Advertisement
Published: February 5th 2007
It's been almost two days since my arrival, and I am loving this place already. Let me start at the beginning...
Friday, February 2:
My mom, sister and I drove to Fort to carpool to Chicago with Anna and her parents. We thought we'd be late, but of course we got to the airport several hours early. Checking in wasn't a problem...unless you count my 15-pounts-overweight luggage! I already knew I would have to pay the $50 fee, though, so it was OK. Much cheaper than shipping it all, I discovered when I called the post office. Besides, my beautiful hot-pink luggage (birthday present!) is heavy-duty and very heavy!
Saying goodbye to Mom and Andrea got a little emotional - I hate goodbyes! I cried for this one, of course, but had also teared up when I said goodbye to my friends...to my dad...to my brother...to my grandma...to my dogs... I can't help it if I'm sentimental! We met Alex, Maddie, Victoria and Matt (others from EC) at the gate, boarded our plane without incident, and were soon on our way.
I had never been on such a huge jet, with the two aisles, but it was surprisingly not a very full flight. I had an aisle seat in one of the groups of two seats. Three of the girls were sitting together, and there was an empty seat next to them, so the flight attendant said I could move. I went up there, but the girl with the empty seat next to her (I won't name her) told me to go back because she wanted it to herself. I thought this was very rude and selfish - especially the way she said it - because if I was in her place, I would be more than happy to share an empty seat with a girl that was stuck several rows back! I sat next to a cranky, middle-aged British man instead, who had the window seat, and endured a rather umcomfortable six-hour flight. The good things: decent food (pretzels for a snack; pasta, salad, roll, cake and milk for dinner; fruit and a hot crossiant for breakfast), a movie to watch (Marie Antoinette, I chose) and a quick flight. The mini-TV screen even had a map that showed our plane and where it was in the air, so I could watch our progress across the country and then the Atlantic.
I tried to sleep with my i-pod on, but was to wound up and cramped to do more than doze. Freshened up in the tiny bathroom (I don't recommend it) and before we knew it, we were in England! Just before 11 a.m. their time, but it felt like 5 a.m. Wisconsin time.
Saturday, February 3:
We got off the plane and I tried to be really upbeat and happy with the group, but the others weren't too awake. I was just excited to finally be there! But there was still a ways to go. We had to show our passports and letters of acceptance to Winchester, to prove who we were and why we were there, but none of us had a problem. Claimed our luggage - I was sad to see my brand-new suitcases banged up and dirty! - and I exchanged some traveler's checks for enough English pounds for the weekend. $40 = about 16 pounds and change. :-(
Next, we followed the signs for the Central Bus Station, which felt like MILES away with all our bags! Downhill and down long hallways with, of course, broken moving sidewalks. It was all indoors, and I got very hot and dizzy, falling over at one point when I thought I would pass out. Two of the girls (again, I won't name them) were impatient and tried to speed walk this entire time - but they had carts for their luggage! Maddie and I were having a hard time, because mine was so heavy and the wheel was broken (from the airline) on one of her bags. Matt was very nice and kept waiting and offering to help.
We finally made it to the bus station and bought coach tickets to Winchester - just over 13 pounds. It was about a half hour wait, and we just chilled on benches inside. Outside, it felt like springtime! Such a welcome relief after subzero temperatures, plus windchill, back home in Wisconsin. To the Brits, I'm sure it's their cold season, but for us, it felt wonderful.
The coach driver took our tickets and loaded our luggage under the bus. It threw me off to get on the bus from the left-hand side! I claimed a window seat and was able to put my carry-on bags next to me, since the bus only had a few people on it. The ride was only about an hour long. I tried my best to stay awake!! But it was just a boring interstate/highway/whatever they call it here. The interesting part was the driving on the opposite side of the road, and the herd of sheep grazing just yards from the 6-lane highway, haha. But that view didn't last long, and my exhausted body fell asleep.
I woke up as we slowed down, just in time to see the stark transition from familiar highway to the quaint town of Winchester. The buildings, roads, sidewalks, people - everything is so cool! I LOVE the old architecture and the winding roads.
We got off the bus and felt...dumped. What next? We kind of wandered down the road, with people staring at us, as the bus drove away. I took charge and went in a pub to ask them to call a taxi for us. The British guy couldn't understand me very well, but got the message and soon a van drove up. The driver was very friendly, joked around with us a lot, and made fun of me for going around the vehicle when he asked me to get in the front seat, because the passenger seat was on the left side!
