Mommy's Here!!

For the first two weeks of my Easter Vacation, mom came over to visit. She took a week off from work and then had her Spring Break as well. It was really awesome to be able to show her around London and Keele. We also went to Dublin and did a day trip to Cork, Blarney Castle and Cobh while in Ireland.

Mom flew into London and right away we went to the Tower of London. I think she enjoyed seeing the Tower and hearing about its history. We took the Beefeater tour which is always entertaining. I tried to keep her awake as best I could, but by the time dinner rolled around, she was having a bit of a hard time. That's completely understandable though, I was the same way. The next day we did some sight-seeing. We attempted to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, but apparently they only do that every other day. As we wandered through some of the gift shops, we made our way to Harrods. That was an adventure in and of itself! It was so huge!! We made our way through the food halls and managed to only by a few things. On the 4th floor, I believe, is the "pet kingdom". Of course we had to get a few souvenirs for Graycie and Lucy! We bought little t-shirts for them that say Harrods on the back. I can't wait to get home and see them wearing their matching shirts! After we finally made it out of that gigantic store, we went to see the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. Mom has always loved Princess Diana so I knew she would want to see the memorial. It's truly a beautiful fountain and very fitting for the Princess of Wales. Our next adventure was the following day. We took a day tour to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath. The Queen was at Windsor, but unfortunately we didn't see her. Stonehenge and Bath were really cool to see as well. The following morning, we made our way back to Keele.

While at Keele, mom & I went to Alton Towers. I knew she would enjoy all the roller coasters and seeing how pretty the park is. Easter Sunday was that weekend and we attended church at Keele Parrish. I had never attended an Anglican service but it was very nice. We stayed at Keele for a few days before heading to Ireland.

We decided to take the ferry to Ireland instead of flying. I think that was the right decision for us. The ride over was a new experience for me, but it was very pretty. Once we were in Dublin, we finally found our hotel and settled in for the night. The next morning, we set out on a day tour to Cork, Blarney Castle and Cobh. Of course, while we were at Blarney Castle, we had to kiss the Blarney Stone! The Castle and grounds were absolutely beautiful! Cobh was nice to see as well. It was the last port-of-call for the Titanic and the day we were there was only a day or two before the 100th anniversary of her sinking. There was Titanic memorabilia everywhere. The next morning we did a walking tour of Dublin that Trinity College offers. I wasn't sure how walking for 2 hours would be, but it turned out to be very nice. It was a very interesting tour and the guide was great. That night, we went to a nearby hotel for a traditional Irish dinner and dance show. They had musicians and dancers and it was all very well done. We headed back to Keele the next day for a bit of rest before mom headed back home.

The last two nights that mom was here, we stayed in Manchester. When we got to our hotel on Friday night, I picked up a brochure about the East Lancashire Railway. Being our spur-of-the-moment selves, we decided that we would check it out on Saturday. So, our Saturday was spent riding steam and heritage diesel trains. We got a day ticket and got off at a couple of the stops to see some of the local sites. It was a nice, relaxing way to end mom's trip. On Sunday we made our way to the airport and mom was on her way home.

It was tough to see her go, but the day was made slightly better when I found out that I could change my flight home to an earlier date. My last exam is scheduled for May 22nd, but my flight home wasn't until June 9th. I'm definitely loving my time here, but I'm also ready to be home. I figured I would at least check to see if I could move my flight to a different day. Now, instead of June 9th, I'm returning home on May 28th! I was so relieved that I'll be able to get home to my family (& puppies!) and get started on my work at the church this summer!

Oh Goodness...

Well, yet again, I've failed at keeping this thing up-to-date. I didn't feel like I had anything exciting to write and then Easter vacation happened and I didn't have time. I guess I'll start with some pictures from Edinburgh and go from there.

A lovely view from the Sir Walter Scott Monument

Edinburgh Castle - it was so pretty sitting up on that hill!

The Sir Walter Scott Monument from the ground - we climbed all 287 steps to the top!

