Time to play catch up...

Ok, I've decided that if its not up to date when I log off tonight, its just not going to be... forgive me for jumping around and leaving gaps....

Tuesday January 5th

Avenue Q- hysterical...go see it...go now...I can wait...seriously, GO!

Wednesday Jan 6th-

Some Queen Mary talks and tricks, and I have no idea what we did that night because people from other school were leaving the hotel and moving in that day...jeez, Alzheimers already...:(

Thursday Jan 7th-

Move in Day!!! We moved into our flats, got settled in, and I cried for the first time. I set my stuff down and it just hit me...I live here. For almost 6 months, I won't see my family or friends, I have to go to classes with teachers I don't know and don't understand, and I'm essentially all alone. Up until that moment, we had too much going on for me to get homesick. I guess thats why you don't get too homesick on trips because you're doing too much stuff to pause for even a minute. Once I moved in, crying was almost inevitable. I decided that I needed to get out of this room and do something productive or I would just crawl into a ball and never leave my room.

We ventured to Argos in Whitechaple in an attempt to find hangers and pillow. We soon realized that we should have just gone to Sainsbury's (kind of like a Target) instead, of course we only realized this after we had walked for miles and miles.

When we got back, I unpacked, hung up pictures, and tried to set up my computer. We had dinner that night at The Curve (a restaurant on campus) and then went back to our flats to get some sleep. I had to watch a movie to drown out the silence I felt in my room. I felt like a big baby but that day was the hardest since I'd gotten here. I called mom twice that day if I remember correctly and cried both times. It was just a rough patch...easily gottne over but you have to live through it first. :)

Friday, January 8

Queen Mary Orientation, we learned all about what there was here on campus, places to go off campus, and how the classes work. I still cannot believe that the don't have online course enrollment. Most of us spent the afternoon running from campus office to campus office trying to get into more or different classes. I got into 4 that were already approved by Rockhurst, which was incredible, but unfortunately had no idea where they were, who taught them, what books I would need, nothing. And to make matters worse...snow had fallen three days prior and people were still having trouble traveling into the city so some offices weren't going to be open until Monday or Tuesday. It was a stressful day that didn't really need to be. If QM would just put things online, none of this would be so difficult.

Saturday, January 9th

Pretty much a day from hell but I learned a lot. We started off wanting to get to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum and do a bit of sightseeing. Unfortunately, the Tube had other plans in mind for us. We got halfway there (our first trip on the tube) and the tube line we were taking shut down! I wasn't kidding when I said that 1/4 of an inch of snow shuts the whole city down. We decided instead to go shopping by Oxford Circus and took a different tube line to get down that way. Well, the weather was only getting worse as we walked around Oxford Street peeking into different shops. Eventually, we did find this pretty awesome department store that reminded me of a Nieman Marcus. We were able to warm up while looking at thousand dollar bottles of perfume. It was the bright spot of the night. By the time we got back to campus, we were cold and hungry. We decided to hit up a pub on the Mile End Road and get some food. It was a nice ending to a long day. the wax museum will have to wait until the weather is cleared up.

Sunday, January 10th

Bus Tour!!! I actually really liked this outing...we got to see a lot of the city and get more acquainted with how the different pieces of the city fit together. We saw everything and even got off to take pictures at Buckingham Palace and the Tower Bridge. I got a ton of incredible pictures which made my day. :)

I have no idea what we did that night..again with the Alzheimers...

Monday, January 11th

First Day of Classes- Architecture was good but I'm already a little lost. I thought I was the only one but I am definitely not. :) The style of teaching is different than back home by a long shot. Teachers lecture for an hour, then you have an hour of seminar when you are actually allowed to talk and ask questions. It just seems weird. There also isn't any set list of books to read for any classes, there is a huge list of books that you're encouraged to read over the whole course of the semester. Apparently, we do a lot more work at home than they do here and the grading scale is lower so a C at Rockhurst is like an A here...I think I can handle it. :)

Boat Cruise on the Thames- It was fun but we were out there way too long and the other people got way too drunk. I get the idea that you can't legally drink back home but seriously...drinking isn't that fun. Whatever, I hope they get used to drinking before it gets them into trouble. Me and my group just shared cider beers and sat around talking. (Coolest thing- crossing the Greenwich line/prime meridian/separation between eastern and western hemisphere and being in two hemispheres at once...awesome.) After the cruise, we went to one pound drinks at the campus bar which was tons of fun. All my british friends are awesome. I got really lucky with them. :)

Tuesday, January 12th

a day spent in bed sleeping and a night sharing food in the flat kitchen with Katy, Sofia, Ben, Josh, Krish, Hex, and Nikki- we spent the night asking questions about each other's cultures. It was too much fun for a night in... :)

Wednesday, January 13th

Sofia's Birthday!!! Flat party for my flatmate's birthday. So many people, wonderful drinks and music, tons of fun.

Things I learned...

1) Sambuca is gross and should be removed from the market

2) Apparently the Brits are shit at sports but if drinking was a sport, they'd medal in every round.

3) These people are incredible and I already know, after one week of knowing them, that I'm going to cry hysterically at the thought of leaving them in June.

Thursday, January 14th

A real day of classes...2 lectures and 2 seminars, all attended by yours truly. :) Seriously, the classes are set up weird. I knew that a lot of it would be student directed but seriously, I feel like the teachers don't do much at all. I hope I get used to it before papers become due or I'm not going to do too well in these classes.

How's Your Father?!? Apparently, every Thursday night, a pub right next to campus hosts a QM student only night called How's your father. While I was drunk at Sofia's birthday, I was really drunk at the New Globe...a little too drunk to b completely honest. I met more incredible people and had a great time with the ones I already knew. Seriously, these people are incredible. We just sat around talking and drinking and making fun of each other's terrible accents. Dancing ensued and the night ended with me sleeping safely in my bed. Success!!!

Friday, January 15th

Class...US Foreign Policy- almost got into a fist fight with a Russian guy in this class, apparently everything America does is a sin ans we're all brainwashed. I just laughed.

Dinner on Oxford Street- Adele and I went to meet Libby and Hillary on Oxford Street for dinner after they had been shopping all day. All I can say is never ever ever in your life eat at Garfunkles. Just take my advice and don't do it.

School Disco at Drapers- Drapers is the campus bar (yes we have a bar on campus!) and they hosted a back to school disco where everyone was supposed to come dressed up in a school uniform. While Adele and I did not dress up, we enjoyed shots of soco and double vodka and lemonades as we danced the night away...good times had by all.

I'm proud of what I have accomplished tonight and promise to try and get completely up to date soon. I'm technically only 4 days behind so I'm sure I can catch up. I don't know if anyone is reading this but if you are, thanks. It makes me feel special to know that someone cares that I'm over here. :)

goodnight.