Hi everyone,
updating twice in one day. Oh well. So, we just played our first basketball game and we won! It was so fun, and I'm kind of sitting here in my own sweat right now because I had to tell everyone before I shower. We won 31 to 30 - so close! It brought back so many memories of being on the netball team in highschool, and the joy of winning and taking part and belonging to a team. I don't know when our next game is, but I'm looking forward to it.
Tomorrow I'm having a nice relaxing day...once class is over. No gym (I need a day off from it!), just a trip to the shopping centre to get my friends presents for their birthday. Back on it Saturday and Sunday, then I have a test on Monday...oh the joy.
They have Special K protein shakes over here....I thought that was weird.
anyway, TTFN.
xoxo
Thursday, 31 January 2013
Roses...
Hello :)
It's 2:10 in the morning here but I can't sleep so I thought I'd update. Everything is going pretty smooth :). Got loads of tests and assignments due in next week but I guess that's just that. Gotta get t done I suppose.
All my life is lately is work and gym, with maybe a few naps in between. My eating isn't that better, but I'm feeling okay now. Have done my ankle in however. Had to buy a support bandage for it, but I can still run on it. Walking is hard though, due to that and the fact that my thighs are killing me from all the running. Yesterday I did an hour and a half at the gym followed by an hour and a half of basketball practice. It was so much fun though, and we have our first match tomorrow which shall be...Erm...interesting. But fun.
Last night me, linett, mette, Scott and dec went to the ram for dinner and I had salmon and roasted veg which was so nice! After me, Scott and Linett went on karaoke, which was so embarrassing. We sang roses by outkast (me and linett) and we sounded so bad, but it was funny. Scott sang at last and he was awesome at it ^.^. We also went over the differences between American and British language, and it was funny to see Scotts reaction to some of the things we say...like Tarmac.
The weather here is just like home but without the snow :'). Rainy and cold...luckily I'm prepared for such things.
That's all there is for now. Going to Seattle next week which should be fun :).
TTFN.
It's 2:10 in the morning here but I can't sleep so I thought I'd update. Everything is going pretty smooth :). Got loads of tests and assignments due in next week but I guess that's just that. Gotta get t done I suppose.
All my life is lately is work and gym, with maybe a few naps in between. My eating isn't that better, but I'm feeling okay now. Have done my ankle in however. Had to buy a support bandage for it, but I can still run on it. Walking is hard though, due to that and the fact that my thighs are killing me from all the running. Yesterday I did an hour and a half at the gym followed by an hour and a half of basketball practice. It was so much fun though, and we have our first match tomorrow which shall be...Erm...interesting. But fun.
Last night me, linett, mette, Scott and dec went to the ram for dinner and I had salmon and roasted veg which was so nice! After me, Scott and Linett went on karaoke, which was so embarrassing. We sang roses by outkast (me and linett) and we sounded so bad, but it was funny. Scott sang at last and he was awesome at it ^.^. We also went over the differences between American and British language, and it was funny to see Scotts reaction to some of the things we say...like Tarmac.
The weather here is just like home but without the snow :'). Rainy and cold...luckily I'm prepared for such things.
That's all there is for now. Going to Seattle next week which should be fun :).
TTFN.
Friday, 25 January 2013
Teaching Penny Physics.
Hello :)
I haven't updated in a while, but I have been pretty busy. I dropped a class today, so I should hopefully have a little more free time, but still, 3 classes have me doing plenty of work.
I am exhausted.
I'm very happy talking about this: about the fact that eating and food and stuff sometimes becomes difficult for me. I've noticed that it's usually when a big change happens, or something like that. The same thing happened when I first moved to Aberystwyth. I've been to the gym nearly everyday for 2 weeks, for 2 hours, running or sprinting on the treadmill and doing weights and the cross-trainer and stuff, which would all be fine if I wasn't living on 2 boxes of raisins and a slice of pizza a day. I mentioned in an earlier post how I don't let food get to me...well, I'm about to be a hypocrite here.
