Well now it's time to play catch up on my trip. I have so much to tell you. So just this once I am going to have to skip out on the details...otherwise you'd be reading for ages.
Let's start with my plane ride.
My handsome boyfriend, Adam, drove me to the airport in Nashville on the morning of January 8th. He packed my bags perfectly to weigh 49.5lbs! I swear he is a magician at packing...I dont' know how I'll get home without him. I got on my plane around 1pm. I landed for a layover in Houston at 3:20pm. My next plane for London was supposed to leave at 3:40pm...and I've never had to navigate an airport by myself before. I almost missed my flight...but thankfully my flight was delayed for an hour or two. Then I got on a huge plane to take me straight to London. I was terrified to fly over the ocean, but after watching what felt like a million movies, I landed at Heathrow. Luckily, I met up with two other students who were going to University of Kent (Canterbury). Lindsey and Katrina! They are from Kansas and are very sweet girls! We took a taxi to the University and that's where it all began.
So I'm going to divide the ranting up by topics so you can pick your poison.
Housing: I live in Parkwood. Parkwood is a community of on campus condos. This where all the international students and first year students live at University of Kent. I live in a house with 5 other people. I absolutely love my roomies! Their names are Sophie, Tina, Jack, Sam, and Jacques. They are all British, and make fun of my southern accent daily. That's okay. I make fun of theirs too. They say rubbish, the lou, and brilliant...like its no big deal. I crack up every time. We live right across the street from the central part of parkwood where the shop and restaurant are. It's quite convenient.
International Friends: I've made SO many new friends here. I absolutely love every single person I have met thus far. I've been hanging out with my new friend Lindsey from Kansas quite often. She is so fun! I call her my nugget because she's 5' and super adorable. She also loves theatre, Jesus, and a good beer...so we get a long quite nicely. She also encourages me to nurture my love for God and my love for theatre! I am so blessed to have met her! I've also been hanging out with Lauren. Lauren is from Indiana so she's not too far away from me back in the states! She is beautiful, intelligent, lots of fun, and super driven--she makes for an incredible travel buddy (and she's also an excellent cook). Another friend I've made is Sarah. Sarah is a swimmer from Colorado! She is one of the most sincere people I've ever met. I feel like I could talk to her about anything and everything--and I've only know her a little over two weeks. Sarah also motivates me to work out...which is wonderful in the land of fish and chips. Also, there's Chelsea. Chelsea is from UT just like me! It's so nice to catch up with Chelsea because it's like I got to bring a little piece of home with me to Canterbury! She is probably the most stylish person I've ever met! I m so blessed to have her here. I've made so many friends it's hard to tell you about all of them. There's Rachael, Manon, Astrid, Tania, Becky, Katrina, Nathalie, Alison, Renee, Charlotte, Tasha and so many more! I am a lucky girl to be surrounded by so many wonderful and vibrant people.
Nightlife: I have so many stories already. Alpha Chi Omega girls...I just wish you could be here...you would be in awe. Two words: british men. It's also crazy because I can drink here--and I'm not US legal until the end of February! The best drink here is called the snake bite. It's a combination of Carlsberg, Strongbow Cider, and black current. It's bright purple--and delicious. There's a pub or club in pretty much every building on campus. Origins, The Attic, Kbar, Venue, Mungos, etc...and all within a ten minute walk from my house! This is just all on campus-- I haven't even told you about all the nightlife in the city! Nightlife in the city is all about pub crawls! Luckily, I got to experience one of those my first weekend here with Lindsey for Becky's Birthday! It was great fun!
The City: Canterbury (pronounced Canterbrie--thanks Becky) is absolutely stunning! Not only does if have any shop you can imagine, but imagine this placed on cobble stone streets with a large cathedral in the middle! It shines like the North Star! I can't even tell you how blessed I am to see this sight every day. The only challenge about the city is that I spend money when I go there! Ha Ha! And not only do I spend money--I spend British pounds!
This is bad for two reasons...1) The exchange rate is terrible 2) it takes me forever to count it out because they have so many coins!
Food: Blegh. I'm struggling. It looks like I'm going to have to be cooking more. The best thing I've eaten here is Lauren's chili and pasta--and that's definitely not English food. haha. Oy vey. Today I made some sweet tea for my roommates. They hated it...but it was a little taste of heaven for me.
Classes: Oh yeah, classes...that's what I'm here for! I forget sometimes. I have two theatre classes: Site-Specific Theatre and Performance Skills. They are so fun. I am meeting some very nice people in my classes, as well as nurturing my passions. I couldn't ask for anything better!
Traveling: Lindsey, Lauren, Sarah, and myself went to London last weekend! IT WAS INCREDIBLE!! Here's a little tour of what we did: We walked from our hostel (north of Hyde Park) down through Hyde Park on over to Buckingham Palace. Then we kept going over to Westminister Abbey & Big Ben. We ate lunch, and we walked up toward Trafalgar Square. Next we walked to Covent Garden Market then up again to the British Museum. We took the Tube over west again to the Natural History Museum then walked to Harrods department store. Back on the tube over to Chinatown for dinner. Again in the tube back to our Hostel. We grabbed our bags, and we took the tube to Victoria Station. There we got on a bus to come back to Canterbury! It was a whirlwind...but oh so worth it! There's a video below that my friend Lindsey made if you'd like to catch a little glimpse of our trip!
Just so everyone knows...I love the UK, but I am missing home. It's not really the location of home...just the people who make it home. I will be returning a little earlier than expected because I don't have any exams! Once again, I promise not every blog will be this long...I just had so much to tell you!
Hugs and Kisses from the UK,
Liv