Some pretty gardens along the way

My friends like to climb on things...

Memorial to Greyfriars Bobby - legend has it that this dog was so loyal to his owner that, even after his owner's death, he would go and sit on his owner's grave everyday to guard it.

The birthplace of Harry Potter - you can't see the sign because the three girls are in the way, but that's where J.K. Rowling sat and began writing what now know to be the Harry Potter series.

Dolly!! That's right, the first mammal to be cloned is on display at the Edinburgh Museum. The science nerd in me got excited when I saw this!

Lovely view of Calton Hill

Another lovely view from Calton Hill

This shows what the prison at the Castle may have looked like while American soldiers from the American Revolution were being held prisoner.

The National War Memorial - you weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but they had memorials and monuments all throughout the building for all of the different branches and people who had served and died for their country.

Sorry I'm such a slacker...

Well, I guess there's quite a bit of catching up that I need to do. I've been putting this off but I'm not really sure why. I guess it's just because I'm a bum. There have been a few times when I've thought about updating it, but then I don't. It's the thought that counts, right?

Anyways, on to the good stuff. Two weeks ago, Herman came to visit during his Spring break. It was great!! He got in on Tuesday morning and was here until Sunday morning. As difficult as it was to see him go again, it was so incredibly awesome to have him here. Bethany pointed out that at least now he'll know what I'm talking about when I mention different things in my many stories. I guess she knows that I'll be telling stories for awhile once I get home. Once Herman landed and we made it back to Keele, I took him on a small tour of the campus. I guess he didn't believe me when I told him I lived in "Africa" as I have so lovingly nicknamed it. He was surprised when we just kept walking to get my mail. Luckily it was a nice day so we walked around Keele Hall a bit and I was able to show him that there really are sheep on campus! We went to Curry Night at Sneyd Arms, the pub on campus. I got the feeling that Curry Night may have been one of the highlights of the trip for him. Wednesday, we took the train to London and spent the day with Emily and another friend of ours, Michelle, who were in London with a group from ODU. It was so awesome to be in the city with Herman and Emily! I wish we had more time there because there's so much more I would've loved to show him. However, we got to see the Queen so I think the our time there was well spent. Thursday and Friday were just regular days at Keele. Friday afternoon, I had the tutorial for my Trees in Their Environment class and we went walking around the woods to see examples of some of the stuff we'd talked about in class. Herman tagged along and I'm pretty sure he enjoyed himself. He was a little hesitant at first but then he realized how crazy interesting trees actually are and allowed his inner-nerd to enjoy the educational experience. We made our way to Manchester on Friday night, but not before stopping by Sneyd Arms one more time for curry. On Saturday, Cory, Katie, Bethany and their friend Lindsay joined us in Manchester and we spent the day together. We ate at a yummy Japanese place for dinner, which made the day even better. Sunday morning was a little rough as we said our goodbyes but the week was wonderful. I'm so grateful that he had the chance to come visit!

Last week was pretty uneventful. I was able to talk to mom some about her upcoming visit. I'm really excited to get to take her around in London and to go to Alton Towers with her! It's really going to be nice to have people back at home who know what I'm talking about when I talk about stuff from over here.

