pictures from nottingham

This cathedral-turned-pub/club is called the Pitcher and Piano. It's beautiful inside.During the Black Plague, people were quarantined inside the castle walls.

Robin Hood, the hero of Nottingham. Ooo-da-lolly!

Present-day Nottingham Castle is not original. The first one was burned during the English Civil War. After that, a duke built this monstrosity over where the main part of the ramparts would have been located. The little bridge in front is the original part of the castle that would have crossed the mote.

Oldest inn in England. Supposedly, every king since Richard the Lionhearted has eaten and drunk here.

Nottingham City Hall in City Centre.

I've been here for a week and met people from Florida, Illinois, New York, Louisiana, Ohio, South Carolina, England, Australia, Singapore, Korea, India, China, South Africa, Brazil, France and Chile.

I've also only seen the sun for about 5 to 10 minutes every day, no joke. It's quite gray here.

Today is the first time the sky has stayed blue for longer than that. :)

about the u.k.

queue: "stand in the queue to sign up for courses"
lift: "instead of the stairs, let's use the lift"
seminar and lecture: "I have lecture on Monday and seminar on Tuesday"
quid: "3 quid will get you into town"
cinema: "want to go see something at the cinema tonight?"
pint: "I'll take a pint of Strongbow"
potato sauce: " I need some potato sauce for my fries"
fire brigade instead of fire company or fire trucks
Being on the 24-hour system
Taking the hopper bus all around campus
Walking into the little town of Beeston, which dropped right out of a Charles Dicken's novel
People driving on the wrong side of the car and road
Ordering airline tickets to Europe for 80 quid or less ($100)
Everyone has a pea coat and a pair of warm, fashionable boots
Everyone goes to the pub to hang out
Cutting up food very carefully and politely
Fresh Prawn flavored Pringles...one English cuisine I won't try
The obsession with at least two potato dishes at every meal...I've never seen the vegetable cooked in so many different ways
The metric system
Keeping windows open even though it's freezing outside
Huge electrical outlets

first impressions

Despite the school part, this experience has already been amazing.
Registration is awful. There are certain times we have to go to certain departments and wait in the longest queues to get specific classes which end up being full. It's very stressful. Hopefully tomorrow I can get that last class I need.
Mary Beth and I are booking tickets for Paris tomorrow for next weekend, her birthday, and are trying to convince everyone we meet to come with.
In fact, Louise from Brazil is probably going to come with. She was so disapointed to learn I couldn't speak Portuguese after hearing my heritage.
We're also trying to round up a guy to come with us for protection, but to no avail yet.
Today we walked to Beeston, right outside the campus (which is the size of Clarkesville), and found a few great boutiques and grocery stores, etc.
There was also an international students' get together at school and then we all went to a local pub, The Rose and Crown. I asked a Belgian aquaintance what beerI should get, knowing that I'd have to tell all to my dad. He suggested one called Strongbow...he said girls usually liked it. Well, I'm not much of a beer person, so I wasn't too enthusiastic. But I loved it! It tasted like a white wine.
I also tried my friend's ale...yuck! He said it was b/c it was warm, but I don't know...But this kid is so funny, just cracked me up the whole night. He's from Finland, but incredibly bright.
We stayed at the bar til 10, about an hour ago. I have a feeling I'll be at pubs quite a lot b/c they're common social meeting points. I love the atmosphere, though.
It's weird having a bar in my dorm and seeing young kids walking around with alcohol at school...not me, of course.
I love the variety of cultures here. I'm eating it up! One of my good friends is from Singapore and she has got such a personality. She makes faces like I do. haha Hopefully she's coming to Paris, too.
I miss my family and I miss everyone at Piedmont so much. :(
But as far as distractions go, this is the best! I already don't want to leave.

jan 25

Today was mucho interesting. And full. And surreal.
The plane ride was quick and enjoyable. I like planes!
Got to watch a movie, stretch out onto the seat next to me, and the turbulence was fun.
We even arrived early.
I almost hyperventhilated when the customs agent was looking at my nearly-expired passport.
But there weren't any issues.
I got my bags and then looked around the waiting area. Nobody from the school wearing bright t-shirts. I freaked out....inside.
Then I realized I needed to get to terminal 3. I accosted an airport info. person and he told me to get on the train. I couldn't find that for a while. Then I did and a lady said the train I was getting onto went to London. But another guy said it went to the terminals.
I must have asked 10 people if I was on the right train. I was.
By this time, I'm sweating from lugging two 50-pound bags through miles of airport.
And it got worse. The signs to terminal 3 would not end! It was like I was in a labrynth.
However, I did finally get to the arrival spot. No one from the school. So I spent half an hour
pacing the area. I finally sat down and was about to cry when I saw them across the room.
It was like a movie: so epic.
And that pretty much ends the drama.
Eventually, I got to my dorm, the cutest building that looks out over the quaintest campus.
And I finally feel calm and positive...myself again.