It's been awhile...

...since I have written, and so, so much has happened. Since the last post, it continued to snow until the day I left for London; had my birthday; got a 102 fever for the last weekend; traveled by train to witness a very, very snowy London Christmas; went to Egypt; stayed in Dorset (southwest England); and have been back at Durham for two weeks. It's been almost two months since the last post, and so much more work is going to be done this term, I supposed few posts will follow, unless just pictures.
Reason for the lack of time? Almost weekly papers due, reading to catch up on, and one very fantastic spring break to plan out. Katie and I are doing a Euro-tour of our own and are dedicating every Friday to working on it. Katie is planning out Ireland, our first leg of the journey, where we are revolving around the plan to be in Dublin for St. Patrick's Day. After six or so days there, we are flying to Athens and doing the Peloponnese for about 10 days, after which we fly to Rome for 5 days, Florence for 3, and then Venice for one night (we're poor college kids; Venice isn't too accommodating for our type). From there, a flight to Hamburg, Germany, where we will hopefully be staying with friends of Katie for 4 or so days, then back to London. After an assessment of funds and exhaustion level, there is a chance of Scotland for the last weekend and then back down to Durham in time for classes, revision, and finals.
It doesn't even seem real yet, despite the fact that we have gotten all of our accommodations paid for and reserved. Still waiting to get an International Driver's License so I can drive us around the south of Greece, but hopefully it will all work out.

But now, back to the important catch up parts:
London--people here who talk about London are full of LIES. It is not "so much warmer in the South"! That is what I was told, and didn't think it was terrible that I forgot to bring my jacket. WRONG. London was even more cold than Durham had been, possibly because I was outdoors for much more of it. But, past that, here's a look at London as I saw it:At first, very disorienting. All of these tube stops and "oyster" cards (best things ever!) and lots of people jostling...and then I really looked at a map and realized everything isn't really that far apart, and there is just so much to see that it makes walking all over the place that much more bearable. It was freezing, but seeing the sights was so much more stunning covered in snow. We saw a gorgeous snow-capped Big Ben; the actual Parliament floor of both houses, where they DO GOVERNMENT. I thought that was amazing. We went to see Anthony and Cleopatra in Camdon, "We Will Rock You" (Queen Musical play) and 37 Steps in West End, as well as Ghost Stories on the very last night after Egypt. They were interesting to different degrees; I like productions in general and was only sad that I didn't get to see a ballet. However, it would have been reeally expensive, and I enjoyed the others (especially hearing Queen blasted at me with however-many-amp speakers), so it was well worth it.
We saw cousins and friends of the family, including a quick trip to Surrey. Went ice-skating TWICE, and once in the London Tower moat, which was amazing. My roller-blading skills of childhood had not left.
The British Museum was fantastic; two days spent there to see everything--the Egyptian part. Roman. Greek. SUTTON HOO (props to people who know what this is!). It was awesome.

And then we went to Egypt.

Which will be described in its own post.

xxx

New post! It has been far too long, and so much has happened. Lots of work overload in the last three weeks, and not just me but everyone else too. For example, I am supposed to be writing an essay right now. Is this happening? Clearly not.
So instead, I will provide many a picture of what has been going on in lil ol' Durham town. Highlights shall include: Thanksgiving (x2), snow, castles in snow, etc. Basically, it started snowing a week ago and has yet to desist. I am, however, still in the magical excited period (except the part where hockey is canceled and going for morning runs is more of an icy obstacle course), but all in all I am loving the snow. This picture above is the cathedral that stands opposite the Castle with the Palace Green (Palace White here) in between. The building perpendicular to it in the very left corner of picture is where I have the majority of my classes; thank Dios it is a forty-five second walk from my room.


This is the early morning shot taken from the top of the Castle, courtesy of my friend Emma. This is taken from her own room, which has the wooden beams of the original castle built into it...hard to explain, but it looks so surreal.







And then there is the castle proper, which looked prettily Medieval in the snow. (Picture taken from the steps of the Great Hall...where all meals are served.) Note that these are all the pictures before people actually woke up and RUINED ALL THE PRETTY.