This past weekend, I went to Edinburgh, Scotland with a group from Keele. The trip was organized by International Student Services here at Keele. Everyone that I've talked to who has been to Edinburgh said that it's a beautiful city. They weren't lying! It's absolutely gorgeous! The weather was great this weekend too so that made it even better. Once I go through all of the pictures, I'll be sure to post some. We got in Friday evening and had dinner in the city and did a little walking around to see the city lit up. Even at night the city's gorgeous. We stayed in the Holiday Inn, so I definitely got a good nights sleep and a yummy breakfast before hitting the city again. There's so much history and so many beautiful buildings. Calton Hill sits towards one end of the Royal Mile and you can walk up it and see the whole city. It's amazing! I have a small confession to make. The bus picked us up at 5pm on Saturday to take us back to the hotel so we could get cleaned up and ready to go back into the city at 7pm if we wanted to. Everyone was planning on going back into the city and going out since it was St. Patrick's Day. I was going to go in and have dinner but then make my way back to the hotel. I definitely was NOT interested in going to any pubs or anything on St. Patrick's Day. I wouldn't even do that in the States, much less Scotland. I know it's typically an Irish holiday, but I had a feeling Scotland might party it up a bit too. So, to get to the point, I managed to get food and have dinner at the hotel. Therefore, I didn't even go into the city at 7pm. I stayed in the room, took a nice shower in a shower that's bigger than 4 sq. feet and went to bed early. It was grand! Everyone else looked tired and worn out on Sunday morning, but not me. I definitely think I made the right decision. On Sunday morning, the bus took us back into the city and we had until 2pm, when we were supposed to head back to Keele. I wanted to go to the castle and have a look around inside, which required a ticket. No one else really seemed interested. They wanted to go to an art gallery and some other places that I wasn't really interested in. So, I went to the castle by myself. That was another decision that I'm glad I made. It was so cool! The views from the castle were amazing and the castle itself was awesome. There was an exhibit set up about prison(er)s of war. One of the rooms was set up as it would've been when it held American prisoners during the American Revolution. I guess I had just never thought about it, but it was crazy to hear them say they had American prisoners of war. Obviously, during the Revolution, Britain would've taken American soldiers prisoner, but I just figured the British set up prisons in the colonies. I didn't think about the fact that they would've shipped the prisoners all the way back to the UK. It was an interesting revelation to have in the middle of a prison in the Edinburgh Castle. We made our way back to Keele last night and got in around 9pm. It was a great weekend and I'm really glad I had the chance to go.

This weekend is going to be low-key. I found out that, in the library in the city center, there are archives. I think I'm going to try and get there this Saturday and see if I can find out anything about the part of my family that made their way to America back in the 1870s. I knew that my Poppy's side of the family came from England. What I didn't know, until just before I came, is that they actually came from North Staffordshire. Anyone want to guess where Keele University is? That's right, North Staffordshire. I'm excited to see what I can find out about my family's history.

Once again, sorry for being a slacker. I'll do my best to update more often!

London!!

This past weekend, I spent the weekend in London with my friends Bethany, Katie and Cory. Not only did I spend time with them, but we met up with Emily! She's in London this week with a group from ODU. I was able to catch up with her and we were able to hang out some. It was a pretty awesome weekend!

We got into the city Friday evening and checked into our hostel. I wasn't quite sure what to think of it. I had never stayed in a hostel before and when we walked into this one, it was quite warm and kind of dark. My first impression wasn't that great. But, once we got settled in, it turned out to be pretty good. Once we checked in and dropped our stuff off, we took a little walk and met up with Emily! I had dinner with her and some others from ODU. The point of meeting up then was so that I could give her my cell phone so we could find each other Saturday. Otherwise, who knows if we would've ever found each other again!

Saturday morning, Bethany, Katie, Cory and I headed up to do some sight seeing. We met up with our friend Jordan who was in the area. Our first stop was the Tower of London. The first major usage of the Tower was as a fortress by William the Conqueror. That means it's a quite an old place. It's been used in the years since as a fortress, place of residence for the monarchs, and prison among other things. It's cool to see how it's been added on to and how different areas were used for different things throughout time. Some of the most notable parts of the Tower are The Traitors Gate, where prisoners were brought in, the Jewel House, which houses the Crown Jewels, and the ravens. Although I am not a huge fan of birds, these ravens are impressive. Legend has it that if the ravens ever leave the Tower, that will be the end of the monarchy. Needless to say, these ravens are quite well taken care of. There are 8 total and 2 are kept in cages, just in case anything happens to the other 6. They all have names and are quite domesticated.

