Two. Words.

Two Words. Truck Withdrawal.

There are very few trucks in England. The trucks that you do see are not those beautiful heart-stopping Dodges, Fords, and Chevys like at home.  It’s nearly painful.  The nicest one I’ve seen is...what looked like a Toyota.

To give you a little bit of background here, my sisters and I love to look at trucks.  We have been occasioned to playing a game where we call out the types of trucks as we see them. Okay, so we’re truck dorks.

I can see where driving a truck here would be a terrible idea. The roads are tiny and people drive like maniacs--passing stopped vehicles in the road with a jerk of the wheel and no application of the brakes.  Apparently (and I’m sure for that reason), trucks are incredibly pricey to insure here.  So I guess I’ll just have to look at trucks, that are actually ‘lorrys’, and hatchback cars for the next four months. Maybe I’ll change my desktop picture to a lovely truck.

Second Monday

I.will.be.spoiled.  There are so many nice things about being student here at Harper Adams.  Not only is there a very short walk to...anywhere, but I have laundry services (they do my laundry for me) and my room gets cleaned up to three times a week.  Everyone gets jealous when I tell them that, but it's a little strange.  It's nice to know my room will stay clean though because I have to keep it tidy so that the cleaning woman can come in and vacuum and clean.  (She doesn't actually clean up my stuff. She just cleans the bathroom, vacuums, etc.) On top of all those nice things, I also don't currently have any classes that take place on Friday, don't have class until two on Monday, and have one class on Wednesday.  I think that means that I can take a long weekend occasionally.  That might make you think that I slept in this morning. Wrong. The fire alarm went off at 8:30 which got me out of bed quick enough, but I was already planning on getting out of bed early to go get some things done on (and off) campus.  I didn't make it off campus, but I did a lot of scholarship/to-do list work and I finally (hopefully) finalized my schedule.
*Drum roll, please. My Eight 'Modules':
-Farm Animal Science
-Farm Animal Nutrition
-Principles of Animal Behavior
-Psychology of Food Choice
-Zoo Animals
-Rural Business Strategy
-Biological Molecules and Genetics
-Companion Animal Studies


Sorry about still not having posted any pictures. The weather is dreary and I don't want to take a bunch of pictures of dreary weather.

Weather

During my flight here, the woman I was sitting next to on the plane told me that we would likely not get any snow where I am. Let's talk about this weather.  Now, I was semi-mentally prepared for the weather here. I knew it was probably going to be cloudy and rainy a lot. I knew it wasn't going to be as cold here as it gets at home, but it won't warm up as much either.  I think there has been one day that I have been here that I have not seen it precipitate during the day.  It can be perfectly sunny (though most of the time it is indeed cloudy) and two hours later, it's raining.  I almost didn't believe the people who told me how much it would rain, but rain it does. This makes me question my shoe selection that I have and the amount of socks I'm going to go through.  As if the rain all the time weren't enough, I have woken up to snow nearly every day.  Don't you hate when you go to bed knowing there is nothing on the ground and you wake up to a ground cover of snow? I do. Unfortunately, the snow goes away early in the day and the same thing happens every morning.  It makes you angry to get out of bed.  And it's COLD! I know it's not nearly as cold here as it is at home, but I feel cold all the time. In my room, at class..I just ask for a little warmth!

Update

Well, I've made it through three days of classes. The system is a little different than at home.  Classes at home are usually offered two or three times a week so you have the same class many times throughout a semester, but you take fewer.  Here, I'm taking eight classes, but I have each only once a week (or twice, if they have a tutorial).  The work is going to be a little different too as I will likely have little work in terms of quizzes or short projects, but have fewer, more intense projects.  So far, the classes have been fine and I haven't gotten too lost while finding them.  There's still a lot that's being straightened out. I finally got my login information for the computer and wifi today (I had a temporary log in for the wifi that lasted five days...which I was brutally reminded of last night when the internet kicked me off in the middle of conversations) and we got a tour around the library, which I must say, is pretty cool. It makes me want to check out a book.  

I thought that I had slept enough to make up for the time difference and to not be exhausted, but the last couple days have proven me wrong. I haven't been able to sleep until two in the morning for the most part, and mornings are so difficult (I'm not a morning person anyway).  The lovely thing is that none of the classes here start until 9, and it doesn't take very long to walk to class.  Anyway, sleep is key in my life. 

