Is It Bedtime Yet?

Hello!

So if you're a university student, there are three phrases that rule your life. 1.) I'm Hungry. 2.) I'm Tired. 3.) I'm Busy. This past week I have been thoroughly courting number two. I caught myself a lovely cold so my energy levels have been in the negatives. Oh well. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Universities are germ farms. All of my roommates have been sick now. Harriet is much better but Hayley and Evie were both knocked with something or another and so we're a rather sad looking bunch.

My cold has not kept me from exploring more of England however. Last Friday I made my way up to Brighton with Harriet for a day of shopping. I bought myself a new bag that I've been looking at since October, so I'd count the trip as successful. I did see a pair of shoes I wanted as well but the price tag kept them on the shelf and off my feet. If only I could win the lottery right? Harriet and I took in some sights when we finished our shopping, heading up to the Brighton Pier. I didn't know about it but apparently it's famous. It's basically a small carnival out on the pier. It wasn't well populated the day we went due to strong winds and flooding that's been happening in the area but I bet in the summer it's packed.

In class news, things are getting to the end. I think most of my classes only have two more lectures to go before finishing up. Thanks to the Easter holiday we have this weird split that confuses the heck out of me. If they just had a long weekend like we get in Canada, then their school year could end in April rather than May. But I don't make the rules so a two week holiday it is. I'm REALLY looking forward to Copenhagen with Kenna. I need some time to breathe and relax and see someone familiar. It's hard being away from friends and family for so long. Some days I don't notice it much but as I get closer and closer to heading home I realize just how long it's been since I saw someone from home.

On a brighter note, I'm heading off tonight to see the new Captain America movie with Nikki (next door neighbour and friend). In a strange turn of events, the UK got it in theatres before Canada and the USA! Don't worry I won't post spoilers on Facebook or anything. I'll just gloat that I've seen it a bit.

That's all I've got guys! Enjoy a picture of the Havenstoke Fox.

Cheers,

-Kirsten

Spring in Bath

Hello Hello!

As I told you last week, this past Saturday I went off to Bath. The nice weather held and we got some sun and heat so the four and a half hours of walking around the city was actually really nice. I got a bit of a sunburn actually. Apparently mid march is a time for sunscreen. Who knew!

I only ended up going to see the Roman Baths, because dang the museums are expensive and as cool as the Jane Austin Museum is, £15 for a ticket is a bit much. There was all sorts of outdoor market stuff going on so just wandering around the city was great. The Roman Baths were a lot larger than I thought they'd be. The engineering that went into it is amazing. It was really cool to see the feeding systems that brought the warm spring water into the pools. Only one pool is still filled, the others have had water diverted elsewhere but you can still see where a lot of the rooms were. Really old saunas and such were headed by the water under the floor. There was also a cold dipping pool that has somehow turned into a sort of wishing well. Check out the photos below!

Sadly you can't bathe here anymore.

Roman coin found during the excavation of the site.

View into one of the main water feeds.

Cold pool/wishing well. SO SPARKLY!

Ducks just napping in the sun. People left them bread

but didn't bug them. Hurrah for nice tourists!

Obligatory selfie. 

After the viewing of the Roman Baths, Mariah (a fellow TRU Study Abroad student) and I set out on a walk about and ended up checking out the lock system for all the canal boats. It was surprisingly empty as far as boats go so we thought the season hadn't started yet. Maybe it was a summer thing. It was only after heading farther up the channel when we discovered this:

Some poor fool on a holiday wasn't paying attention while they were pulling their boat through and this happened. It smelled really strongly of gas too so it's likely the propane tanks on board were leaking. Behind this were MANY more boats all backed up until the next morning, when a crane would be by to lift this thing out.

Lock doors. REALLY deep!

Boats, boats, boats!!

I wasn't kidding when I said it was nice out.

The bus ride to and from Bath was about two and a half hours each way. Everyone was sleeping on the bus on the way back. I tried, which was a bad idea because my contacts stuck to my eyes. Ow.

The rest of the week has been spent in class, grocery shopping and running. I didn't realize my running loop is now 5km! I'm really enjoying running here in Chichester. There's lots of different loops I can do to keep my runs from being repetitive and the weather has been quite nice for it. Yes, I do get rained on sometimes but for the most part, it's not that bad. Disneyland Half Marathon 2015 here I come!

Hope you're all doing well back home!

Cheers,
-Kirsten

Mid March Already??

Hello!!