We took a tour with a "Beefeater". The proper name is Yeoman Warder and these guys are the keepers of the Tower basically. In order to become a Yeoman Warder, you must have served 22 years in the military and retired as a high-ranking officer. The guide we had was very knowledgeable and quite entertaining. It's always fun knowing the little things that are a part of history. One of the interesting bits of information we learned is that prisoners were held in the Tower as late as WWII. A German spy was imprisoned and executed in the Tower during the war. They've done an awesome job of bringing history to life at the Tower. The White Tower is in the middle of the whole complex and is now a museum of sorts with armor of kings past and interactive areas to show just what life was like in the Tower. Part of the outer section is set up like an apartment of a knight and his lady. They have actors there playing the parts of the knight and lady. The sections that were used as prisons also have areas that are set up as they would've been. Also, in one of the lower areas, they have a little bit about torture that was used in the Tower. All-in-all, it was a really informative morning.

After we left the Tower, we got lunch and headed to the British Museum. One of the most famous things at the British Museum is the Rosetta Stone. This is the stone that was found and enabled scholars to decipher the ancient hieroglyphics. Honestly, it's a little anti-climactic. There's only a portion of it left and it's probably a few inches shorter than me. Nonetheless, it's one of those things that you should definitely see if you ever have the chance. It played a very significant role in history. In the same section there are other sculptures from ancient Egypt. As you move along, there are sculptures from the Parthenon. These sculptures are part of a debate right now over who should rightfully possess them, but for now they're in Britain. Looking at parts of a building that has such a long history is truly awe-inspiring. I could probably spend days in the museum. For the sake of time, I made my way up to the upper floor. The stuff to see up there is the mummies!! That's right, mummies! It was pretty cool to see actual mummified bodies and learn a bit about the way the bodies were preserved. Hopefully I'll be able to make it back to the museum at some point so that I can spend a bit more time there.

To wrap-up our weekend away, we did a little sight-seeing on Sunday. We went by Buckingham Palace (the flag was up so the Queen was home). Unfortunately, my camera battery was dead by that point. I'm going to "borrow" some of the pictures the others took once they put them on Facebook. After Buckingham Palace, we walked on to the Natural History Museum. They had a lot of really cool interactive things set up about everything from ecology to human biology. After that, we went by and saw the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. It was beautiful. I'll definitely be taking mom by there when she comes to visit. Katie made the statement that, out of all of the monuments we had seen, that one was the only one that welcomes you to touch it and stick your hands and feet in the water and what not. There was a sign that told about the memorial and said that the interactive aspect of the memorial was on purpose. It was to represent Princess Diana's openness to all. It was really gorgeous and thought-provoking. We kept walking and went by Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. By then, it was time for us to gather our things and head back to the train station.

The entire weekend was packed full of history and beauty. I'm really glad I had the opportunity to visit London and I hope to make it back. Herman and I are going for the day on Wednesday, but just for the day. I would really like to take mom when she comes. It's too good to not show off. I'll attach a few pictures and attempt to show a bit of how cool it is.

The sign as you head to the Tower from the Underground. The Tower is still a Palace and Fortress as the sign says. Crazy amounts of history!

The Tower Bridge with a double-decked bus driving across it. Notice I said Tower Bridge. This is the London Bridge. That one's up the river a bit and not nearly as impressive.

A 2-ton iron gate that's still functional

The White Tower

Our awesome Beefeater tour guide

One of the ravens

Some of King Henry VIII's armor

Traitor's Gate...you don't want to enter this way

The Rosetta Stone

Part of a column from the Parthenon

Some more sculptures from the Parthenon

A real mummy! All of the stuff in this display is authentic, just a little rearranged.

More mummies!

A Nice Weekend In

After all of the fun that was had the last few weekends, I'm grateful for a low-key weekend at "home". I've got to rest up for all of the excitement that is yet to come!