Today for lunch I made myself go to the canteen and buy a half wrap with turkey, cheese and salad and mayo and stuff inside, and a salad. I cut into the wrap and ended up pulling all the turkey out, scraping off whatever was on it, and having it with the salad. I didn't even finish the salad. I feel really full, like uncomfortably full. In the back of my mind I know I'm tired and that my legs are killing me. I'm barely able to move, but I can't bring myself to eat over a certain amount or have more than one day off from the gym (I've decided not to go today, but Im still forcing myself to walk to Safeway and back, and go to the gym tomorrow and Sunday). Luckily, my work isn't suffering because of it, and I'm no where near a stage where this is serious (or looks serious...I mean this is weird...but not noticeable). Normally I feel a little better about things once I'm more settled in, I guess it is only the second week.
But that's that. It's what's going on right now, and I don't want anyone to think on it. This always happens, and I don't regret writing this. I'll let you know how I feel in future posts.
Tonight is apparently a Margherita night just with the girls. I'll hopefully go for the company ^.^ cause after last week taquila is the last thing on my mind O.o.
I'm missing home still too, but I guess that can't be helped. Other than the tiredness and the homesickness Im okay :) and I'm thinking about signing up to visit the hot springs, and maybe go skiing or snowboarding! Yeah, I'll post some pictures soon.
Till then
xoxo
I haven't updated in a while, but I have been pretty busy. I dropped a class today, so I should hopefully have a little more free time, but still, 3 classes have me doing plenty of work.
I am exhausted.
I'm very happy talking about this: about the fact that eating and food and stuff sometimes becomes difficult for me. I've noticed that it's usually when a big change happens, or something like that. The same thing happened when I first moved to Aberystwyth. I've been to the gym nearly everyday for 2 weeks, for 2 hours, running or sprinting on the treadmill and doing weights and the cross-trainer and stuff, which would all be fine if I wasn't living on 2 boxes of raisins and a slice of pizza a day. I mentioned in an earlier post how I don't let food get to me...well, I'm about to be a hypocrite here.
Today for lunch I made myself go to the canteen and buy a half wrap with turkey, cheese and salad and mayo and stuff inside, and a salad. I cut into the wrap and ended up pulling all the turkey out, scraping off whatever was on it, and having it with the salad. I didn't even finish the salad. I feel really full, like uncomfortably full. In the back of my mind I know I'm tired and that my legs are killing me. I'm barely able to move, but I can't bring myself to eat over a certain amount or have more than one day off from the gym (I've decided not to go today, but Im still forcing myself to walk to Safeway and back, and go to the gym tomorrow and Sunday). Luckily, my work isn't suffering because of it, and I'm no where near a stage where this is serious (or looks serious...I mean this is weird...but not noticeable). Normally I feel a little better about things once I'm more settled in, I guess it is only the second week.
But that's that. It's what's going on right now, and I don't want anyone to think on it. This always happens, and I don't regret writing this. I'll let you know how I feel in future posts.
Tonight is apparently a Margherita night just with the girls. I'll hopefully go for the company ^.^ cause after last week taquila is the last thing on my mind O.o.
I'm missing home still too, but I guess that can't be helped. Other than the tiredness and the homesickness Im okay :) and I'm thinking about signing up to visit the hot springs, and maybe go skiing or snowboarding! Yeah, I'll post some pictures soon.
Till then
xoxo
Monday, 21 January 2013
Malibu Red and Rum Soaked Ham
So on Saturday me and 4 others went to Portland for the day. The sun decided to shine and it was lovely, still cold, but lovely. Portland is a nice city bar the tons of homeless people, and I mean tons. It was actually kind of sad to see how many people there were who had no place to go. Also, next to voodoo doughnuts (where we went to buy 36 doughnuts ... I don't even like doughnuts) there was a theatre that was showing hentai. Now, it's weird enough watching that kind of thing on your own...let alone in a room full of people.
Anyway, we also visited a science museum which was really cool. It had a few exhibits and fossils and little experiments you could do yourself. There was this puzzle thing where you had to balance like 10 nails on one nail. I couldn't for the life of me figure that one out.
We stopped for pizza before going home, where Scott proceeded to write his name with the grease. I kid you not there was a lot of it. Never mind. It tasted nice.