Oh my good lord I've been busy this past week. Nothing amazingly interesting, but busy none the less. My readings for class are getting longer and longer as my classes start heading for their end. Most of my classes only have a good five weeks left due to the two week Easter holiday in April. I'm trying my best to keep up but I'm getting a bit swept away in all the information. I know I've mentioned it before but this semester I have two final exams. No dates for the finals have been released yet but I'm hoping when they are released I'll have a day or two separating them. The essay I need to write for my contemporary drama class will be done over the first week of holiday, before I head to Copnhagen. When I get back I'll finish off my short story final and then it'll just be cramming for those two finals. My semester end this time is much more relaxed feeling than December. Maybe that's because my time management is better. Or the lack of multiple massive papers to write.

I don't know if anyone has been checking out the exchange rates in different countries recently, but the Canadian dollar is now $1.90 to every pound. Cue panic. Seriously, expenses are cropping up all over the place and the increasingly crap exchange rate is not helping me. When I came here in September it was $1.60 to the pound. Agh!! Oh well, nothing I can do to change it. I'm trying to scrimp and save where I can (no Cardiff for me) but if the exchange rate hits $2.00 per pound I am going to cry.

On a happier note, I'm headed off to Bath on Saturday! Yes there will be pictures on next Wednesday's post. I'm hoping the nicer weather we've been getting holds out for Saturday. It was 18 here on Sunday! I'm debating on whether or not I should get a pair of shorts. I didn't bring much in the way of warm weather apparel. Maybe a trip to Primark is in order. I can probably find shorts for a fiver AND a new purse, seeing as mine just kicked the bucket.

What else is news? Oh! Chichester wants me to write a few blog-ish entries about why people should study abroad for their website. If anyone is interested in reading what I post there I can stick the links on here when I start posting things. Blog-ception. (If you don't get that pop culture reference, don't worry. Google Inception.) Apparently if we post a certain number of blogs we are rewarded with gift cards. If we can request the kind of cards we get, I'm asking for Starbucks. It's been too long since my last chai tea.

Okay this nonsensical post is getting out of hand. I feel like Seinfeld these days. My blog is about nothing. Maybe I should start posting deep thoughts on the nature of study abroad and how my life has been forever altered...or I can just write whatever pops into my head and keep the family updated with my day to day goings on. Who knows.

Wherever you are I hope you're well! Love you all lots!

Cheers,
-Kirsten

P.S. Grandma, if you're still reading this blog, there are SO MANY FLOWERS that are in full bloom over here! I bet you'd love it!

Pancakes

Hello once more!

So as you may or may not have been aware, Tuesday was Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday or Pancake Tuesday, depending on where you are and what you call it. Essentially, Tuesday was a day for stuffing your face with carbs in the form of pancakes. Back in Canada, this day usually passes without much notice. No one really goes on about it so on the years I'm lucky enough to catch it I get pancakes for dinner, but this doesn't happen every year. Here in the UK? Oh you can't miss pancake day if you tried! Boxes of mix at every store, Facebook posts filled with pancakes and "liked" pages posting their pancake creations. I'm not really sure why pancake day is so much bigger over here than back home. Larger Christian faith? More people still participating in traditional Lent? An intense love of the pancake? Who knows! Any way you look at it, pancakes are a good thing and a day dedicated to eating pancakes is just great. Now, pancakes in the UK are not like fluffy Canadian pancakes. They're pretty much crepes served with lemon and sugar, not syrup. Still tasty but will never replace fluffy buttermilk pancakes in my heart, stomach and various other squishy areas. How bout a picture?

It's a crepe!

What else is going on? I'm going to see The Lego Movie tonight with my friend Stacy for her Birthday. Lego is wonderful and movies are great so sticking the two of them together is magic. I assume. The reviews are good. Today is market shopping day. Harriet and I are in the habit of going to the Chichester Market (like a farmers market) every Wednesday and Saturday to pick up our fresh veggies now. Keeps the fridge stocked with healthy stuff! I know I've mentioned it before but Summer Ball is coming up on May 9th and Hayley was able to get us tickets in the first early bird wave so we paid the cheapest amount. It was still £32.00 but it's better than the £40 that some people have to pay. Everyone is talking about dresses, it's like Grad all over again. I have a dress in my closet I think will work just fine. I'll likely have to find a cheap pair of heels (or flats) somewhere. Maybe I'll get luck in Denmark and find something. Or if that doesn't work out, Primark!

On a more academic note, more assignments have been handed in. I just have one more to get through before starting work on final assessment material. I don't know if I mentioned it at all but this semester I only have two hand in assignments and then two final exams. Last semester was all final essays so I'm oddly excited to find out what the final exam scenario is like over here. I'm certainly liking the classes I have, even if my History of Facism prof is a terrible powerpoint maker. Seriously, who layers black text over a busy black and white photo???? It's a nightmare.

I hope everyone back home is doing well! I miss you guys lots!

Cheers,
-Kirsten