This past week has been nice. The temperature has warmed up a little bit and the sun has been shining quite a bit more the last few days. It's been nice to be able to go out in jeans and a hoodie. The wind has been a little rough at times, but I can handle that. I've been working on research for an essay that is due in my Trees in Their Environment class. The class is actually a lot more interesting than I was expecting. This paper is somewhat interesting, but it's still a paper. I have to write the essay for the Trees class and another essay for Human & Animal Cognition in the next week. I might just move into the library. Last night a few of us went out to Pizza Hut for dinner and then to see One for the Money with Katherine Heigl. The pizza was awesome (Pizza Hut here is quite a bit nicer than at home) and the movie was pretty good too.

The reason that I have to write both of those essays within the next week is Herman is coming to visit!! He arrives in 9 days and I'm incredibly excited! And to make it all even more exciting, Emily will be in London the week that Herman is here. Herman & I are going to visit Emily the day after he gets here. It's going to be so much fun and probably a little surreal. It's been great being able to talk to him on Skype but I absolutely cannot wait to see him in person! I'm also really excited to see Emily. Unfortunately, her school/work schedule has made it a little difficult to Skype with her. Our main communication has been through Facebook; which is fine, but seeing her in person is going to be even better! I realize that this paragraph has a lot of exclamation points, but that's the only way to punctuate my enthusiasm!

I also have some travel plans coming up. Next weekend, I'm going to London with my friends Katie, Bethany, Cory and possibly Jordan. The first three are Americans and the last is British. Katie's cousin is supposed to be in London on Sunday so we're tagging along while she goes to meet up with him. It'll be nice to know how to get there when Herman & I go the following Wednesday. The weekend after London, I'll be in Manchester. Herman & I are going to hang out there so that he's closer to the airport for his early flight out on Sunday morning. The plan is for Katie, Bethany, Cory and whoever else to join us on Saturday for some sightseeing. The following weekend is the trip to Edinburgh, Scotland that I am taking through the International Student Services office here at Keele. Yet again, Katie, Bethany, and Cory will be attending that excursion as well. There's also plans in the works for a trip to Liverpool. I'm excited about that one so that I can go to the Beatles' Museum!!

If you couldn't tell from the information above, I've made some pretty awesome friends so far. Katie and Bethany are from UNC Greensboro and Cory goes to ODU. It's crazy how you can go to the same school with someone for two years (and be in the same major) and not meet each other until you're across the pond. I'm really grateful that I have found great people to be around and travel with while here. God really answered my prayers on this one! (I mean, I knew He would. But He still amazes me sometimes!)

Alton Towers!!

Today, we took a day trip to Alton Towers, one of the UK's biggest theme parks. It was loads of fun. I'm not going to lie, it was a little tough at first. When we got there, it was drizzly and cold. It down-right rained for a bit there. However, we persevered and had fun. Luckily it did clear up around lunch time so the entire day wasn't miserable. I didn't really take any pictures, sorry! I didn't want to get my camera all wet and my hands were so frozen that I don't know if they would've been capable of clicking the button. After today, I'm sure I'll be returning when the weather is decent. I'll get pictures then.

Only a portion of the park was open and tickets were discounted. It's Half-term for the school kids so I guess they figured they could make some money off of parents needing something to do with their kids. We were able to ride Nemesis, Air and Oblivion along with some of the other "thrill" rides. I'm going to try and explain these as best I can. The best way I can is to compare them with Busch Gardens, so bare with me. Nemesis was similar to Alpengeist. It didn't have quite as many twists and turns but it was inverted and had a few corkscrews and a loop. Air was actually the first coaster we rode. I was excited about it until I saw people board and it take off. When you get in the seat, it seems like you're getting into one for Alpengeist or any other inverted coaster...except that there are leg harnesses. Once you're secured, the floor goes down (like other inverted coasters) BUT THEN the seats pull up so that you are essentially dangling, face down along the track. It was pretty awesome! I definitely want to go back and ride it when it's not raining. I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open because they were being pelted by rain. The last coaster we rode was Oblivion. It's claim to fame is "the world's first vertical drop coaster". If you can't tell by that description, it's the great-grandaddy of Griffon essentially. However, you can definitely tell there have been some advances in coaster technology. All Oblivion does is go down at 90 degrees, bank around a curve and go back into the station. It was fun, but definitely not as fun as Griffon. I didn't realize how spoiled I am to have Busch Gardens in my life.

