Trip #4: Dublin

I'm going to follow the blessing rather than go in chronological order, try to stick with me!

Sunbeam: On Saturday Cass and I took a day trip to Killiney/ Dun Laoghaire to get out of the city of Dublin and see some of the coast line. We were extremely lucky and picked the most beautiful day to go and walk around, it was sunny and warm and we felt like we were in a movie. We got fish and chips at a local to-go place and sat on the pier, living the life. Literally every other person we saw walked by with ice cream cones, which we wanted to get but after the fish and chips we were literally stuffed. It was a relaxing day and the perfect follow up to the *good luck* we had the night before...


Good Luck: Simply put, Friday night was amazing. I knew that there was no one way Dublin could be a bad trip because we planned to see Ben Folds, but this concert surpassed all my expectations. We ended up getting to the venue literally five minutes before they opened the doors, perfect timing. Since the place was pretty small, it was all standing room and we got to be in the second row. While Ben was playing I could literally see the sweat on his face -- gross, but awesome!! The concert went by too quickly, he played so many great songs. Afterwards, we hung out for a little bit and talked to the guitarist... see yah in London, Ryan!

 

Sheltering Angel: I stayed (fo free) with one of my best friends and old roommate, Cass, for the weekend. I'm such a lucky gal, seeing Matthias last weekend and then Cass the next. She fed me some Magnum bars (yummm), showed me the lay of the land, and gave me a comfy place to sleep. 

Trying my first & last Irish Guiness with Cass... not my drink of choice

Laughter & Friends: Cass and I can always share a good laugh... its ironic that I'm talking about her in my blog considering blogs are the source of our endless entertainment. But also in the business program with Cass are two fellow VIPers (Volunteer Illini Projects, for those of you who do not know of the largest student-run, student-staffed volunteer organization on campus {free advertising}), so it was great to laugh with them too! And Chad was there to rep the Chi O-Sig Ep bond.

     

Whenever you Pray: I arrived in Dublin around 11am on Thursday, Cass and I went out to lunch & then I wandered around Dublin while she was in class. I tried to pretend like I was a local and strolled into St. Stephen's Park, which was so pretty. Dublin isn't that big so I kept on finding myself re-tracing my steps, but in those steps I found Christchurch Cathedral and a random Polish Cathedral that was actually really cool inside. I have yet to find a church that I haven't enjoyed going in to.

St. Stephens Park

Christchurch

Polish Cathedral

Other anecdotes:

Irish people are the friendliest people I've met so far. Even the bus driver was in a good mood and happy to help. Specifically at the Irish Pub though is where they show their full friendliness. On Thursday night a few Irish guys led us to Flannery's, a popular pub with a really fun young crowd. At said pub, you'd think the Irish guys would be flirting with the girls. Well, we did get our fair share of attention, but mostly it was Chad and another one of Cass's friend from Uni who the guys were excited about. "Chad" is apparently a really American name (I know one Chad...?) and so they were constantly taking solo pictures of him on their phone and asking to have pictures with him. I mean, I know he looks like NPH, but that doesn't mean he's a celebrity (they were probably just confused).

Saw the Book of Kells for free because a fellow Chi O is friends with a guy who goes to Trinity College and students get to bring guests. It was so interesting! My favorite part though was the big library after you see the book.... it has dark wooden walls and really high ceilings. Not quite as majestic as the scene in Beauty and the Beast, but the same idea that you get on those library ladders and can slide around and just pick out extremely old/important books. I love libraries almost as much as churches. 

 And that concludes my blessed Irish weekend!

Cheers!

Trip #3: Stockholm

To get to where we were staying the first night we had to:

1. Take a bus from UEA to the airport at 3am
2. Ryan Air flight to Skavsta Airport at 8:40am
3. Take bus from airport to Central Station (that got stuck in the snow for about 10 mins on the way)
4. Train from central station towards Marsta (get off after 2 stops)
5. Take 2 rights, go through the woods, up the stairs (before the tunnel), turn to the right and go up to the 7th floor

Now the last step might seem  a little strange, and that's because we decided on this trip to try something new and "coach surf" for a night. "Coach Surfing" is a social networking site that connects people all over the world and, if you want to, you can host people in your home/apartment for free. People have profiles and if you're hosting someone you have to get certified and meet with a coach surfing representative to make sure you're sane and you can also read reviews. We found a woman that seemed really nice and willing to have all four of us (which not many people were willing to do!)

