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

Adventures in Illness

Hello again!

So guess what came back. Yup, tonsillitis. I had to miss my History class again, and I HATE missing class. I'm on a different round of antibiotics this time so hopefully these ones knock it out. Being sick SUCKS!

In other news, the trip to Bath scheduled for March 8th has been moved to the 15th, so the next blog of picture spam won't be for a while. I could upload photos of the various flowers that are already blooming here but that might be a bit boring. I must admit, the greenery coming back is rather nice. It makes my runs a lot nicer. Still really muddy though so I have to be carful where I run. I would rather not add a sprained ankle to my list of things to deal with.

As far as classes go, I've handed in my first essay. Next week there's a creative writing assignment I need to get in as well as an essay I'm not sure how to write because I missed the play we were supposed to see. My prof is going to give me the amended assignment information this Thursday after class so hopeful I'll be able to get that done quickly.

Finally, it's warming up here!! We still have a lot of rainy days but there are some gorgeous warm ones too! Today I went into town with Harriet and Evie to get things from the market and I only sore my hoodie. No jacket needed! I love the sun, makes everything seem a lot better.

Hope you're all well and I'll see you next Wednesday!

-Kirsten

P.S. A massive HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my friend Kenna who is doing Study Abroad in Poland!! Have a great 21st and I'll see you in April!!

Reading Week

Hello!

So this week is a break for me. Shocking I know. It seems too early actually but there you go. We have no break in March but then we have two weeks off again for Easter in April. At TRU I'm used to one break for reading week mid semester and then a long weekend for Easter. None of this two week break stuff. Mind you, back home mid to end of April is the final exam period and then it's summer holidays until September. Over here we started later and go later into the year so I guess it all balances out. I will be using the second week of Easter vacation to go to Copenhagen though so I guess it all works out well in the end. More on that later!

What's new around here? I'm getting better now. Still on the penicillin but overall I'm good. I'm back out running so I'm happy. There's a lot of people getting sick here at the university so it's not surprising that I got sick in the first place. I'm hoping that's the end of illness for me though. I'll likely get a cold or two but those I can deal with. I hate missing class and last week I missed all of my classes. Not good.

As far as England goes, I know some of you are wondering about the flooding across the UK. It hasn't affected me much here in Chichester though I know it has been an issue for some people. It's wreaked havoc on the trains and transport systems so travelling around can be very difficult, with lots of delays, cancellations and detours. One of my roommates got stuck due to train delays just this past weekend. In Bognor Regis, one of the popular night clubs Sheiks was closed temporarily due to the storms. It's on the pier so I'm not surprised. It does put a damper on the partying that happens around here though. Sheiks is one of the favourite spots for Uni students on Wednesday nights. That's off topic though, sorry. Weather! It's been heating up during the days so we're almost on an even number of sunny days to rainy days now. I'm sure that will change though, as we're not even into the "rainy" season yet apparently. I'm not sure I want to know what that looks like. I've been wearing my wellie boots and my rain jacket as standard apparel so I've been at least a little bit dry when I go out. I forgot how great a pair of rubber boots are.

Other than that, it's quiet as always. I've been trying to keep up with the Olympics but haven't actually seen any events. No TV for me. Probably a good thing, no one ever NEEDS TV. Still I miss the background noise!

Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well and having a good February!

Cheers,

-Kirsten

Day Late!

Hello!

Sorry for the late update guys! As you might be aware, Universities are germ farms and I caught the flu as well as a case of tonsillitis. I went to the Doctor's yesterday and I'm on antibiotics now but it's been a rough week. I've missed all my classes, including today's class which included a trip to a play we need to see to write an assignment worth 30% of our final grade. I've already emailed the prof about what to do and we're going to meet up after reading week (next week) and discuss how to modify the assignment or dole out a separate assignment altogether. Illness is never convenient is it?

Other than that I've been doing well. The weather here has been a mixed bag of sunny, rainy, windy, cold, warm and humid. And all of that is just before noon! I really shouldn't complain, I know weather has been much MUCH worse for everyone back home. Still, it gets boring and a bit dreary living in a perpetual grey mush.

Well enough of that. Last Saturday I was lucky enough to get up to Windsor with the International students. The city itself looks like pretty much every other British city out there except there's a massive castle sitting on top of a hill. The tours were not cheap, even with the student discount but the did give free walking tours of the outside walls as well as free audio guides for inside the castle so I guess it evened out in the end. The castle itself is almost boomerang shaped, not so much a square monster one might expect from a castle. Pictures were only allowed outside the building, so if you want to see the inside head over to google or get on a plane to England! Heathrow airport is the closest. And by closest I mean planes were flying rather low right by at the castle and had to make a rather sharp turn to avoid flying directly over it. Okay, on to the photos!

First look at the castle

Pub! Didn't eat there but I liked the name. 

Gates. That was actually the exit.

Inside the inner walls...kinda.

To be honest there were so many towers I forget which

one this one was for.

Round Tower. It's a library now I do believe. 

So much castle!

Symbol for Knights of the Garter (or something like that)

More gates! (Seriously, you're never 

sure when you're INSIDE the gates.)

Court yard!

The castle was well thought out. This was where an

archer would stand to fire on attackers. Well protected

but good sight too. 

This did not lead to a moat. It is actually a long classroom

for school groups to use when learning about medieval history. 

Props to the gardeners and landscapers who look after this stuff. 

Seriously. This stuff goes all the way around. 

Amazing line of sight for the castle. 

So serious.

Queen Victoria directing traffic.

The inside of the castle was stunning, and very ornate. The Queen was no there when we were, which is kind of lucky for us actually. When she is there a few of the rooms of the tour are cut off because she is using them. So we were able to see everything. The restoration work the did after the fire of 1992 was extensive and very well done. The cool thing was they decided to re-make what the rooms used to look like rather than just modernize them. Of course, I'm sure over the years they've added some modern touches like internet and all that. I'm sure the Queen needs her daily dose of Flappy Bird and Candy Crush on her iPad. (Does the Queen have an iPad? I'm sure she has a gold one if she ever did get one.)

Okay that's enough blogging for today. It's also time for me to take the damn antibiotics again. They're weird over here. It comes in blister packs instead of orange pill bottles. Somehow that doesn't seem right. 

Hope you're all well and not at all ill!

-Kirsten