Half way through

This is an amazing quote that I found from one of my friends that is studying abroad in Florence. It describes the experience PERFECTLY and makes me want to latch on and take even more advantage of the opportunities that this journey has given me and will continue to give to me for the next few months: 

"Your journey has molded you for your greater good, and it was exactly what it needed to be. Don't think you've lost time. There is no short-cutting to life. It took each and every situation you have encountered to bring you to the now. And now is right on time." 

-Asha Tyson

I cannot believe how fast this study abroad experience is flying by. I feel like I just got here a week ago and I still have four more months to go! Everyday here goes by in the blink of an eye, and I feel as if I'm wasting time sometimes just sitting here doing homework or hanging out with my flat mates, but then I take a step back and realize that that is all part of the experience. The experience of interacting with people, discovering more about myself, and what makes me happy. Yesterday I finally had a chance to book my trip to Scotland to see my long lost friend Mary that I've known since I was in preschool. It seems like it was just yesterday that her and I were playing pretend and running around the school yard without a care in the world. Now we're both studying in foreign countries thousands of miles away from home. It just goes to show you how you should always expect the unexpected.

Speaking of expecting the unexpected. We found out today that we have to move into a different flat because of the mold problem that is going on in block K. All of my plans were pushed aside and my homework was put on hold so that I was able to move all of my belongings into Block F. At first I wasn't too happy about the idea of starting all over again, but you know what, it's a new beginning and we even have sinks in our bedrooms now! Another positive thing about this move was that I was finally able to rearrange my room and get rid of some food that I actually had forgotten that I had since the first week we were here! Overall, the move to a different block was not a bad chance, I think that it was meant to happen for a reason. Now we have bigger rooms, and away from that God awful hill that we used to have to walk up every day to get to class!

This past weekend, I learned a lot more about the English language barriers between over here and the states. One of the friends that I made, Rob was telling me how Brits use the word "hash" instead of "pound" on the phone, a cigarette is a "fag" not a "butt", and jeans are called "jumpers" not "pants". It never gets old for me because I feel like every day I learn something new about this culture and how much it does in fact differ from America. Another example of this was when we ordered pizza for dinner today, the delivery man called and said that he was "at the first bar". We had NO idea what he was talking about, and the only reason that I knew where to go find him was because last time we ordered food my friend and I spent about 30 minutes running around the campus trying to find this "first bar" that this man was talking about! Apparently a "bar" means a gate.... Definitely good to know now for future reference.

I am getting a little scared about spending so much money over here. I don't want to have to ask my parents for money because this is supposed to be my time and it's about me being more independent and getting myself through it, which is the main reason I worked every day this past summer. I feel like my bank account is continually dwindling because of the exchange rates and huge price differences over here. I know that while being abroad  this should probably be one of my last concerns, but it's something that I feel like comes to my mind at least once every day. Hence why I miss having a job so much. Not only do I miss the friends that I have from work, but I miss the responsibility and the constant security that I was going to be getting paid by the end of the week. It probably doesn't help that I go into town about every other day and always spend some sort of money, but theres not a whole lot else to do in Oxford besides walk around and site see, eat, shop, and listen to the street performers. I mean i'm no complaining because I feel like most of my stories that I blog about on here are centered around talking about what I did that day in town and what I saw while i was in town. I probably have blogged about this already once or twice in my blog, but it is definitely something that I have on my mind almost every day. 

I was not feeling too great today when I woke up this morning, I had a terrible cough and could not stop sneezing. I'm not sure if it's the sudden cold front that has been coming in or what, but that is definitely the last thing I want to happen while I am here. Getting sick is miserable, especially when you're not home. I know that quite a few people have been getting pretty ill recently either having indigestion problems, rashes, or colds. I don't know if it's the difference in the climate than over in the United States, or maybe people just aren't getting enough sleep but I feel like health should definitely be one of a person's main priorities when they are abroad because not only do they not have access to their primary doctor, it's a foreign country all together and who knows how they deal with medicine over here! Call me paranoid but I think Americans may be the only people I trust when it comes to being in depth and on top of their medical knowledge. 