On the evening we went to another frat party which was completely different to the one the night before. The people there were much friendlier, and I was much drunker so I was more friendly too, haha. The strangest thing I've come across in a while made its appearance. Rum soaked ham. I've had many a night out, and I know we makes crazy concoctions like vodka or sambucca jelly, jelly babies soaked in vodka or vodka haribo....but ham?!! Ham?!? Disregarding the weirdness it was kind of tasty, but I don't know who say in a room and came up with that idea. It must have happened during shower thinking time, or in a dream.
Today it's MLK day, so most of my classes are cancelled. I still have my morning class though, which is what I'm now waiting for (updating on my phone forgive my mistakes). I'm here super early because I had to go and see my advisor about dropping a module. Too much work otherwise. She normally has her doggy with her but he wasn't there today. Boo!
Ill update this with photos when I can. For now, TTFN. Xoxo
Anyway, we also visited a science museum which was really cool. It had a few exhibits and fossils and little experiments you could do yourself. There was this puzzle thing where you had to balance like 10 nails on one nail. I couldn't for the life of me figure that one out.
We stopped for pizza before going home, where Scott proceeded to write his name with the grease. I kid you not there was a lot of it. Never mind. It tasted nice.
On the evening we went to another frat party which was completely different to the one the night before. The people there were much friendlier, and I was much drunker so I was more friendly too, haha. The strangest thing I've come across in a while made its appearance. Rum soaked ham. I've had many a night out, and I know we makes crazy concoctions like vodka or sambucca jelly, jelly babies soaked in vodka or vodka haribo....but ham?!! Ham?!? Disregarding the weirdness it was kind of tasty, but I don't know who say in a room and came up with that idea. It must have happened during shower thinking time, or in a dream.
Today it's MLK day, so most of my classes are cancelled. I still have my morning class though, which is what I'm now waiting for (updating on my phone forgive my mistakes). I'm here super early because I had to go and see my advisor about dropping a module. Too much work otherwise. She normally has her doggy with her but he wasn't there today. Boo!
Ill update this with photos when I can. For now, TTFN. Xoxo
Saturday, 19 January 2013
Frats + Sober = no.
So today was my first experience of a truly American Frat party. Needless to say, total sausage fest! The house was packed, like literally, there was barely any room to move. It was one of those parties that you needed to pre-drink before. I was sober as a judge and just got annoyed with all the drunk girls (whether im in America or Britain I will always hate drunk girls if I don't know them) and everyone else was drunk so it was difficult to talk to any of them. Luckily I had my other friends to keep me company, haha, I just felt like such a bore.
American house parties are kind of like the ones you see in movies. Depending where you are. Obviously here in Oregon it isn't full of people jumping in pools and stuff like that, but its full of American drunk people dancing. There was a girl grinding on a guys lap for like ten minutes. I've haven't even seen that in Britain like come on girl have some dignity!
Oh well, like I said, you really have to be drunk to truly enjoy them. It's a sad fact. Tonight I did have one and a half beers. I don't normally like it but it's not too bad over here. I couldn't drink it all the time though. Definitely not. I was so tired I just wanted to get into bed, haha, what a party poop. I miss Malibu :').
Anyway, that's all I had to report. Ill update on the next party I go to. They're so different to UK outings. Probably cause I feel so damn young!
xoxox
American house parties are kind of like the ones you see in movies. Depending where you are. Obviously here in Oregon it isn't full of people jumping in pools and stuff like that, but its full of American drunk people dancing. There was a girl grinding on a guys lap for like ten minutes. I've haven't even seen that in Britain like come on girl have some dignity!
Oh well, like I said, you really have to be drunk to truly enjoy them. It's a sad fact. Tonight I did have one and a half beers. I don't normally like it but it's not too bad over here. I couldn't drink it all the time though. Definitely not. I was so tired I just wanted to get into bed, haha, what a party poop. I miss Malibu :').
Anyway, that's all I had to report. Ill update on the next party I go to. They're so different to UK outings. Probably cause I feel so damn young!
xoxox
Thursday, 17 January 2013
Fight for the right to party.