This is our hockey pitch that we played on, before we stamped through the snow/ice, of course. It was so cold, but made running around that much more necessary. Until the boys stole our half and forced us to play a match against them for the last half of practice. Not so fun.



Besides this, we had a lovely Thanksgiving, where Katie (American 2.0) and I made the whole meal for some of our friends. It was cute how they thought we had cooked Thanksgiving dinner before! But we must have had some beginner's charm because everything came out spectacular. We had turkey, cooked to perfection which I had the unfortunate job of carving; mashed potatoes (hours of peeling); sweet potato with brown sugar and cinnamon and then MARSHMELLOWS on top--a novelty to the poor English children (aka our friends) who concluded that only in America would a dish with marshmellows be served as a main course meal (an incredulous Josh quote); broccoli with lemon and butter; gravey; lots of stuffing that Katie made fantastically (in fact, Katie was taking point on this operation and we pulled it off like we knew what we were doing); pumpkin pie (courtesy of our friends whose apartment we were using; and....that is about it, I believe. This was all on the day after Thanksgiving, because I had another one on Thanksgiving proper with a my "Durham Buddy," a person they pair the internationals with who studied abroad in your own country. James just happened to actually study at UCLA and we say hi from time to time. His friend had been in Berkeley at the same time (both last year) and so decided to make a meal and reminisce. It was a really good meal: had sprouts for the first time, the turkey was great, they added pigs in a blanket to be English, nice stuffing, and mulled wine (which was the most amazing thing I have ever had). All was good until the pumpkin pie, which LOOKED perfect, but somehow was lacking.....sugar. Just no sugar. Think about eating that. The apple pie was really good, but the pumpkin pie was just missing that one little thing (and flavor, but that's just details). All in all, it was really good and made me full enough that after the second Thanksgiving, I was sick of food and haven't eaten since. JUST KIDDING. I've just not eaten a complete meal since. Don't judge, it was a lot of food.

Katie and I and our efforts :) It goes: stuffing, turkey, yam/marshmellows, cranberry sauce (recent convert here), broccoli, and mashed potatoes.

I draw your attention to the whiteness that is outside the window. My wearing sweats is justified.

Our scandalous late night activities include.....making of snow angels in Karim's back yard.

Our perfect little turkey with all the stuffing inside....and the nearly-forgotten giblets around it.




I hope you enjoyed the more picts and less words (looking at you, Tim!). Sorry if there are any typos; not really editing this one.