I am going to Florence, Italy in a few days to visit my two friends that are studying abroad there. I have never been here before so I am pretty excited to experience Italia with some "locals" (or at least people that have spent a whole lot of time with the locals). I think that I am going to write my paper for one of my classes on this trip because it is going to be one of the most interesting and fun-filled trips that I am going to be going on (I can feel it). I always have so much more fun when I get to spend time with my really good friends that are studying abroad in other countries. We just get each other and we are so energetic and are going through this experience together, and understand each other better than anyone that you may have just met. I do definitely miss a lot of my friends from the states, but I feel like being away from them all for so long has almost made me appreciate them all more and how good of friends they really are. I could get into all of the gushy sensitive details of it all but I would probably bore these blog readers to death. So for now, Cheers!

The weekend

Another very eventful weekend has flown by in Oxford. We thought that we were going to go into London on Saturday, but me and my two friends, Emily and Courtney, decided to stay in Oxford and do our own thing. We all slept in until about 12 in the afternoon, and then we went into town to get some food. I'm not sure if it was a big holiday this weekend, or down town was packed because of how gorgeous the weather was, but all of the lines were extra long and there were street performers left and right playing music, juggling, singing, etc. When we went into McDonalds (I know, a very american choice) there was no where to sit. It took us about 10 minutes of walking around to finally wait for someone to get up and grab their seats as if we were diving for our lives.

After that experience we decided to go to the boots pharmacy and purchase some hair dye. Mainly because we are all blondes and our roots were beginning to show because we are unable to go to a hair salon over here without having to pay an arm and a leg. I had only dyed my hair out of a box one time other than this and when I did it, my hair came out as red as a firetruck! So needless to say, I was a little nervous to try it out again. The moment we got home, Courtney put the dye in my hair. I had to let it sit for a half an hour or so and then wash it out with just warm water. As I was waiting for the half hour to come around, the color of my hair started turning pink! I freaked out and ran right into the shower to wash it out before it got any worse, but when I finally blew it dry, the color came out perfect! It was such a relief and I was happy to say that I can now save a lot of money by dying my hair out of a box!

Later that night we decided to try a new club called Propaganda because my friend from my Communications, Culture, and Organisations class told me that it was the place to be on a Saturday night. After buying the 6 pound tickets online and attempting to navigate ourselves to this strange new place, Courtney, Emily and I found ourselves walking into some sort of a hard rock concert. Keep in mind, none of us listen to that type of music, and we were definitely not dressed like the majority of the people that were there so we sort of stuck out like sore thumbs. We tried to make the best of it and have a good time trying to meet new friends and such, but everyone seemed so mean and pushy. It was as if they knew we didn't belong there and they wanted us out! About an hour later we decided to give up on trying to "fit in" for our 6 pounds, and hit up KFC, which I don't think i've had since I was about 5 years old, but it was good nonetheless and held us over for the cab ride home.

Today was more of a lazy day. We went into the city centre once again to get some food and starbucks coffee, and ended up seeing this amazing group of street performers playing some music. There was 2 guys and a girl and one of the guys had a stereo set up and connected to about 3 different instruments and he would play one and then press a button and the sound would keep playing while he was playing a different instrument until they all came together to a very rhythmic beat. Then the other guy would chime in and start rapping while the girl would stand on the side and try to sell their CDs. Eventually the girl and the guy singer would switch and when the girl got on the microphone it was as if I was listening to some sort of famous celebrity! She had an amazing voice and she would sing while she was rapping and keeping along with the beat of the music all at the same time. They were so good that we decided to walk back towards them so that we could hear another song before we left to go back to Clive Booth Hall.

Back at home, the three of us made some pasta salad with a bunch of vegetables and this really yummy italian dressing. Ever since we have been here I have rediscovered my love for cooking. Cooking used to be one of my passions and I actually almost went to college for it, but then changed my mind my junior year of high school. The pasta salad tasted amazing and hit my craving spot on.

For some reason I feel so exhausted here recently, as if the days are flying by and I'm not doing much but at the end of the day, when my head hits the pillow I have no problem going to sleep. I don't know if it's the excitement of being in another country that makes me so exhausted or if its all the walking we do here, or if it's just because I'm still not very used to the time difference over here, but I almost always feel exhausted by the time that I go to bed.