You'll be happy to know that the people who live in my building are very nice. It seems difficult to meet people if you're always just at your classes. There's very little time to socialize outside of where you live, especially as most halls are self-catered and don't leave your buildings to eat your meals, though the kitchens are a hot spot for people to gather.  I met a bunch of other international students.  Most all of the people on my floor are from Asia, but the people downstairs--though their English is still a little rusty--are very friendly and represent pieces of Europe, with folks from Italy, Spain, Finland...and other places.  I had a good night getting to know them a little =)

First Day

Today is the first day of class. I haven't had any classes so far today, but I have two this afternoon. I did meet with my contact again this morning and he introduced me to some of the staff that I will be seeing or who will be my professors.  I'm currently eating lunch in the quiet of the kitchen in our hall.  Though I haven't really taken any pictures yet since I've been here (there weather has been a little gray), I will be sure to and to post them when I can.  There are a few things I want to comment on. I know I posted about the driving and coins, both of which I'm enjoying, I'm also enjoying some of the phrases I hear. My head is filled with british accents (loving it). 
1) One thing you hear EVERYWHERE is 'Cheers'.  You hear it when someone says Hello, when they're saying Goodbye, as a thank you. All The Time.
2) Another thing, which seems a little more frightening, is the 'Doctor's Surgery'.  Just a fancy title for the clinic I think, but it's a little scary to hear the word surgery in conjunction with an office on campus.
3) Lastly, this morning when I met with my contact, he asked me "Did you enjoy your lie in?" which is essentially a way of asking if I slept well.  All the same, it's an interesting phrase.

I must say, I'm really enjoying not living a half hours walk from everything.  To walk to class, it takes about five minutes (depending on where it is, there's one building that's literally across the road from my hall). Class in an hour. I'll keep you posted.

Arriving

Here I am in England! I just woke up from what must be the longest amount of time I have ever slept in my life.  I had a flight from Syracuse to Atlanta, a ten hour layover, then a flight from Atlanta to Manchester--where we proceeded to take three trains and a taxi to finally reach our destination.  Needless to say, I was a little exhausted. Note to self: there is neverrr a need for a ten hour layover. Ever. It is a long time, especially when you're by yourself almost the whole time.  I was exhausted then, and had to keep myself awake to make sure nothing happened to my things--though there was absolutely no one in my terminal anyway for a solid seven of those ten hours. Then there was the eight hour flight to Manchester.  I was seated next to an old lady from Yorkshire who was leaving from visiting her daughter in Pawley's Island.  She was very nice, but also very old and I didn't want to make her move if I needed to get up for some reason. Thank goodness I didn't.  We went through a line showing our passports (and apparently getting our Visas, though I didn't need to show the person any proof of my student status, she just stamped my passport) and then proceeded to grab our luggage and book it towards the 'station' where we got railcards and our train tickets to Telford.  We took a first train to a place called Crewe, then another to Shrewsbury, then yet another to Telford Central. From Telford, we took a taxi to the school.  We met with our contact who showed us our rooms. After freshening up and getting a little food, we met with her again and got some paperwork out of the way.  Another one of our contacts met with us afterwards to look over our schedules for classes and to take us to the grocery store to get some food.  Several comments on this: 1) Driving on the wrong side of the road is super strange, no matter how much you think you're prepared for it.  Not only does it seem that the driver is in the passenger seat all the time, but it always seems as if you're going to run into oncoming cars, because you think they're in the same lane as you.  2) No french/catalina dressing in the supermarket I went to. This is the only type of dressing I like on salad, so there will be something done about that. 3) English coins are confusing, but amazing. It makes me wish we had more coins in America.  I have so far collected the two pence, five pence, twenty pence, one pound, and two pound coins. And they are all sorts of beautiful.
That is all I have to report on so far. Classes start Monday.

Home (bitter)sweet home

Less than four days until I embark on an adventure in England! I can count that on one hand.  Yikes! I'm excited and nervous (more excited than nervous.  I'm sure that when it hits me as real, I'll feel more nervous).  How scary to think that I'll be living in a different country for the next four months.  I spent the last couple days (and will spend the next several days) seeing people before I leave, as well as getting in what snowmobiling I can before I can't snowmobile again this season.  As I hugged my best friend goodbye today, I couldn't help but think how bittersweet it is to leave home again.  It's also funny how every time I say goodbye, people leave me with the same message: Have fun, Don't get abducted.  While I'm not so much worried about getting abducted (especially as Dad is working on becoming the next Liam Neeson) I know that I will definitely have fun. Home will always be home and saying goodbye will always be bittersweet, but an adventure like this is priceless.
Don't worry about me, I'm ganna have a blast!