xxx

Freshers Week and Such

In response to request(s), this will be a shorter post in order to let the skimming be a permissible form of retrieving the wanted information. So, to continue with the story:
Following the orientation in Edinburgh there was the rainy move in day where I met my college dad and we basically chatted all day, seeing as I was one of maybe two international freshers who arrived on the Wednesday. (The other was Camilla, who I have discovered is one of the funniest people in the world--she is 20, doing her fresher year here after graduating and then doing a gap year which included living with friends in France for part of it. Camilla is really tall, very model-like, and from Sweden with a reeally great accent. Just to give you all a bit of background.)
After the first night of staying in my empty block, everyone of the internationals arrived the next day and our little pre-freshers week began. There are about 19 of us, all very mixed. Like Camilla, there's Dan from Norway who is a bit older too (apparently they graduate at the 19/20 year, unlike our and the UK's 17/18/19ish year...if that makes sense. Basically they graduate a year later than we do). There's two Americans who are actually freshers (born in 1991-2 [!!]) and doing 3 years here, there's a German, several Thai/Singapore/somewhere else I can't really remember people....really just a mixed group. And our Fresher Reps were just as international.
We had three days of bonding and getting stuff together (got my phone on the first day when I was feeling proactive; sidenote: pay as you go isn't really a great choice because you are really just paying for every little thing. But mostly because Orange, the phone company with the good pay-as-you-go deals, doesn't have coverage in Castle, or really Durham that well. Dumb.) before the other freshers (the regular Brit kids) showed up on that Sunday. The weather, which is nothing if not for equality here, kindly poured on them as they moved in, just as much as it poured on us internationals. That was the point when I got a nice big coat/jacket.
Fast-forward over Freshers week--they had a timetable (not schedule, though they do say that for other things, in their funny shed-jule pronunciation) of things to do for almost every hour, which was really good because it got everyone together and doing all the same activities. There was clearly things we could miss, but it was pretty well laid out overall. Nights were basically intros to the different clubs and nightlife around Durham, such as.....Klute (wooooo, my personal favorite, where might I add, I met the Master. Of Castle. The Headmaster. That's like meeting Dumbledore in the Shrieking Shack. It just doesn't make sense.) There is also Loveshack (haven't been), Loft (okay), Studio (next to Loft), the student union's weekly Planet of Sound (Hound), which I have not gone to, and Revolver, which is going on as I speak. Many have free entrance for Castle members (definite plus) which makes it really cheap, which is of course a student's goal in life. Well, a not well-off student's goal in life.
Below is our pre-pub golf huddle and game plan time.
That was Sunday through Friday, with matriculation (dressing up in formal gowns--HP robes--and getting inducted into Durham University in the huge cathedral) on Wednesday morning, classes starting Thursday (more later), and sports starting Sunday for prep meetings.
Between all this is the 3 times a day food (not like UCLA dining halls, sorry. Though the food isn't too terrible, I just hate mushy peas, which is literally what they're called. "Mushy peas." Not just peas, no no, their texture must be emphasized to make them even more than less than appealing.) and the constantly entertaining game of comparing pronunciations, which often occurs at dinner (because of the food word issues). We say pahhsta, they say pasta (like in cat), which is just wrong. It is so wrong. And fillet! We say fillay, they say....well, fill-it. (They have blamed it on the anti-French sentiment, and we maintain it is our reward to the French for helping in the Revolutionary War.) There is taco, which is pronounced like their pasta---like saying cat in the middle. The things we say long "a"s like them (pasta), they change to "at" sounds. It's ridiculous!
That is all for now, I think. More post-snippets to follow.

(p.s. I realize that this was also very long, but there's more pictures, so I feel they cancel each other out).