This weekend I have realized a lot about myself, my friendships, and how I handle a lot of things in my life over here. I know that whenever I feel uncomfortable around someone or a certain group of people, I distance myself from them. It's just the way I am, I run from drama and uncomfortable situations. It's as if my mind automatically shuts down the whole "trying to make things seem different" or understanding their perspective part of my brain just shuts down. I have realized who my true friends are that are here and who I want to spend the most of my time with while I am abroad. This is my one and only chance to be able to explore Europe at this time in my life and I want to make the best of every minute of it. Sometimes I do wish that everyone could get along more and just put their differences aside. But like my mom always says, you cannot be liked by everyone and the only person that can make yourself happy/not happy is you. That has been some of the best advice that I have ever gotten and although sometimes it is definitely easier said than done, it is SO true, and I need to acknowledge that and stop just blaming myself.

In one of the articles that we read this past week was about always just telling the truth and being honest about what you're thinking and feeling and just write it out in your journal. That is what I tried to do in the last paragraph. It was hard, at first, to think of something to blog about because that has been on my mind so much lately. I just wish that once I wrote it down it would be out of my head. I mean of course it takes 2 to tango and i'm not pointing any fingers at anyone, but I just do not last very long in situations like that filled with drama and constant back stabbing. Anyways, I am falling asleep at this computer like I said I was going to so I am going to go to bed nice and early tonight. I think I might be narcoleptic or something because recently I have been falling asleep in the oddest places, in the oddest positions, and at the most strange times. Unfortunately it happens a lot to me in class, but I've been working on that since I was in the 5th grade.

Isis

**I wrote part of this blog this morning before I went on our trip**

We are going to the Isis pub today with one of my classes. I'm not exactly sure what to expect or what it's even really all about, but I have always been up for trying new things. My teacher says that it is a pretty decent walk from the bus stop, since that is the only way you can get to it (no cars or buses etc.) so I decided to wear comfy clothes and sneakers. As I was getting ready this morning I realized that I may need to do a bit of shopping while i'm here because I mean come on, clothes are part of the culture just as much as the places we visit are, right? I guess that can be my excuse for spending money on clothes while I'm over here.

Everyone is sound asleep in my flat, I feel so bad waking up and opening doors with a loud creak only to have them slam shut a few minutes later. I think we all plan to go into London this weekend and check out the open markets that everyone has been raving about as if it's a historical structure. What I picture is something very similar to Fanuel Hall in Boston. With the scattered carts of souvenirs and hundreds of food places to choose from. This blog is a little bit of rambling because I am trying to keep myself busy while I wait for everyone to meet outside.

As we get off the bus, the only person that knows where we are going is Dr. Sweitzer. Everyone else is sort of just following along, enjoying the beautiful weather and the gorgeous surroundings that Oxford has to offer. There are so many house boats and random people along the sides of the river. I think they either are homeless? or maybe poor? I'm not really sure. I could never imagine living on a boat, it would be way too small for me first of all, and I feel like I would always worry about whether or not the boat was going to sink! Anyways, we also saw people jogging and bike riding along the path to the pub. I thought to myself how much I would love to do that, and how relaxing it would be. I've always loved running in random places and finding my way around, it's my way of relaxing and getting to know the streets and places around me.

We keep walking down this long path, which for all we know it could've led us to London, and finally we see the pub up ahead. There was a sign outside that said "Serving drinks from 9am and lunch from 12." It was about 11:50 so we decided to walk further down and check out the lock. This lock has been here since before America was even thought of! This sounds absolutely crazy to me because if you think about it, America really is a baby of a country compared to everywhere else in the world.

When we finally got to go inside and check out the pub, there were signs everywhere advertising events and things that were going to be going on there. How do they get this stuff out to the public? How do people even know about this place since the only way you can get to it is by walking? Nevertheless, when we finally ordered our food it was absolutely amazing! I got this dish that had 3 types of cheeses, bread, a salad, and coleslaw. Also, I had gotten a beer earlier that I was a little nervous I wasn't going to like but it ended up tasting a little bit like a blue moon from America, so I couldn't complain!