We also rode Hex. It's somewhat similar to DarKastle in the way it sets itself up as a legend. This legend is actually about the Earl who owned the castle at Alton and there's still proof of the legend on the property. It's not 4-D though, which was nice for me because I don't do well with those kinds of rides. However, I wasn't quite prepared for this one. When we got in the last room, we sat in what looked like church pews that were connected, two rows on each side and the sides faced each other. Then we started to rock back and forth. Then the room started to move as well. By the end, it seemed as though we were flipping upside down because we were rocking opposite of the way the room was turning. Once I got off of that thing, it took me a few minutes to figure out which way was up. It was fun, but it's one of those that I could only handle once in awhile. We also rode a few smaller coaster-type rides. One was called Sonic Pinball. They did a really good job of making you feel like a pinball in a machine. It was similar to the Wild Maus that used to be at Busch Gardens. There were 4 people per car, two facing front and two facing back. As it went along the crazy track, the car would spin. That was another ride where I had to regain my bearings once I got off.

I'm definitely excited to go back once the weather gets nicer and the rest of the park opens up. There's a coaster there called Thirteen. The new coaster at Busch Gardens, VerBolten, has been compared to Thirteen. I am stoked to have the chance to compare the two myself! There's another coaster that wasn't open today as well, Rita I believe. I'm sure that one will be good too.

My cheeks are a little rosy from the wind burn and pelting by the icey rain. It was definitely worth it though! I'm glad I toughed it out and dealt with the ridiculous weather. A few of us made the statement that if the weather had been like this in the States, none of the rides would've been running. I guess they have to be prepared for rain here since that's about all it does.

Off to Manchester!

Yesterday morning, we got up at an ungodly hour for a Saturday and took a coach bus to Manchester. There were five of us, Cory, Katie, Laura, Travis and I. Before arriving, we had decided we wanted to visit the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) and a few other places.

Let me tell you, MOSI was amazing! I felt like a giant nerd, but it was so great. They had a bunch of stuff about Joule, Dalton, Bragg and all of those crazy old science nerds who basically discovered half of what we know now. It was so much fun...for me at least. The others in the group enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as I did. I caught myself smiling as I was reading the information about Joule's calorimeter. Everyone else had walked on and I was just standing there smiling like a geek. It was great!

After I managed to pull myself away from that, we checked out a few other things in the science museum and then moved on. We went to the Manchester Gallery. It was a really nice gallery with a lot of nice work. As you can probably tell by the lack of '!'s here, art isn't exactly my cup of tea. I can appreciate it, but I would have much rather been looking at pictures of Lawrence Bragg's x-ray crystallograms (at least I think that's what they're called) and Joule's calorimeter. I'm just putting that out there. Anyways, it was quite nice. If I had more time in either place, it would've been better.

Once we finished up at the gallery, we walked towards Picadilly Gardens which is just the center square of the city essentially. Everyone else wanted to go inside where it was warm so they went into a nearby store. I stayed out to check out the local stuff. They had a market set up in the square and I bought some "American muffins" and some jewelry from one of the local fair-trade businesses that had a booth set up. It was pretty cool and I hope to go back again, maybe when it's a bit warmer.

All-in-all it was an awesome day. It was nice to get out and have some fun. Hopefully I'll be able to do some more traveling in the weeks to come and see even more fun stuff!!

When I saw this, I knew I was going to like Manchester. =)

The Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI)

Joule's calorimeter =D

Lawrence Bragg and some of his x-ray crystallography work

And my "American muffins" that I bought at the market (I guess they don't like the word cupcake?)