So it has been two and a half weeks and two days since I left LA, at the time having a nasty heat wave. I was wearing my uggs, UCLA sweatshirt, and sweats--everything that couldn't fit in any of my luggage--and was sweltering. But they kept telling me it was worth it, knowing where I would be coming out on the other end to, and it would be worth it when I arrived in Edinburgh. And it was, in a way. The plane ride wasn't very cold but sweatshirts are a very handy substitute for those wrap around neck pillow things that everyone on the plane seemed to have. In the terminal waiting for luggage it wasn't very cold either, but once I waited the half hour for my two pieces of luggage to show and walked out the front doors, I was finally glad for wearing so much. The taxi driver, who I eventually found thanks to direction by the owner of the particular taxi company who I am sure was just trying to promote his own business instead of helping the "lost sheep"--as he called me--find a ride, even said that there had been reports of snow in the highlands of Scotland for that weekend. Let me just say though, when I say it was cold, it was maybe Los Osos cold, or just beach on a foggy and dreary day--meaning that a coat and jeans were fine.
Twenty pounds later (money wise, not weight), I made it to the hostel where I was spending the night before the UC orientation, which was the whole purpose of arriving in Edinburgh before Durham actually started. The drive there was spectacular, by the way. Edinburgh is a very dirty city--not trash wise or anything like that, but there is a blackness in all of the Old Town, and much of the New Town (built 200 years ago) too, that just seems to permeate every little crack in the buildings. It adds an Industrial Revolution feeling to what otherwise would simply be another old European city. I personally liked it as soon as I got used to seeing the black on the beige and grey-browns of the stone buildings.
The Hostel, and hotel when I found it the next day, were on side streets off The Royal Mile, which stretches from the castle at the high end of the sloping walk, to the new Parliament building at the low end and is filled with lots of touristy shops selling lots and LOTS of tartar and plaid and very Scottish things. Lining this is also the old historical buildings, like the cathedrals (or maybe just called churches, after comparing it to Durham's cathedral) and other very black and gothic looking, pointed and church-like structures. Looking from the height of the castle later, you could almost trace a straight line following these structures to the castle and past.
But that all happened later. First I arrived, carrying my 60 pound piece of luggage, which tripped me on the cement stairs inside the (admittedly modern) hostel and I still have the nasty bruise from it. Thank God no one was watching. I went up and found my 4 bed room, which surprisingly enough no one else ever came into and played with the computer, emailing the parents and all that. Then I went out to scout out the area and how far the hotel that the orientation provided for us was from the hostel and how far I would have to drag my luggage again. It was about two very small blocks over (remembered from Google Map-stalking the city)
and I felt fine about getting there the next day (the Monday). Went back and fell asleep around 5. Woke up sometime around midnight wide awake, but wanted to get oriented so went back to sleep until 8 or 9 the next day. Best jet-lag fighting plan ever: just sleep until you're back on schedule. But, that comfortable feeling was mitigated when I decided to kill time by climbing a hill in Holyrood Park, at the bottom of the Royal Mile. It was rainy and I was keeping my backpack with me in case of emergency and as I kept climbing, I began to realize that the clouds had cut off the hill halfway up and it was actually about twice as tall, and incredibly steep, than it originally looked. Nice pictures, but worst idea everr.
After coming back down, then walking back up to the hotel, I checked in and met for orientation. It was fun: had a room to myself and the other two girls (only 3 of us, from UCLA, UCSB, and UCSD) shared a room. Our lady in charge was Hilary, who was extremely nice and took us around and had lots of answers for our questions. Went on a tame ghost tour, and then a scary one the next night (for fun). On the Wednesday, all three of us trundled (in the real rain) to the train station and waited for our buses. Their tickets ended up not working and they had to pay for new ones, which was terrible. Mine worked but there was no actual signs for a Durham train, so after asking about, I came to realize that it was a train to Kings Cross that I had to get on, and then just stay awake in order to get off at Durham. That was fine, despite being tired, and having my seat stolen by two random Frenchies was fine because there was enough seats, all because the free wifi on the train made up for it. I spent the hour and 45 minute trip cruising emails and facebook and everything else in the world I had been out of touch with.
Finally then, four days after leaving LA (though it felt like a good month), I arrived at Durham, off the train barely in time because everyone had piled their own heavy luggage on top of my big suitcase in a gravity-defying balancing act, which required lots of tugging and maneuvering that took up the entire two minutes (read less than) that they give everyone to get on and off the train.
But despite the adrenaline rush (what if the doors had closed and I was taken to LEEDS???), I was finally to Durham and was so, so close to the desperate dream of the past three days of ditching my luggage and not having to wear a twenty pound backpack constantly. First, though, came the scary small bus/van ride with a very old English man, whose skill in stick-shift and transmission I sadly must say was rusty, if not non-existent. This made driving over the cobble stone streets (yes, Durham Town in cobble-stone) that at some points are very steep, extremely intimidating (read: petrifying). And, on top of that, it was pouring. Not a nice, English dreary day with drizzle; no, it was a small monsoon. But colder. Anyways, after getting dropped off at the MAIN GATE OF THE CASTLE (ha ha, take that, all other colleges here), I went to the porter's lodge (the gate house) to check in. One thing I came to realize is that they weren't very prepared for the international kids, who got there the Wednesday/Thursday before the Sunday when the real first years arrived. So I was just having to ask lots of questions and make certain that I was going to get to where I wanted/needed to be...until one of the freshers (not freshman, lord forbid) reps walked in behind me, who also happened to be my college "dad." Side not of explanation: there's the University of Durham, comprised of 16 (give or take, not sure) colleges, of which I am in University College, rarely referred to as such, but rather in fact known as Castle. And never The Castle. Just Castle, and there is the debate of it being called Cawstle or Castle (like cat). I am clearly on the cat sounding side, but I blame the accent, not an actual conscious choice of one over the other. However, beyond this, there are the places you live (the Castle itself (in the old keep), in Bailey's Court (across the green center), in Owensgate (at the bottom of the keep), or Moatside (on the road (small tiny street) at the base of the backside of the keep). I live in Moatside (sadly not the castle), but it is still great. There is S block, which is very similar to Hedrick Hall at UCLA, except on the miniature of course, and there is also the smaller R, P, and Q blocks. I am in Q, on the top floor (there's only 3 floors and there is a secret door leading to the second floor that make it also ground level) and it overlooks the street mentioned before, which is fine except the ridiculous construction of the cobblestone that is going on. There are 9 rooms in our block, everyone with a single. Three boys (Tim, Charlie with the big room, and Luke) on the bottom floor, two girls (Annabel and Amy) and a small kitchen area (lacking oven or stove) and a water closet/tiny shower and toilet on the second floor, and four girls (myself, Katie (from Cornell), Georgie, and Beth), a toilet and bathtub (yes! not that I will ever use it) on the third floor. It's basically like living in a town house/apartment except we don't have a common room area, so we sit in the steps and hallway.
But this would all happen later, when they all arrived. But at that point, I was meeting my college dad, Karim from Egypt who doesn't like it and prefers Bahrain and the amenities that come with living in such a fabulous place. Having parents is kind of like the sorority system of having bigs and littles, but clearly with inter-gender dynamics. My mom wasn't coming until that Saturday, so I spent the day with Karim, touring around Durham in the pouring rain and procrastinating in my unpacking as much as possible, waiting for the next day (Thursday), when all of the other international kids would be arriving and our Durham orientation would begin.