After the experience at the pub I decided to meet some friends in the covered markets and they were eating sushi at a random little place, which did look a little bit sketchy, but the food still looked pretty good! Tonight we plan on trying out a new club called Clems and experiencing a little more of Oxford's nightlife. So far it has been amazing, so I'm hoping that tonight will be just as successful!

Three things

**this blog was started on the 9th and I am adding to it today**

The three things of this culture that I would love to take back would be the accents, how casual drinking is all the time, and the fact that I can get to so many countries for a lot cheaper and a lot faster than if I was in the United States. 

Accents. It is sort of funny, but this is one of the main reasons that I chose to come to England. I love the way Brits talk! It is so polite, intelligent, and just makes you want to sit and listen to them all day long. Sometimes it’s a bit hard to understand, but nonetheless I love it! I also am going to miss how people automatically know that I am an american when I start to talk and they ask me all of these questions about America. Especially when I am sitting in class and have a question to ask, literally everyone in the classroom turns around to look at me as if i’m some sort of alien. On another note, the Brittish accent is SO attractive. Pretty much all of the men that I have met here I have been instantly attracted to from the second they open their mouth. (except for the look of most of their teeth of course).

The second thing I am going to miss is how casual the drinking is here. I was talking to a few girls in my class today and they were asking me how I felt about the drinking age in america being 21 instead of 18 like it is here. “I HATE it” was my response, and not simply because I like the way I feel when I drink but I love the social aspect of it and how I feel like I meet so many more people when I’m out having a few drinks with friends than if I went to a coffee shop or to a grocery store. In america, alcoholism seems a lot more prevalent and people look at alcohol like it is such a terrible drug. But in my opinion, as long as you don’t abuse it, there is no harm being done. 

The third thing that I wish I could take back to the states with me is flying to different countries for cheaper and faster than if I were back in America. I have loved traveling all of my life. I have moved so many times in my life, and have been lucky enough to travel around America, but I feel like there is so much more out there to see and experience in the world. Since I have been here in England, I have wanted to go to so many different places, but I feel like I am in such a time crunch and have to watch my money so closely because I can’t have a job here. Although even if I did stay here for an entire year, I don’t think I would be able to go to as many places as I would like to. 

I cannot wait to go back to the states and be back with all of my close friends and family, espcially my mom, but at the same time the amount of freedom and independence I have out here is something that I would never want to exchange for the world. I love being on my own time (except for classes of course) and being able to go where I want to go without having to report back to pretty much anyone. I mean of course I have to let people know where I am for safety reasons, but as far as the decisions that I make while I am abroad, they are all up to me! Some people back in the states say that they could never go abroad because of how homesick they would get, but I think that that is not even an excuse. Homesickness comes and goes whether you are in the states or not. It is a state of mind and as long as you know what makes you happy and what gives you peace of mind, then you will be able to get over it. I feel like i’m preaching a little bit in this, but this is definitely something that I feel so strongly about because I have been there, and I know that homesickness and missing something that you are away from is not the end of the world. As Marilyn French would say, “It’s just a fart in a bathtub”. 

Yesterday I had some time to just sit back by myself and reflect on my thoughts (which is my most favorite thing to do). I have definitely noticed that when I am thinking to myself I am saying everything with a British accent, it's as if my brain is adapting to it already! I am sitting on my bed right now while I am typing this, and my window is open and all of a sudden I start to hear clubbing music coming from outside... a little strange eh? These walls are SO paper thin it's not even funny! I can hear everything that is going on outside at night as well as whenever my flat mates decide to turn over in bed. This is something that I am not used to at all because, especially at HPU, you can barely hear what is going on in your suite mate's rooms never mind your next door neighbors. Speaking of HPU, I have been talking to a few of my friends over there this past week and they are already doing their midterms! I cannot believe how fast time is flying by, then again we're only in our third week of classes over here, but still it absolutely astonishes me. I feel like there is so much I want to do and so many places that I want to travel but time is running so short, as well as the amount of cash that I have in my bank account.... 

