Poundland...

'Ello loves!

Since my last post, I've been pretty busy. My sleep cycle has been pretty off on the weekends and because I've been so bust. I'll go to bed after 4 AM and wake up at 1 PM. But I've been going out and having lots of fun so I don't regret not having as much sleep as I should.

The week before my classes started, I got to do more things around London. I got dinner at an American style diner that plays American music and the food was pretty decent for what is was. Here they use less salt and sugar in everything so the mix of ingredients in the food make it taste ultimately different. The Saturday before class, I went to Borough Market with Meagan and Abby. This place is nestled is Southwark and is one of the largest and oldest food markets in London, and sells a multitude of different desserts, cheeses, meats, produce, and beverages from all over the world. The chorizo roll I got there was just short of heavenly. It's not a far tube ride from where I live so I'm going to try and visit the market as much as I can. Not far from the market is the Thames River, and on the other side is Big Ben and Parliament, which I want to actually visit sometime soon.The next day, I visited Liz Helenek at Queen Mary and we made dinner and dessert together. Queen Mary has a campus, which I miss having. However, being surrounded by a lot of cool places makes up for not having a Westminster campus.  

This octopus just chillin' on a stick

Macaroons!

The sign above the market

I've had 6 days of school so far. I have one class a day with Wednesdays off. My Exploring Mind and Body Through Yoga class is Monday, Sexualities is Tuesday, Nutrition and Exercise Studies is Thursday, and History and Crime is Friday. They all start at 2 PM except for my Friday class, which meets at 10 AM. The classes here have a lecture portion that is followed by a seminar. I like them so far, and there isn't any busywork in my classes like I've had in some classes at QU. 

Even though I have been in London for only 19 days, I have already planned two trips. February 9th I'm going to see Windsor Castle, Bath, and Stonehenge and on Valentine's Day weekend, Jordan and I will be going to Edinburgh, Scotland for the weekend. I'm hoping to see some friends at St. Andrew's while I'm there. 

This past weekend, I went with some friends to M&M World, which is almost exactly like the M&M store in NYC. A lot of the lines on the tube were closed for maintenance so we had to take a circuitous route to get there but it was worth the effort. We have also been frequenting this place called Mother, a bar that's within walking distance of our flats and they play throwback American music on the weekends. I think it will be our regular weekend spot. We had Sunday dinner at Pizza East and the food was insanely good. It is usually so well visited that you need to call in for a reservation days in advance.

My alter ego

Copying the Beatles

Pizza East

 
Tomorrow I have no class so I'm going to journey to the LUSH store and get school supplies from Poundland (the UK version of the Dollar Store, Marissa keeps calling it Poundtown though haha). And perhaps do some sightseeing too. 
Sorry I didn't do smaller updates like I promised!
XX,Vicky J

Photo album: Across The Pond

Social Media:

Twitter

Instagram

Don't Speak, They'll Know We're Foreigners!

It's been 8 days since I landed in London and I'm already in love with this place! 

My flight left Newark on Wednesday, January 1st 6:50 PM local time and it was under 6 hours so I didn't sleep at all. Instead I watched movies with Jordan, who spilled ginger ale in my lap about 10 minutes after takeoff but that's another story, and played trivia on the little TV on the back of the chair in front of me. Our flight attendants were these middle aged Englishmen and they were THE cutest people in the world. They came around to give us our dinner and breakfast on the plane and kept asking if we wanted tea and wine, plus their accents were so lovely to hear. 

When we finally got to Heathrow, we had to get our luggage and travel throughout the whole airport to get to where we were getting picked up by the Arcadia staff. By the end of it we were all super hot from dragging our luggage everywhere. The temperatures in buildings here are regulated terribly, which is why everyone dresses in layers. Once we left the airport we checked into St. Giles Hotel. That day, I explored Oxford Street with Tyler, Kelli, and Jordan for a few hours. There are a lot of department stores and places to eat along Oxford Street. They have a lot of repeat stores, sort of similar to how there are a ton of Starbucks shops in NYC.  I got a pink Nokia with a UK number and realized that the plans they have here are way more affordable than they are in the US. Later that night, we went to Wagamama's, this Japanese restaurant and noodle bar, for dinner and then Kelli, Abby, Jordan, Steph, and I went to a pub called the Princess Louise that had gorgeous frosted glass windows. 

On Friday before orientation started, I met a Pi Phi from Northwestern (where my sister friend Mattie goes/is also a Pi Phi) who is studying at King's College and it made my day. Our orientation seminars were about "Britishness," health and safety, and student life. Then at 7pm, we went to the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus to see "The 39 Steps," a  play based off the eponymous adventure novel by Scottish author John Buchan. This play showed me that British humor is hysterical, and I think that's mostly because euphemisms are emphasized to the point where they become  blatantly obvious.

On Saturday, we visited the Tower of London and walked around for a few hours talking pictures of the different exhibits they had inside. I got to see the Crown Jewels (I couldn't take pictures of them, but I did get some blurry video footage!) and the Bloody Tower. When we got back to the hotel, we checked out and moved into our dorms. Everyone where I'm staying (in Alexander Fleming housing) has his or her own room, and then there are 2 bathrooms and a kitchen area in each flat. Once we unpacked a little, I went with some of my friends to Argos to buy things like bedding and drugstore items. Argos is the strangest store ever. You go inside and they have tables set up with iPads that show you what they have in the store. You order your items from the database and pay at a cash register. Then, they get your items from their back room. Literally the quickest online shopping known to man. 

My flat mates Megan, Alexis and Billy are all so nice. There are also two other Asian girls who live with us but I will butcher their names if I try and type them. We've talked to each other a lot about how we will survive on the food here (food in London is actually kinda gross but not everywhere) and how not to spend tons of money on unimportant things. 

This past week, I've done the following:

-Had Westminster orientation at the Regent campus

-Applied for an Oyster card for the tube

-taken the tube ( A LOT)

-seen a lot of the bars in London

-visited the club ZooBar in London (and now I miss Toad's)

-visited the Victoria and Albert Museum

-walked around Harrod's, which is actually heaven on Earth (pictures of that to come soon since my new battery charger came today)

-attended the boat party Westminster put on for us

-made a bunch of friends

and done a bunch of other things!

I've noticed a lot of things here that are different from how they are in the United States. For example:

-In America, your total is the listed price plus sales tax. Here, the price you see is the price you pay. 

-Instead of having one faucet head on a sink, there are two faucets, one with hot water and the other with cold water.

-On the escalators, you stand on the right if you aren't going to walk up it so that people can walk by you on the left.

-The outlets here have power switches so you can refuse your electricity and still keep something plugged in.

-Tips are 10% and optional.

-Everyone is very reserved. No one talks on the tube, so if you want to blend in you shouldn't talk on the tube. My friends and I have made that mistake multiple times.

-British people dress very well all the time. Even the sweatpants here are stylish.

-The peanut butter here is strange so I'm glad I brought some from America.

That's all for now but I'm gonna try and do a lot of smaller updates in the future!

XX,

Vicky J

P.S. Here is a link to the Facebook album with pictures from my trip!

Across The Pond

Social Media:

Twitter

Instagram