Good Evening! (Or morning as it is in Britain)
Not much to report again, seriously, work is taking over my life! My days consist of going to classes, going to the gym and then doing homework. I have no social life, haha. We're all going to Portland on Saturday though, which will be nice. At least it's a day off before starting all the work I will have to do on Sunday. I'm thinking about dropping one of my courses as I only need to do 3, but I'm going to take some time to think about it. I just want a smaller workload.
Anywho, tonight loads of the guys and girls have gone to The Ram for pint night. It's so strange being here, it's like I've gone back in time. It's been legal for me to drink in Britain for 2 years, but here I can't. It's a bit rubbish really, cause you feel like you're really missing out on many social events. Never mind though, at least when I get home it won't be a very expensive night out for me.
The only thing other than work I seem to be doing here is going to the gym, and today I realised how much I enjoy watching Basketball. I got so into Oregon vs Florida tonight on ESPN, that I didn't notice myself listing lazily to the left of the treadmill, until I almost fell off it. I swear I am just a walking embarrassment. The other day I caught my headphones with my arm whilst running, which caused my ipod to drop on the belt of the treadmill and run off on to the floor. The girl next to me laughed. It was embarrassing. Also, I swear I always pick the wrong time to accidentally make eye contact with boys. I swear they think I'm watching them workout....sometimes I'll admit, yes, I am....but not ALL the time. I seriously should just go live under someone's stairs.
I hear everyone at home is expecting snow? Well, time for the whole of England to come to a stand still then. Here it's just really damn cold! I find myself almost sprinting from building to building because it's so cold. Bring on the summer!
All in all though it's going okay. I've been feeling a little homesick the last two days, but I'll get over it I'm sure, or maybe I'll buy myself some Oreos and eat and be merry.
If only someone could email me my cat </3.
xoxo
Not much to report again, seriously, work is taking over my life! My days consist of going to classes, going to the gym and then doing homework. I have no social life, haha. We're all going to Portland on Saturday though, which will be nice. At least it's a day off before starting all the work I will have to do on Sunday. I'm thinking about dropping one of my courses as I only need to do 3, but I'm going to take some time to think about it. I just want a smaller workload.
Anywho, tonight loads of the guys and girls have gone to The Ram for pint night. It's so strange being here, it's like I've gone back in time. It's been legal for me to drink in Britain for 2 years, but here I can't. It's a bit rubbish really, cause you feel like you're really missing out on many social events. Never mind though, at least when I get home it won't be a very expensive night out for me.
The only thing other than work I seem to be doing here is going to the gym, and today I realised how much I enjoy watching Basketball. I got so into Oregon vs Florida tonight on ESPN, that I didn't notice myself listing lazily to the left of the treadmill, until I almost fell off it. I swear I am just a walking embarrassment. The other day I caught my headphones with my arm whilst running, which caused my ipod to drop on the belt of the treadmill and run off on to the floor. The girl next to me laughed. It was embarrassing. Also, I swear I always pick the wrong time to accidentally make eye contact with boys. I swear they think I'm watching them workout....sometimes I'll admit, yes, I am....but not ALL the time. I seriously should just go live under someone's stairs.
I hear everyone at home is expecting snow? Well, time for the whole of England to come to a stand still then. Here it's just really damn cold! I find myself almost sprinting from building to building because it's so cold. Bring on the summer!
All in all though it's going okay. I've been feeling a little homesick the last two days, but I'll get over it I'm sure, or maybe I'll buy myself some Oreos and eat and be merry.
If only someone could email me my cat </3.
xoxo
Tuesday, 15 January 2013
Diploma from the School of Hard Knocks.
Hi Everyone :).
Not much to report on todays entry other than the immense difference between academics and classes here in the US and in the UK/Wales. Classes started yesterday, and already I have to read 30 pages of a psychology text book by tomorrow, write 2 discussion questions on 3 poems and answer one of them by tomorrow, start a scrapbook (which I'm actually kinda looking forward to) and read an introduction to a poetry book by Thursday. It doesn't stop there. I have some classes 3 times and week, and others 2 times a week, and I get a new workload everyday. It's so different to at home, where I have 1 piece of work a week, maybe the maximum is 3. Not only that, but we have 3 page assignments due in after every section of the module.