Although spending money here does not bother me as much as it does when I'm over in the states, it is still stressful trying to stay inside of a budget when all I want to do is explore everywhere I can in Europe. When am I going to have another chance to see the christmas markets of berlin? or eat a pizza made by a true italian in Italy? Or have the time of my life at Oktoberfest in Germany?! Probably never! I said it once and I'll say it again, this trip is about not only learning more about myself and growing as an individual, it is about experiencing all that Europe has to offer! Who knows, maybe this trip will convince me to move here after grad school and become some sort of an event planner in Europe?

The sum of our misadventures

After reading the "The sum of our misadventures", it definitely gave me a whole new perspective on how to think about the traveling I have done so far and the things that have happened to me. When I first got to Oxford, I was a little bit homesick and feeling out of the loop because I was living with a group of girls that had been best friends for the past 2 years. It was like I was intruding on their time or as if I was some burden that they had to drag along with them. Now that it has been a month this feeling has subsided but I look back now and I see that if I did not come with people who I did not know that well then I would probably never had become friends with them, I never would have had half the things to talk/write about that I do now, and I would never have realized the amount of independence and confidence I need to gain.

I look back again at this past weekend and I don't think about how on time we were for the buses, trains, and airplanes, or how annoyed we all were when we couldn't find our hostel that happened to be right down the street. Instead I think about the hilarious moments, like when I was dared to stand on a table and chug and entire Stein at 9 o'clock in the morning, or when we all were trying to decide how we wanted to do our hair on the train ride into Munich, or the amount of times that we cut the line and pulled strings to get into the tents at Oktoberfest. I know that I have already written one blog on this topic, but after reading "the sum of our misadventures" it truly does show me how the only way to have a "good trip" is to have a bad one. By the end of this trip I hope to have so many more memories of getting lost in random countries, trying food that I didn't even know was edible, and planning as many trips as possible (even if it means that I'll run out of money faster than I would like to). I am realizing that this trip is not all about money, it's about the misadventures we have, and the excursions that we choose to go on. I plan on leaving the UK with a completely different mindset and a completely new outlook on life. The important things are not money, or relationships that you thought were going to last from back home. What's important are the experiences that you choose to face, and the paths that you decide to go down; the people that you choose to meet; the attitude you choose to have; and the chances that you are willing to take.

Yesterday was yet another day of exploring. I was walking around downtown Oxford trying to find a place to top up my phone and there were so many people there. I noticed the different variety of clothing that people choose to wear. You wonder if they even look in the mirror before they step out of the door in the morning! One fashion statement that I found quite popular is leggings underneath jean shorts with button ups and ankle boots. I mean I am not an expert on fashion but it seemed a little odd to me. People are also into the different hair-dos here as well, like colored hair, colored hair mohawks, hair that hasn't been washed in a week... The European style is definitely much different than the United States. Although as much as I criticize some of the outfits that people choose to wear, there are some wardrobes that I wish were my own. Such as long sweaters, and skinny jeans, really cute boots, adorable heels, sun dresses that I can wear back in the states. If only I had an unlimited supply of money....

Oktoberfest

I just got back from possibly the most amazing weekend of my entire life! (no exaggerations) Oktoberfest was all I expected and more. From the second we got there we had the best time trying to figure out the German Train and bus station, to finding dresses to wear for the festival on friday, to probably getting a total of about 6 hours of sleep the entire weekend. After a 3 hour bus ride to the airport at 1:30 in the morning, an hour and a half plane ride to Memmingen, Germany, and then another hour long bus ride, we finally arrived in the city center of Munich, Germany. It was a bit of a stressful trip trying to find where our bus was and then where our hotel was that we were staying in for one night because we could not stay in the hostel that we had for the rest of the weekend because we had booked it through Euroadventures. But once we discovered that we needed to take a train to a bus station and then walk to our hotel, it was all smooth sailing from there. We stayed in a Best Western hotel about 40 minutes outside of the city and I think that that might've been the best night sleep that I have had since i've been in Europe. I don't know if it was because I was just so exhausted, or because the beds were super comfortable, but I definitely felt refreshed when I was waking up for Oktoberfest at 5:30 am. That's right, we had to wake up that early just to get ready and catch a bus in order to get to the festival grounds by 8:30 am. (if you get there any later, it is pretty much impossible to get inside of any of the tents). So as we're running in our dirndls (german dresses) to get to the fair grounds, we run into our friends that we were planning on meeting there, Allison and Rachel. Allison is studying in Barcelona, and Rachel is studying in Florence, and so we decided to all meet up for the biggest beer festival in the world! When we got to the grounds we went directly to the HB tent, which mainly consists of americans and people from all over the world instead of just Germany, and bought steins (huge beer mugs) right away. From then on it was the time of our lives. We met so many people from Australia, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Germany, and so many other places. We even ran into a few people that we had mutual friends with from the US! (which definitely proves how small of a world we actually live in). I wish I could describe the amount of fun we had clapping and learning german, drinking beer and "prosting" with everyone. It is an experience that I believe everyone has to have at least once in their life. We liked it so much that a few of us decided to go back on Saturday and do it all over again! Needless to say we didn't think that was the best decision when we were waking up at 5 am for our flight home today, but I would not have traded a second of this weekend for anything else in the world.