Change of plans

Well, things are still going well here. There's still a bit of snow on the ground from when it snowed last weekend. Most of it has melted/turned to slush and then has refrozen because it's so darn cold. It's been an adventure walking around campus. I'm not the most graceful person in the world and one of my biggest fears is slipping on ice and hurting my bum! Other than that though, it's been going well.

The plan for this weekend was to go to York where they are having a Viking Festival. Apparently there's a museum there and everything. We were going to go and stay the night on Saturday that way we could visit the museum and different things on Saturday and Sunday. Then, we checked on accommodation for Saturday night. I guess we didn't realize that the Viking Festival was so popular. There's nowhere to stay. So now we're essentially back to square one. There's still the possibility of going to the festival next weekend because it runs through then. But now we're trying to figure out where to go this weekend. We've been here three weeks and haven't ventured outside of Newcastle. It's a beautiful place, but I'm ready for a change in the scenery. Hopefully we'll be able to figure out somewhere to go. If we don't come to an agreement, I may just have to venture out on my own...or with some other students who are going somewhere this weekend. I'm ready to see some more of the UK!

Hey, what's that stuff falling from the sky...?

That's right folks, it snowed here at Keele University. I was in Newcastle with some friends and the white flakes started falling. It started around 12:30 in the afternoon and went until at least 8 tonight. There's a good couple of inches on the ground out there. We had to do some grocery shopping and pick up a few other things so there was some walking that had to be done. I was quite nervous because I'm not graceful AT ALL!! Luckily, I didn't fall. However, my legs are quite sore because I was tensed up so that I could walk very carefully. I don't know how long it's going to stick around but everyone is enjoying it while it lasts. I'm not a huge fan, but it is pretty to look at!

For your viewing pleasure

Things are continuing to go well. However, it is very cold! The high temperature yesterday was 30 degrees! Today was slightly better at 34. I was able to reserve my spot for a trip to Edinburgh through the International Office here. I'll be able to pay for it once my money goes through to my account here. (I'll be so happy to actually have cash!) That's really the only exciting news at this point.

I've been making dinner with some other exchange students (the same ones I went "exploring" with on Saturday). We either make a big meal for everyone or all just get together and make our own stuff but eat together. It's definitely nice being able to spend time with people over a meal. It's almost like being at home...especially since I'm a Southern Baptist! =D

And, last but not least, here are some photos from Saturday's excursion. Hope you enjoy!

This is Keele Hall. It's the original house on the property and was owned by Lord Sneyd...way back when.

This is the back of Keele Hall...just in case you were wondering.

I can't remember the exact number, but the school owns lots and lots of land. On the land in this picture there are sheep grazing. It's interesting to have sheep on campus.

As you can see, the campus here is quite different from Old Dominion University.

  

This is the side of Keele Hall if you're looking from the path heading to the woods. The whole house is beautiful. I can't wait to take a peek inside.

We walked along one of the paths through the woods and there were lots of streams and some lakes. This is just one of the many.

One of the beautiful lakes. I'm excited to see what this looks like in the Spring!

Another lake...

Another stream...

A pretty sweet waterfall. I wish I could post sounds. It was so cool to hear all of the natural water sounds (and not just water running from the faucet haha)!

I hope you enjoy these photos. I'll continue to take them and do my best to post them in a timely manner. I'm trying to get better at that habit, sorry!

Going on a bear hunt...

Ok, so we didn't see any bears, but there were a lot of ducks. Today, a bunch of us exchange students went on an adventure around Keele Hall and the trails there. Luckily the weather was really nice so I was able to get some pictures. I will upload them as soon as I get rid of the ones that didn't really turn out. (I have a tendency to just snap a bunch of shots and then get rid of the bad ones later.)

Other than that, I've finished my first week of classes. One of the classes that I'm taking is a Special Education course. It's taught by an American and focuses on the American system but there are some British students in the class. I think it will be quite interesting.

Hopefully there will be some traveling going on in the near future. I'm excited to get started with that!