It's really a shock for me, as someone who is used to doing all her work last minute and not worrying about it. We get marked on everything here, even our contribution to class discussions. At home, I admit, sometimes I miss lectures because it's raining or they're too early. Here, that is not an option. There are no lectures, only classes similar to seminars at home. Being there is compulsory unless you're dying or something. I'm hoping all this hard work will make me into a better student. Here's hoping.
I also went to the gym last night for the first time in ages. It was a struggle I'll admit. It's been so long, but I got there eventually and I'm going again once I've completed this entry. This very boring entry.
One other difference between cultures I have noticed here is again food/eating related. My friend from the Ukraine was explaining the differences between meal times at home and in the US. I know this already, but it's supposedly better for you to eat a big breakfast and a small dinner. I try not to take notice of all these things anymore because they just get to your head, and it's very dangerous for me, as well as many other girls and boys to think too much about what they eat. Things like how you shouldn't eat lighter lettuce, only dark greens, that Special K is very bad for you. Some people say you should work out for 20 minutes a day, some say half hour, some say one hour. Some say avoid carbs, some say moderation, some say egg yolks are bad and peanut butter is the best thing ever invented. It all tends to create people who feel inferior, confused...and sometimes even big headed just because they eat better and train better. Trust me, google fitblrs on Tumblr and you'll some across all of this. It all differs and no one really knows what they are talking about. That's why I try not to think about it anymore. It saves a lot of stress.
Sorry, I just kind of ranted there, but yeah, my friend said it was very unhealthy and that she's not used to eating big dinners and small breakfasts. It's all the same to me, however, I never really thought it made a difference when I ate. Maybe that's just me.
Till next time. xoxo
Not much to report on todays entry other than the immense difference between academics and classes here in the US and in the UK/Wales. Classes started yesterday, and already I have to read 30 pages of a psychology text book by tomorrow, write 2 discussion questions on 3 poems and answer one of them by tomorrow, start a scrapbook (which I'm actually kinda looking forward to) and read an introduction to a poetry book by Thursday. It doesn't stop there. I have some classes 3 times and week, and others 2 times a week, and I get a new workload everyday. It's so different to at home, where I have 1 piece of work a week, maybe the maximum is 3. Not only that, but we have 3 page assignments due in after every section of the module.
It's really a shock for me, as someone who is used to doing all her work last minute and not worrying about it. We get marked on everything here, even our contribution to class discussions. At home, I admit, sometimes I miss lectures because it's raining or they're too early. Here, that is not an option. There are no lectures, only classes similar to seminars at home. Being there is compulsory unless you're dying or something. I'm hoping all this hard work will make me into a better student. Here's hoping.
I also went to the gym last night for the first time in ages. It was a struggle I'll admit. It's been so long, but I got there eventually and I'm going again once I've completed this entry. This very boring entry.
One other difference between cultures I have noticed here is again food/eating related. My friend from the Ukraine was explaining the differences between meal times at home and in the US. I know this already, but it's supposedly better for you to eat a big breakfast and a small dinner. I try not to take notice of all these things anymore because they just get to your head, and it's very dangerous for me, as well as many other girls and boys to think too much about what they eat. Things like how you shouldn't eat lighter lettuce, only dark greens, that Special K is very bad for you. Some people say you should work out for 20 minutes a day, some say half hour, some say one hour. Some say avoid carbs, some say moderation, some say egg yolks are bad and peanut butter is the best thing ever invented. It all tends to create people who feel inferior, confused...and sometimes even big headed just because they eat better and train better. Trust me, google fitblrs on Tumblr and you'll some across all of this. It all differs and no one really knows what they are talking about. That's why I try not to think about it anymore. It saves a lot of stress.
Sorry, I just kind of ranted there, but yeah, my friend said it was very unhealthy and that she's not used to eating big dinners and small breakfasts. It's all the same to me, however, I never really thought it made a difference when I ate. Maybe that's just me.