Snowy forests on the bus ride into the city

Colin and I on the train to the apartment

Where our bus momentarily got stuck

We got to her apartment easily and were very proud of ourselves for following the candyland directions correctly. However, when we opened the door we were immediately greeted by two cats jumping around. I am personally not a fan of cats, I think they're creepy and if you're going to have an animal out of a cage, get a dog. Unfortunately for my friend Liz, her dislike for cats runs even deeper. She is about one step short of being dangerously allergic. So, we put our backpacks down and left nearly immediately to get some touristy stuff in as well as some cat-free air. 

That first night we walked around and tried to get our bearings of the city. I once again had the pressure on and was the fearless leader, so I valiantly led us in circles around the Museum we wanted to go in to a few times before we finally went inside. After the museum we walked around a bit more and then found a pub to warm up and get dinner at. I tried malt wine which is actually delicious! We were pretty exhausted from a long day of travel and wanted to get up early the next morning so after hanging out at the pub for a bit we made our way back to the apartment.

 Some pictures from our walks:

Buildings in Old Town

When we arrived back at the apartment, we were immediately attacked by a third cat! Just Liz's luck. Thankfully in the train terminal we stopped at a convenience store and she got some Claritin, so we didn't have to start planning her funeral. However the problem with these cats (and with cats in general) is that they had no boundaries, so their fur/etc. was over everything, making it very difficult for Liz to breathe. We ended up spending some quality time chasing the cats out of our room then closing the door to confine ourselves to a cat-free zone.

Colin attempting to get the cat out of our room

The next morning we woke up early and made our way to a clean environment! We found our hostel really easily and who is the first person I see when I walk through the door? Matthias!! It was so nice to see a familiar face. We had known we were both going to be in Stockholm/ staying at the same hostel but it was lucky that him and his friends were starting the day the same time as us.

Leading the way to the hostel

We set our bags down and then were going to go to the Medieval museum but it didn't open until noon so I went to a church while the gang went to a cafe to get some breakfast. After that, we met back up with Matthias and his friends and watched the changing of the guards at the royal palace. Matthias and I stood on a huge snow pile so we had the perfect view of the entire thing! It was freezing, but definitely worth it.

Our awesome viewing spot

Following the changing of the guards we went to the Royal Armory where we got to hold replicas of 15th century swords. We then made our way to the Vasa Museum that has a ship that sank in 1622 but they just gained the technology in the 60's to bring it up out of the water. It was an amazing museum that not only had the huge ship but a lot of other great artifacts and information about Stockholm and the time period of the 1600s. After the Vasa we took the tram back to central city, stopped in another cool church and then headed back to the hostel to shower/ get ready for the night.

In front of a replica of the ship

Saturday night we went to a Medieval Pub in Old Town (Gamla Stan) which was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. All the workers dressed up in medieval garb and the whole place was decorated like it was an old tavern in the Viking period. The food was delicious and it was great company too! A perfect way to end the weekend!

The group at the medieval pub

Reunited!

Sunday we had to make a sprinting finish to the bus leaving Stockholm to get to the airport but we made it in time and all was well! Another successful adventure!

Cheers.

Trip #2: Nottingham

The trip began with us foolishly thinking that 1. Megabus would leave from the bus station because 2. megabus was a bus. Well, we were wrong on both accounts because Megabus is in fact EastMidlands Trains and therefore leaves from the train station.

It was a very nice train...

So then we got confused because everyone else had actual print out tickets from a machine and all we had was the reference number from when we bought it online. We asked multiple people, looking like true morons and then just decided to hop on the train and hope for the best. At first Erica and I sat in someone else's reserved seat, so we had to awkwardly move; but the conductor ended up never asking us for our tickets, so we were happy campers. On the way home we asked a ticket vendor what was up and he explained that we actually did the right thing, that since we bought it online it was "ticketless travel." We quickly realized that this meant we could have just gotten on a train with nothing and claimed ticketless travel without paying, but we're better than that. 

Once we arrived it was about 8pm and we were starving! Unfortunately around 8 all the nice restaurants are packed and most of the decent ones are closed. So what did we do? Head to YoYo Noodle. It was either that or McDonald's so we decided to take the risk. And it was delicious! 

yummy stir fry

Sorry this is turning into a detailed play-by-play, I'll fast forward. 

On Saturday we went to Nottingham Castle and saw the Robin Hood Statue. 

And played some dress-up in the hood...

After the Castle we went to the oldest Inn/Pub in England. It is built into the hilly rocks that the castle is on so its basically a cave. 

Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem Inn

We then went to the Museum of Nottingham Life which had a section of caves you could go into that they used during WWII for protection from the bombings. Next we made our way to St.Mary's Church which was cool because we were the only ones in there... then we spent the rest of the day going to a few other historical sites, etc. and found some cute shops. 