The drive to campus wasn't very long, maybe five minutes. Only four of us were able to get in the first taxi (so much luggage!) so the other two, plus this creepy Spanish guy we met, waited for the next one. We were dropped off at Main Reception, signed in and got our Winchester IDs/meal cards and keys to our rooms. Anna and I are both in Alwyn West (there's an East and Middle, also, and Matt's here, too), while Victoria and Alex are in St. Lizzie's and Maddie ended up down the hill at Beechwood Glade. The dorms are rather spread out and tucked away, but I think ours is the best location and best people. An international student - he was Asian - took us to our dorm, and lugged my biggest suitcase! Once there, some other students appeared out of nowhere to enthusiastically greet us and grab our bags. So friendly! I was very overwhelmed and tired, but they made me feel VERY welcome. My room is on the second floor, but I take four short staircases because there are subfloors.
I love my room! The key to get in is old-fashioned-looking, and kind of awkward, but I don't mine. It's my own room, at least! The bed is narrow, and the bedding they provide is kind of ugly, but I just covered it with my Eau Claire blanket and pushed it against the wall, so it is just fine. There is a small desk, no drawers, but it has a lamp, and a bookshelf that is very sturdy and nice. There are two closets - one is a closet, and the other is a sink! Very cool; I love having that in my room - it's so much more convenient then you would think. There is also a lowset dresser with four drawers and nice space to spread out cosmetics. The old windows (no screens!) all open out and I have an AWESOME view of the campus, looking out over the tennis courts and beyond. The heater is also rather old, but keeps my room at a perfect temperature, so far. I also LOVE the corkboard behind the desk - it was quickly filled with all my pictures from home (mostly of the dogs, haha.)
The bathroom is like that of a normal house, and it's just down the hall. A single room with a toilet and a sink - no TP and soap, you provide your own. The shower is next door - just one shower, behind a door that you lock, and lots of people keep their shower things in it. Kind of dirty, I thought, and I won't keep my things in there, but I like how it's private. Tiny, though - I can't even turn around in it!
The hallways remind me of a hotel - four doors clustered near each other, then a space. There are three stretches of hallway with two kitchens spaced in between - dirty, smelly kitchens, but they work! The dorms aren't divided by gender, and neither are the hallways - so in my cluster of four rooms, there's three girls and one guy. Kind of strange!
Between unpacking, I was interrupted by people knocking on my door to meet me, and then bringing their friends by to meet me! Having an American seems to be an exciting event for them, since they had some last semseter and now we are replacing them in those rooms. A girl named Carrie lived in mine, I guess, and she left some toilet paper, an adapter and a broken Internet connection for me. I'm working on getting the last thing fixed - for now, I'm hooked up in Anna's room. There is also a huge Winchester calendar, with things written in by the previous owner, but room for me to mark out this term.
I unpacked and then met a bunch of Americans at 4:30 for a trip downtown. It was dark, and I was tired, so it was hard to keep track of where we were, exactly, and how we got there! We went shopping for essentials at a pound store (like a dollar store - except, of course, it's $2 to the pound...) and a mini-mall. The mall has this store called Argo's, where you just find what you want in a catelouge (electronices, home stuff, etc.), write down the numbers, pay for it, and then they bring it out of the back room for you! So strange! I got a cheap hairdryer, since I didn't bring one because of the outlets here. I also bought TP at the pound shop. The other Americans we met are pretty nice, some from Missouri and Maine. One girl that lead us around is from California but chose to do all of her college work at Winchester because it was cheaper!
We split up later, with a handful of us going to a pub called Foster's with an Irish student named Kathy - very sweet, mature and kind. First, though, we stopped and got some chips (french fries!) with salt and vinegar (actually, not too bad-tasting...) at a small shop, and I got fish to go with it. At the pub, I ordered a beer - just because I could! - and actually enjoyed it, though I usually don't like beer. The taste is a lot better, I think. The other people with us were: Anna, Matt, Maddie, a girl named Mary from Maine, Maddie, a guy named Cale, and a guy named Jay from Texas, but goes to school in Maine.
We were so dead tired after that! I sent out an e-mail from Kathy's room and fell into bed a little after 8:00. There were loud people in the hall, many pounding on my door for me to go out with them, but I wasn't able to drag myself from bed. Stuck my i-pod buds in my ears and was out in minutes...that is, until the fire alarm went off at 4:00 a.m.!!! I was so confused, and didn't know where I was - it took a few minutes to get oriented and pull on shoes, glasses and a coat - all the students were like "Welcome to England" while we were huddled outside - apparantly, this happens quite often. Oh, great. Still, 14 hours of sleep wasn't bad...