That is all of an intro for now (it's long enough!), but sneak peak of stories to come: international orientation people, apartment parties, real Fresher move in day (decided to rain again for them, at least the weather is equal minded), matriculation (wearing gowns--aka robes--in the cathedral), Fresher's Week (like week of welcome, party and hit up the pubs and free clubbing, and pub golf, most amazing idea ever), their version of dining hall food, sports (field hockey is not quite the same here) and then finally classes and nastily long reading lists. And no rain since that Sunday!

Plllleease comment, if you got this far in the reading :)

Intro to Hogwarts

Well, as many of you know, I'm going to be studying abroad this year in England. My reasoning? First of all I am an English major so where else would you go to see the places that these super cool (and they ARE super cool) writers were writing about/from/to/etc. Secondly, I am a Classics major--though that is in dispute with the paperwork gods (monsters) of UCLA--and they know their classical history there. And, in addition to these fine reasons, it's an awesome jumping off point to seeing the rest of Europe when I get a chance to travel around during spring break.
But, after choosing England, I had to decide where. I'd been to London when I was little and was not a fan of the gasoline smell and the loud honking and...things like that. I'm sure I would love it now and being in one of those universities would have been fine, but when I was doing the paper work, that was my thinking. So, I cruised around the websites, looking at them all. My final top two became Bristol, in the southwest area of England, and Durham. Durham just had that picturesque English university feel and--more than that--had a TON of classes offered that worked with what I wanted to do. Most of it came down to whether or not I would still be able to double major if I went to whichever university. Bristol I definitely wouldn't have, but Durahm I have a good shot at it (once I jump through all the UCLA hoops).
So, Durham it was. General description: north-east England, and includes the North Pennines which is kind of like their version of a national park as it is protected and just miles of moors and heather and cool British countryside. Durham is a bit from the coast, about 10 miles, but evidently the coastline is spectacular. Newcastle is about 15 minutes north east by rail, which is a pretty big city and they have a huge stage/performance place where many artists stop by on their European tours. Who knew.
But Durham itself is pretty small; like UCLA the campus/town is on HILLS--supposedly seven of them--and I will be living on the top of one in their University College. The University as a whole is split into 16 (I think) colleges and University College was the first one, built in the old castle that existed there. So, just to be clear, there's a really old cathedral and a keep (the circle thing that people lived in). I'm not in those. But it's pretty cool looking and really is a castle, and they DID film part of Harry Potter there (the courtyard scenes and some of the classroom ones supposedly) so it is now being referred to as Hogwarts by friends and family. So, I may be living in the keep itself or other ones at the base of the castle, which I understand will be freezing but hopefully the awesomeness of living in Hogwarts will carry me through the winter. Hopefully.
For now this is all, mostly because I have to be at work, but I will add more about Durham, and especially pictures once I get there. Enjoy!