Look, Memere! Whoopie Pies have gone international! Who knew there were so many variations.

Cool store

It was a great trip and definitely the perfect baby step for our adventure to Stockholm next weekend! 

Cheers.

Trip #1: Cambridge

My first official adventure outside of lovely Norwich was with a group of 50 other exchange students to historical Cambridge. The people at UEA in charge of the international students set up trips throughout the semester to various places around England and get really cheap rates -- this trip was only 15 pounds for everything!

We got to Norwich and were split up into three groups for the walking tour. It was pretty cold - apparently Cambridge is one of the coldest/dry-est places in England! Colin was feeling hard core and decided not to bring his coat, terrible move. The tour was two hours long and the entire thing was outside, needless to say he was bouncing around trying to stay warm the entire time.

Despite the cold, I really enjoyed the tour! Our guide was so nice and clearly really loved everything about Cambridge. He showed us around the main buildings of the University and other historical sites. One of my favorites was the Eagle Pub: it is where Crick and Watson announced their discovery of DNA.

Erica and I in front of the plaque about Watson & Crick's announcement

The pub is across the small street from the oldest church in Cambridge. When it was built it was a Catholic Church but is now currently a Saxon Church.

But what I thought was the best part of the pub was the back room.

Small History Lesson, courtesy of Roger, our tour guide:

During WWII the American airforce would fly during the day because they had "flying fortresses" that were thought to be able to withstand the enemy fire. The RAF would fly at night because their planes weren't as large/sturdy. Cambridge was a main base because it is easy to get in and out of so a lot of military men would spend time in the town, specifically at the pubs in town. The Eagle was one such pub.The Eagle is famous for housing the so-called RAF bar, named as such because the pub was popular during the Second World War with local RAF and American Army Air Corp personnel. It became custom for the pilots to burn their names, squadron numbers and messages to loved ones into the ceiling and walls of the pub using candles whilst standing on the shoulders of their fellow airmen... 

The Ceiling

Very cool, right!?

I also liked seeing the outside of a few of the Colleges there. The colleges are within Cambridge University and are kinda a mix between dorms/societies. Everyone gets their degree from the University, but it seems as though the College you are in really defines what your time at Cambridge will be like. Our tour guide was a member of Trinity College. 

The entrance to Trinity College

Established by Henry VIII (that's the fat guy in the middle) Trinity College historically is one of the richest colleges because it was funded by the King. The blank shield is for his youngest son who died before he could receive his coat of arms. You can't enter the Colleges unless you are a member or if you pay. Can you imagine people paying to see your dorm? Crazy. 

After the tour we got to explore Cambridge on our own for a bit so we immediately went inside and had a nice, warm lunch and took in all the knowledge with a nice, cold drink.

Hope you enjoyed the history lesson!

Cheers.

All the Small Things

Here are a series of things I have learned/noticed in Norwich thus far:

Part of UEA's pretty, sunny campus! Those weird looking buildings are dorms, they were made in the 60s and considered historical so they can't be changed at all. They add some character, no?

The markets in downtown Norwich... they have literally anything and everything you could think of. Lots of clothes, shoes, accessories, etc. As well as all types of food stands, dead fish, alive fish, cheese and the works. We got lunch there for only one pound! The only cheap thing in England. 

My chinese flatmate gave me an early Chinese New Years gift today. He doesn't really speak much English so I'm not entirely sure what the meaning behind the gifts are. I did manage to (I think) understand that the little charm on the left is "popular" in Shanghai so if I make it there at least I'll fit in. This made me forgive him a little bit for watching cartoons and laughing so loudly I can hear him through the wall... at 3 in the morning.

Instead of people saying "how are you?" when they see each other they you "You aright?" If you respond "Good, how are you?" out of habit, they'll look at you funny.

Aluminum is pronounced Al (like in Aladdin) - oo (like oohlala) - min - e - um. And commercials are called "adverts" and "chav" is white trash. This taught me that it is slightly accurate when red necks say "Speak American!" because it truly is different.

Table football is considered a sport and has a club team.

Dogs are more sophisticated and don't need leashes. They don't even run after you if you run by them!

Norwich still has the old Roman wall that went around the city - Erica, Myself and Liz are just helping it stand for a little longer!

Little hot pocket sandwich things are called "pasties" and are especially delicious with "chips." Liz, Colin and I enjoying an English meal! And Colin looking quite posh drinking his tea.

That's all I can think of for now! 

Cheers.

