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!