Till next time. xoxo
Sunday, 13 January 2013
Do go chasing waterfalls.
So today was the last day of activities before classes start. We went the Silver Falls to do some hiking and the scenery there was so beautiful. It's home to black bears and mountains lions (not that we saw any) and was perfect for a leisurely walk. If it wasn't too far away I could go walking there everyday. We didn't see all of it, but the bits we did see were amazing. Plus, the cold weather made it even more spectacular as it created icicles and frozen waterfalls. I never thought of myself of a big nature fan for I spend 99% of my life inside on the computer, but I realise that it is nice to get out sometimes and see the fantastic spectacle that is nature.
Yesterday, we mainly went shopping. We visited a mall in Salem, which had many American stores that I just loved to visit, such as Target, Sears and Macys. I bought some perfume from Victoria's Secret, mainly because Candice Swanepoel advertises it, and I do admire her. Plus it smelt really nice. On the evening we were invited to a house party, and that was really a lot of fun. The Americans do party differently. They start really early, around 8ish, and they don't go out to clubs and bars like Europeans do. All of the American girls and boys, even the girls whose house it was, retired to bed around 1 - 2am at the latest, while 8 of us Europeans stayed awake dancing and having fun until around 3 - 3:30. It is kind of strange how different it is. We asked if there was any places to go and dance, and we were told there were very little places to go. Not that it matters, as here, I am underage.
It already seems like I have been here forever. I have got to know everyone pretty well, and today I met some of the people staying in my halls, who are the biggest nerds in the world...which I love. I watched One Piece today and I felt like this was where I had lived for a while. That I have been doing the same things but here in Oregon. Classes haven't even started yet, and I keep forgetting that I am actually here to work. Not only academically, but on my personality, my experience and even my health. The gym is free here after all, and I am definitely game for signing up for some outdoor activities, maybe even some sports. It will be nice to start making something of myself again, instead of being lazy :'). Maybe I'll get more confident, like the 12 year old girl on the opposite side of the Basketball Court 2 days ago, who danced to the music that was playing at half time, like Heath Ledger in 10 Things I Hate About You.
Although I am missing home a little right now, and tend to find myself longing to be in Aberystwyth watching TV, or with my family and my cat (who I miss terribly), I am settling in here, and I think my home sickness will go away soon, and I have so many plans to travels along to coast and see L.A and Seattle, that I think I will be too busy to think about other things. I want to do everything possible so when I go home I feel satisfied with my experience. I guess that's yet to be seen.
Till next time. :) xoxo
Yesterday, we mainly went shopping. We visited a mall in Salem, which had many American stores that I just loved to visit, such as Target, Sears and Macys. I bought some perfume from Victoria's Secret, mainly because Candice Swanepoel advertises it, and I do admire her. Plus it smelt really nice. On the evening we were invited to a house party, and that was really a lot of fun. The Americans do party differently. They start really early, around 8ish, and they don't go out to clubs and bars like Europeans do. All of the American girls and boys, even the girls whose house it was, retired to bed around 1 - 2am at the latest, while 8 of us Europeans stayed awake dancing and having fun until around 3 - 3:30. It is kind of strange how different it is. We asked if there was any places to go and dance, and we were told there were very little places to go. Not that it matters, as here, I am underage.
It already seems like I have been here forever. I have got to know everyone pretty well, and today I met some of the people staying in my halls, who are the biggest nerds in the world...which I love. I watched One Piece today and I felt like this was where I had lived for a while. That I have been doing the same things but here in Oregon. Classes haven't even started yet, and I keep forgetting that I am actually here to work. Not only academically, but on my personality, my experience and even my health. The gym is free here after all, and I am definitely game for signing up for some outdoor activities, maybe even some sports. It will be nice to start making something of myself again, instead of being lazy :'). Maybe I'll get more confident, like the 12 year old girl on the opposite side of the Basketball Court 2 days ago, who danced to the music that was playing at half time, like Heath Ledger in 10 Things I Hate About You.