Clubs, Classes and the Chinese

Now people might think I'm kidding, but I was very serious when I said I was going "clubbin." The names of the clubs here give you fair warning that you're basically walking into a scummy place, but they are fun nonetheless. One particularly popular one in town is called "Mercy" with a woman swinging on a pole as part of the sign.. I have yet to have the pleasure of going there but I'm definitely looking forward to it. The only one I've been to as of yet is on the UEA campus and it is called the LCR. It is crowded and hot but the place to be. When a particularly ragin' song comes on instead of grinding the students here "mosh" which is just jumping up and down and side to side into each other. It looks dangerous, and it is. Personal space is not valued.

I had my first class today! Creative Writing. I'm with all third years which was a little intimidating because they are all planning their first novels or consider themselves "artists." One guy in my class has actually published some of his short fiction. I, on the other hand, certainly do not consider myself an accomplished writer and do not forsee any movies being made of my fabulous stories so I feel a little over my head. Nevertheless, my professor was very nice as were the students in my class so I'm looking forward to the course. She also didn't know I was an American at first! So my Chicaaaaago accent must not be too harsh.

Not everyone may know this, but freshman year I took the chance of getting a random roommate. I had visions of meeting my best friend and partner in crime. Alas, that did not happen and I was placed with a girl directly from Korea. She was very nice, but not the companion I was hoping for. It seems as though I go where the Asians go, or possibly vis versa, because the first flatmate I met was a foreign exchange student from China. Apparently UEA has the most Chinese foreign exchange students in the whole UK! Lucky me...? She seemed very nice and I actually have another Chinese flatmate who the other flatmates just call "Chinese guy" because they still don't know his name (he was there all last semester...). The rest of my flatmates are all Brits and very nice.

Cheers.

The Troubled Traveler

5 airports : I was originally supposed to go from Chicago to Dulles to Amsterdam to Norwich. Ended up having to put Frankfurt in there for some added cultural experiences.
4 strangers: 2 Cowboys, 1 Military Man and 1 Asian Child. (And some random other stranded abroad students in between) The two cowboys were in Chicago going to Dulles to catch a connecting flight to Rome. What would cowboys do in Rome, you may ask? Well, despite the boots, hats and grey stylish beards, I believe that they would have looked like naturals drinking fine Italian wine with the Mc-a-D's they were chowing down on. Classy Cowboys. The guy in the military sat next to me on the plane to Frankfurt. He was a talker and oddly friendly. Offered to let me sleep on his shoulder - thanks, but no thanks. Most likely he felt bad for me because I told him my delayed saga of the first part of the trip... he went to culinary school and worked in mass production for Whole Foods for a while until he realized he could be doing something better with his time, so he signed himself up. He's originally an Ohio country boy and had never left the country before but was going to be in Germany for three years and spend the summers in Afghanistan. So he's going to cook in Germany and then be the normal infantry in Afghanistan. The Asian Child sounds weird, and he was. I was sitting close to the entrance of the bathroom charging my computer and using the free internet in Amsterdam when he ran out and then up to me. Where were his parents? No idea. He definitely had some built up energy because he was making all sorts of noises and running around back and forth in front of me. We exchanged a high five after a he tripped over his own shoes but got up valiantly and then he ran away. Not exciting, but made me smile.
3 delays : Plane leaving Chicago was delayed two hours, making me miss my connecting flight in Dulles. New plane leaving Dulles was delayed almost two hours (thanks, de-icing team) missing my next connecting flight. Frankfurt to Amsterdam was only slightly delayed so thankfully I didn't miss anything. Sitting next to noisy Italians was quite an experience though...
2 tears : I never cry. Nevertheless, being alone in airports is apparently my weakness. The first time was just some watery eyes in Dulles when I ran to my gate and found the plane to have already left. That was cleared up once I made my new reservation. Then came missing my connecting flight to Amsterdam in Frankfurt. I walked over to a gate area that was relatively empty, set down my bags and let the tears all out -- no shame.
1 bag : Ah, after all the messiness of new flights, delays, etc. what I really needed was one more set-back and lucky me, I got it! When I arrived in Amsterdam I went to the baggage claim to pick up my bag to transfer it to be in Delta's system to Norwich. But alas, I was left waiting there with those two noisy Italians who were equally as disappointed in our bad luck. Shuffled over to the lost baggage room and made up the report, the Germans let me down yet again and had failed to put the bag on my flight.
O regret: Yeh, this is a cheesy number. But I'm loving my time here! Despite the setbacks, I am really enjoying myself. I met a few friends at the international student's orientation and I've started to settle in. We've explored the campus and the surrounding city and have enjoyed a Strongbow at the Pub. Tomorrow we're going out with a few UEA students to party at the club on campus - the LCR. Should be ragin'. The campus is much prettier than UofI and I'm looking forward to running around the lakes and parks here.

Cheers.