 This was also my first experience traveling outside of England since we first got here, and it it unbelievable how different things are. I was honestly shocked to see how many people spoke english btu it was pretty awkward sometimes when we would try to talk to people and ask them for help and they had no idea what we were saying. It was a total culture shock! I could never study abroad in a foreign place that didn't have english as a main language, it is way too confusing for me. I did learn how to say thank you! as well as Hello and Goodbye, but that's about it that I got out of this unbelievable trip. The next one that I am planning on going on is to Florence to stay with my friend Rachel in 2 weeks. I'm definitely interested to see how different it is over there, especially to taste all of the amazing food that Italy has to offer! :)

HPU Appreciation

From having the cleaning people letting themselves into our flats uninvited, to having the laundry machines break while our clothes are in the machines, studying at Oxford has given me so much more of an appreciation for High Point University than I ever could imagine. Today, I got awakened by two men talking in the hallway trying to fix something with the heat in our flat. I heard them talking to each other, banging on the pipes, and twisting screws as I was trying desperately to get just a few more hours of sleep in before my first class of the day. Once they finally stop, I decide to get a few extra minutes of shut eye before I have to run out of the flat to my digital media class. Of course, I end up sleeping in late and missing my class anyways, and so I decide to do laundry but I don't have enough coins to do it. If we were at HPU this would not be an issue, I would have been able to do my laundry right away, and the two men that came in early would not have dared walked into our room without our permission first. Now don't even get me started about all the walking we have to do here compared to HPU. That hill that I have to walk up every day to go to the bus, the store, and even class, is should definitely be called the "hill from hell". It seems to get steeper and steeper every time I climb it, and by the time I get to the top i'm breathing as if i had just ran three miles! At High Point, the longest distance and steepest distance that was unavoidable seemed to be the one up the steps from the amphitheater to the UC... I guess you could say that this is just one more culture shock of coming from a school of luxury to a "normal" school that expects a lot more responsibility and independence than HPU. Something about this school that I definitely do love is the feeling of walking outside to the crisp fall air and the trees surrounding you as you walk to class every morning. Comparing this to HPU, I would probably get a similar feeling for it, but there is definitely no sense of "being trapped in a bubble" here. I feel like there is so much to explore and only four months to do it, it's as if I feel like I have so much time to do so much and get a true feel for what it is like to be a brit, but in reality, time is running out already! There are definitely some days where I feel very homesick and I long for my cozy full sized bed at home, but that passes once I am out and about going to new places and meeting new people every day. I will most likely be repeating this a lot in my blogs, but I do believe that this trip and the things that I am going to experience here are going to change me forever. I cannot wait to look back at these posts, some of my pictures, and have memories coming flooding back to me as if I had just experienced them the day before.

I am getting a little bit nervous/stressed out about booking my trips to other countries within the next three months. I keep seeing my bank account number go down, and my weekends get booked up. I'm almost scared that there won't be enough time for me to do everything that I would like to do! I love to plan, and I have so many ambitions to go all over Europe, I just wish that I didn't have the anxiety or the guilt of asking my parents to spot me for money. Ever since I started working, I have hated asking them for money because I like to know that I earned my place and that I got myself where I want to be. I do know that it's all going to work out in the end, it's just a matter of mapping it all out and getting myself there.