Issues

You will be glad to know that the education system in the UK is trying to become just as screwed up as the one in the US. I am taking the course Issues in Public Education. Obviously, it covers the UK system but I thought it would be interesting to compare our issues to theirs. Within the first 20 minutes I discovered that we all have the same problems. I am excited to dig further into the material. The professor ("tutor") also thinks it will be good because I can bring a different perspective to the table. Hopefully that works out well.

I am currently sitting here eating a Cadbury Creme Egg. It's quite possibly one of my favorite Easter treats. I must say, they are slightly better here. That's to be expected though.

Hopefully the weather will be nice enough on Saturday that I can get out and get some pictures of the campus. Keele Hall used to be the home of Lord Sneyd and his family and is absolutely gorgeous, at least from the outside. The gardens behind the house are beautiful as well. If I am able to get pictures, I'll be sure to post them.

I am also hoping to do some genealogical research while I'm here. After looking at some of the papers I got from Granny & Poppy (my mom's parents), I'm about 90% certain that Poppy's side of the family came from Staffordshire. Interestingly enough, Keele is in Staffordshire. If I'm lucky, maybe I'll be able to find some more information about where I came from...way back when. Dad's side of the family came over from Germany in the 1870's. The part of Germany they're from is pretty close to the French border. Since that's not terribly far away, I'm going to look into traveling there during my Easter break. That might be a little more difficult to research with the language barrier. But, it's worth a shot nonetheless!

Across the ocean...

So, things started out kinda rough once I arrived at Keele. It was probably due to the lack of sleep and the realization that almost everyone here parties hard all the time. I enjoy my sleep and don't really party. Basically, I cried almost all day Friday and parts of Saturday. I couldn't look people in the face without tearing up. Luckily I was able to talk with my awesome fiance, Herman, via Skype and he helped me come back to reality (like he always does).

Sunday rolled around and I had caught up on some sleep. My plan was to go to the Late Service (it's not very late though, 7:30 p.m.) at Keele Chapel. It's a student led worship service and I'm definitely glad I went. I was able to meet some like-minded students who don't go out and party/drink constantly. The Keele University Christian Union is apparently very active and I'm excited to get involved in what they have to offer.

I think I finally have almost all of the essentials/necessities for my room and it's starting to look like more than just a place to sleep. The campus here is beautiful! Everything is so green! It's outside of town a little ways but still close enough to ride the bus in to go grocery shopping and what not...completely different from ODU! Classes started on Monday and so far they've been interesting. I've only had two so far and I still have two more to go. I was proud of myself for being the only one out of 32 students (and the only American as well) to know when the Magna Carta was signed. That may have contributed to my enjoyment of the class, but just slightly.

So far I'm adjusting well. Hopefully that will continue to be the case. I have noticed some interesting similarities such as the dogs here don't like the postman either. I was standing at the bus stop and the postman walked up to the mailbox on the corner to collect the mail. The dog in the yard behind me did not like that one bit! It put a smile on my face to know that Graycie isn't the only one who does not appreciate mail carriers.

A Life-long Commitment

As of six days ago, I am engaged to my one true love! As of five days ago, I am studying at Keele University in England. Talk about a tough trek across the ocean. I knew it was coming, but I didn't think he'd wait until the night before I left!

On Wednesday night after church, we went star gazing out past all of the city lights. We were bundled up in the bed of his truck when he said he had something for me. It was so dark that I could barely see his face or the ring when he opened the box. Being the non-traditional guy that he is (which is a good thing), he asked if I wanted to try it on. He asked if I was willing to make a life-long commitment and marry him. Of course, I said yes! Honestly, I'm not 100% sure what happened after that. The adrenaline was pumping so my memory is fuzzy. I do know that I made sure to take a picture with my phone and send it to my mom and all of my best friends (because we live in the of technology).

I am super excited to start planning our wedding and beginning a new life together. Obviously, it'll be a little difficult to plan from across the Atlantic Ocean. But I'll do my best!