Although I am missing home a little right now, and tend to find myself longing to be in Aberystwyth watching TV, or with my family and my cat (who I miss terribly), I am settling in here, and I think my home sickness will go away soon, and I have so many plans to travels along to coast and see L.A and Seattle, that I think I will be too busy to think about other things. I want to do everything possible so when I go home I feel satisfied with my experience. I guess that's yet to be seen.
Till next time. :) xoxo
Silver Falls.
The Group.
Pretty.
Icicles.
Shopping :)
Basketball.
Friday, 11 January 2013
Come On and Slam.
So I've just had a tour of the university and all it's components and I must say I am very impressed. First off, the gym here is free. FREE, and it's also open until 11pm. Now there is something that makes me willing to work out. The sports centre here is huge, and has yoga studios, a swimming pool, basketball courts (which I saw a boy practising in. He couldn't have been more than 10 years old yet he was making every basket. He was amazing), squash courts, football pitches. Everything. They also offer things to hire such as basketballs, snooker cues, tennis rackets etc for free, and a range of outdoor activities such as hiking ... and whale watching. There's so much to do here, I fear I may neglect my Tumblr blog.
We're all going to see a basketball game tonight. The Willamette Bearcats vs....some other team. I've yet to check. I'm so excited for it! I also can't wait for all the other students to come back from the holidays, so everything gets a bit more lively.
On the tour we were shown some trees. They were all in a circle and were really tall. They called them the star trees and said that if you have your first kiss under there, you will marry the person you kissed. How quaint. I will take a picture in good time.
After the tour I decided to take a walk to the shops to buy some conditioner and other necessities. Alas, it was then that I had my first experience of getting lost in Salem. I ended up walking around in circles feeling sorry for myself. I found no Safeway, and needless to say, I'm still without conditioner. I may have to ask where the shop is beforehand. I got to see some of the surrounding area though, and the walk was nice.
We're all going to see a basketball game tonight. The Willamette Bearcats vs....some other team. I've yet to check. I'm so excited for it! I also can't wait for all the other students to come back from the holidays, so everything gets a bit more lively.
On the tour we were shown some trees. They were all in a circle and were really tall. They called them the star trees and said that if you have your first kiss under there, you will marry the person you kissed. How quaint. I will take a picture in good time.
After the tour I decided to take a walk to the shops to buy some conditioner and other necessities. Alas, it was then that I had my first experience of getting lost in Salem. I ended up walking around in circles feeling sorry for myself. I found no Safeway, and needless to say, I'm still without conditioner. I may have to ask where the shop is beforehand. I got to see some of the surrounding area though, and the walk was nice.
Lots of Squirrels in Oregon.
I was cold this morning.
Cute scenery.
Someone printed the script to LOTR and put it on the notice board.
The occasional sun.
Till next time xoxo
Not Everyones Cup Of Tea.
So yesterday was my first day at Willamette University in Oregon, possibly the furthest location from my friends and family on the great island of Britain. So far, it hasn't really hit me that I am here. The weather is the same - wet, cold and foggy with the occasional (very occasional) sunshine, and I haven't really had time to go out of the University grounds and explore. I'm sure it is all to come in good time.
However, despite this, I have already experienced some of the culture shocks that one can anticipate when moving to a far off place. Not from the American though, oh no, we are indeed quite similar (although, I've never some across any British water bottles that feel it's necessary to include a 'this bottle contains 0 calories' label. Of course it does, it's water O.o). No, it was more from the other exchange students that I met when I arrived. There is a whole new and exciting range of homelands here such as France, Denmark, Finland, Australia and Hong Kong, and all of them can speak pretty much perfect English. It's sad, because I know very little people at home in the UK who can speak fluently in another language, and I plan to learn in the future. Whether a lazy girl like me will actually get round to it is yet to be seen.