Sunday, February 4:
Woke up to my travel alarm clock (thank you, Nick!) at 10:15 a.m. and met some other girls for breakfast after a quick shower. It's so nice outside! A little cool for the shirt I chose, but beautiful nonetheless. We ate at the cafeteria - SO different from Eau Claire. First off, you pay by the item. No joke - every sausage or piece of toast has a price by it! I got sausage, a crossiant, an egg, orance juice, cereal/milk - the total was 2 pounds and change. I used my meal plan card; we get 35 pounds/week to use at the caf and the canteen. Should be an interesting semester, foodwise...not the best tasting, and rather expensive!
After lunch, we walked downtown. So much better in the daylight! We walked by all the places we were last night, but could now actually appreciate the city and the sites. There's a shortcut we take, while on campus, through this cemetery! Not even creepy, but beautiful, especially with all the shadows and ancient tombstones. Anyway, downtown - we bought more supples (I got laundry soap, water bottles, a laundry basket, and more hangers) and two of the girls got cell phones with pay-as-you-go plans. Not for me! - waaaay to expensive, and not really worth it when I have Internet access and a phone in my room. It's only 4 1/2 months!
Back on campus, we planned to chill until suppertime, but some people on my floor convinced me to go to a pub (The Exchange) for the big football game (haha...you thought I meant the Super Bowl...they actually don't care about that, and football here = soccer! Not American football...) So I watched a full SOCCER game in that pub, surrounded by TONS of pepple, mostly male British students (hehe) - even saw Chris London, who went to school at EC last year, most people can't stand him, here - and tried to appreciate the sport!
(Actually, I thought rugby, which was on before the football game, was more interesting - like American football, but no pads and a lot rougher and more free - makes our players look like wusses!)
During the game, the bartender told us we had to order drinks or lose our seats, because it was so crowded, so I got a rum and coke. She asked for my ID, so I pulled out my American driver's license and showed her where the date-of-birth was - and she still thought it was so weird that she had to pass it to a half dozen guys at the bar to verify it! So embarrassing! But I got my drink - delicious. She said I should just bring my passport from now on.
After the game, we went to Wetherspoon, a bar/restaurant that is very reasonably-priced, with a bunch of people. (The students I've been talking about today are: me and Anna, along with Mark, Laura, Nicolet, Emma, Jess from my floor, Reg from across the hall from Anna, Nicolet's boyfriend, Chris, and a girl named Betsy that lives near Anna, also, and is American. Also, some other girls that I was never properly introduced to.)
I had a Southern chicken baguette, chips (fries!) and water - with the last four pounds I had! Delicious, anyway, and I even got some of Nicolet's chocolate cake, which is AMAZING at that place. We stayed there for about two hours, I think. The place must have been popular, because they were running out of food so our selection was limited, and they stopped serving food RIGHT after our table. You go to the bar, order and pay, give them your table number, and they bring the food out. No tipping is necessary. We had fun, though, I love the funny stories and attitudes these Brits have! We had to sit at separate tables, but still had fun. They like to imitate our accents and talk about the differences in our cultures.
We walked back - nice night, not as cold as these guys keep complaining, I live in Wisconsin!! - using the shortcuts. The cemetery is cool, even at night, not creepy. I hooked up my Internet in Anna's room, but got side-tracked when everyone from the dinner got together in Reg's room to watch The Truman Show with Jim Carey. Kind of boring... but nice to be invited and put in the crowded room and still feel at home.
So that's it! Now I'm finishing up this blog...it's midnight, here, but only about 6 p.m. at home. I'm hoping to talk to my family tonight, if we can figure out the phone situation.
Anyway, that's all for now. I love and miss everyone at home! Keep in touch, please!!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.038s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 10; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0193s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Robyn
non-member comment
i miss you!
Hey Em~ Well I'm soooo happy you guys got there ok and that you're enjoying yourself and people are being super friendly! I'm gonna send you an email cuz I don't have much time now to write you a whole lot (I'm actually at work...icky.) and I think I just about died when I read you're walking around in comfortable weather...we're talking about -36 degrees (w/ windchill) here and it seriously SUCKS. :( But....I DO have some good things to say about my weekend...:D so I'll keep you in suspense until I get around to emailing you and Anna! I miss you mucho, enjoy yourself and get used to the "wrong" side of the car! lol love always, robyn