Anyway, the first thing I found to be very different was that the girls and boys from other countries were all much older than I was, yet still at college/university studying. Two of the girls were 23, and they found it surreal that I was only 20. That was the first thing I found very interesting about different cultures. The main difference I saw though was when we went for dinner on the evening. We went to a sports bar. There was a different game on every channel. There was racing, basketball (the screen I frequently watched), football and so on. The food was kind of like that at a JD Wetherspoons. There was burgers, steak, fries, sandwiches, salads etc. Everyone ordered and it was normal, but when the food arrived it was a different story. Now, normally in America, when I have been before, I have noticed the large portions of food, but when my meal came, it looked no bigger than the amount of food you would normally get from a British restaurant. I had a turkey burger and fries. Nothing too fancy. I was ready to eat, having not eaten all day, but I noticed the faces of the other girls around me. They thought it was so much! Half of them only ordered a salad, but even they thought they were given an excess amount. I found this so weird, because I actually expected more. One of the girls started complaining that they must waste so much food, but I cleared my plate and was still hungry afterwards. Maybe I'm just a fatty, but I found it so surreal how they ate and drank in European countries. One girl started saying that she always had wine with her food, and it had been that way since she was 13, and on the way home that evening a girl from Russia complained that she disliked the food in America, because there were too many calories.
I may not have explained it very well here, but experiencing something as simple as eating dinner with people from different cultures can be so interesting. I've never thought of a burger and chips as something that is excess and 'a waste'. I always found that kind of meal to be normal when going to a restaurant. Maybe it's just me.
Today I even tried meatloaf for the first time (when I figured out that it in fact wasn't bread or toast), and I found it to be surprisingly nice, despite it's looks. I guess I was hungry though, it really takes it out of you to buy $200 worth of books. That's right, for my course I had to spend $200. Ouch.
That's it for now. I will add more of my adventures soon.
Cheeribye. xoxo
However, despite this, I have already experienced some of the culture shocks that one can anticipate when moving to a far off place. Not from the American though, oh no, we are indeed quite similar (although, I've never some across any British water bottles that feel it's necessary to include a 'this bottle contains 0 calories' label. Of course it does, it's water O.o). No, it was more from the other exchange students that I met when I arrived. There is a whole new and exciting range of homelands here such as France, Denmark, Finland, Australia and Hong Kong, and all of them can speak pretty much perfect English. It's sad, because I know very little people at home in the UK who can speak fluently in another language, and I plan to learn in the future. Whether a lazy girl like me will actually get round to it is yet to be seen.
Anyway, the first thing I found to be very different was that the girls and boys from other countries were all much older than I was, yet still at college/university studying. Two of the girls were 23, and they found it surreal that I was only 20. That was the first thing I found very interesting about different cultures. The main difference I saw though was when we went for dinner on the evening. We went to a sports bar. There was a different game on every channel. There was racing, basketball (the screen I frequently watched), football and so on. The food was kind of like that at a JD Wetherspoons. There was burgers, steak, fries, sandwiches, salads etc. Everyone ordered and it was normal, but when the food arrived it was a different story. Now, normally in America, when I have been before, I have noticed the large portions of food, but when my meal came, it looked no bigger than the amount of food you would normally get from a British restaurant. I had a turkey burger and fries. Nothing too fancy. I was ready to eat, having not eaten all day, but I noticed the faces of the other girls around me. They thought it was so much! Half of them only ordered a salad, but even they thought they were given an excess amount. I found this so weird, because I actually expected more. One of the girls started complaining that they must waste so much food, but I cleared my plate and was still hungry afterwards. Maybe I'm just a fatty, but I found it so surreal how they ate and drank in European countries. One girl started saying that she always had wine with her food, and it had been that way since she was 13, and on the way home that evening a girl from Russia complained that she disliked the food in America, because there were too many calories.
I may not have explained it very well here, but experiencing something as simple as eating dinner with people from different cultures can be so interesting. I've never thought of a burger and chips as something that is excess and 'a waste'. I always found that kind of meal to be normal when going to a restaurant. Maybe it's just me.
Today I even tried meatloaf for the first time (when I figured out that it in fact wasn't bread or toast), and I found it to be surprisingly nice, despite it's looks. I guess I was hungry though, it really takes it out of you to buy $200 worth of books. That's right, for my course I had to spend $200. Ouch.
That's it for now. I will add more of my adventures soon.
Cheeribye. xoxo
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