Well i would walk 500 miles, and I would walk 500 more.

Life is good! Sorry (again) for the delay in posts (again). I am just a busy bee. I will try to retrace my steps but will probs forget a few things. Well, Saturday we had a group trip to Windsor Castle. We took a coach bus there and our adviser Brit (who also happens to be a tour guide) had plenty of information for us on the way there and once we got off. I love how there is so much history here. Windsor was beautiful, absolutely stunning. It is the kind of castle every little girl thinks of when they hear stories of Princesses. It was so huge and the buildings seemed to go on forever. We got to take an audio tour through the royal apartments which was pretty amazing. The audio not so much, but the design and architecture and paintings were all incredible. Most people stopped playing the audio and walked through at their own pace, and I kept thinking that if Momma C was there, it would have taken me 12 more hours because she likes to soak up everything. We also got to see the changing of the guards which was cool for the first 5 minutes, but then got boring haha. It usually goes on for around 30 min, and I am thankful we weren't forced to watch the whole thing, although I am happy to say that I did see part of it. After spending a few hours in the castle, we got to walk around the town of Windsor which is so cute. It has little shops and cafes all down these small streets. We ate some fish and chips and had a pint at this pub that had some pretty good deals. Then Hannah and I branched off from the group and just walked around. We ended up finding a few stores that had some pretty good sales. I ended up getting some fierce black boots, a t-shirt, and some fun hoop earrings. Overall it was a successful shopping trip. And it was nice to be with someone who is chill and I can have fun with. Plusss we had these amazing shakes at this milkshake place that was kind of like coldstone, where you could add whatever you want into it. There was this middle school boy there who had starburst in his?!?! but he said it was good. I got boring ol' oreo and Hannah had strawberry cheesecake, both were extremely tasty. The bus ride home, I took a cat nap and was prepared for the evening. I made myself chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans for dinner. What a chef, I know. My roommates next year will be so lucky to have me. We ended up going out to a club that night and successfully riding the night bus home. Sunday, I did nothing basically- homework, life planning, daydreaming, the norm. Monday morning I had contemporary Britain and we talked about the British monarchy. It was really interesting and really insightful. The prime minister here, Gordon Brown, has more power over Great Britain then Obama has over the US. I had no idea, and the Queen basically doesn't do anything ahah which sounds terrible. She is an incredibly well informed person, but basically makes zero decisions. If parliament comes up with a law, she will sign it into action even if she disagrees with it. Because The House Of Commons is elected officials, and if she denies them- then she basically denies her people. The political process over here is fascinating to me. Anyway, Monday night we got to go to a play called 39 Steps. It was fantastic and I recommend it to anyone who is in London. It is a parody of Alfred Hitchcock films, which I didn't understand most of those jokes, but found it hilarious. 4 actors played over 120 roles and did so with vigor. I was sad to see it end, that's how much I enjoyed it. 2 thumbs up in my book. So Tuesday morning I get out of bed and ready for class. Go through all of the motions in a sleepy haze only to find out (after I drank my cup of coffee) that class was canceled. I was mad I woke up for nothing, because I could have used the extra sleep. Turns out our professor had to make an emergency dentist appointment. And this is the class where we talked about the stereotype that Brits have "bad teeth" ahhh irony how you make me chuckle. Anway, instead of going to class I didn't do anything- productive I know. Today, and I hate class on wednesdays, was actually not bad! Gender and Lit was still lame, but the book we had to read for this week was at least semi-bearable. I need to learn to control my opinions in that class because I think the teacher doesn't appreciate my outspokenness. I am too blunt, but oh well. I participated a lot today and out in some valid input- so maybe I am on her good side again? lets hope. After class I took a cat nap and walked the long walk back to my school building for art. Normally we go to different museums and check out exhibits, but today we had a lecture. I think everyone was not looking forward to it because before today, our professor seemed quiet and dull. His lecture was actually incredibly interesting. I am not an art person, by any means, but he made it seem like that was ok. I am also really excited to be learning about the Young British Artists, they were insane and a huge aspect to the art community. He showed us slides of their work and I was enthralled. Mainly because their entire goal was to disturb and shock their audiences. I also learned that our professor has worked with Jeff Koons, who is one of the biggest known artists today. I am now curious to hear his opinions about what we are learning about. I love it when a class surprises you, I did not see this one coming. Anywayyy sorry I bore you all with my silly stories. But if you take anything out of this entry it's to cheer for Chelsea tonight! They are my official football club that I am cheering for (only because that is Mark's team) I am gonna go to the Imperial Union tonight to watch the game, it should be insane with all of those hooligans there. My tummy is grumbling though, so I must leave.

CHEERS
xxxxxxx


ps. Happy Belated Australia Day!!
pps. Thank you Lindz for commenting on my posts, love you silly lady.

Life's candy and the sun's a ball of BUTTAH

Good afternoon! It is raining over here, and has been for awhile now. I don't even care, because the city still seems so pretty. These past few days have been a lot of fun. Tuesday morning I had my intro to pop culture class, and I love it. We talked about favorite music, and then watched a BBC documentary on the beginning of Blues in England. It centered around people like Eric Clapton and The Rolling Stones, and Hendrix- it was really interesting so see where they all came from and what influenced them. Some of the guitar playing was insane. The rest of the day I just did homework and hung around Kensington. I also video chatted with the family! I didn't even mind seeing ugly Bailey on the screen ahahhaha I kid I kid. But it was just nice to see familiar faces, I miss you guys a bunch. Anywayyy, Wednesday morning I went to my Gender Lit class, and it is by far the worst class here. We had to read a book for it called the Lonely Londoners, which was complete rubbish. I think the teacher was a little offended because not one person in the class enjoyed the book. I am proud of myself because I was one of the few people who actually read the entire book, and didn't skim or skip pages. (yes mom, you should be proud) We have to read another one for next week, and I started it already- so far it seems better, but who knows. After that terrible 3 hours of her yammering I got to go to 2 museums for my art class. All of the exhibits we saw were on Damien Hirst, and let me tell you he is one strange man. His new paintings all have a theme of death and loneliness, not really my thing. But I took Patrick's advice and wrote down my first impressions on his works, and immediately when I got home I wrote up my art blogs so it was still fresh in my mind. I think I did decent, but I heard he is a hard grader which makes me kind of nervous. After I did a little work, Kate and I headed to the student union to mingle with some locals- always a good time. Thursday mornings are now officially my favorite. I have my screenwriting class which is so interesting that the 3 hours seem to just fly by. The professor is really good and actually engages us in conversation and seems genuinely interested in our thoughts. We had to watch Fargo for homework, and it was interesting to pick it apart- plot wise. For next week I have to write a premise for a screenplay that I will have to eventually write for a  class project. I have no idea what to write about, but our prof gave us some good ideas as to where to start. I will take his suggestions and drink a ton of coffee, clear my thoughts, and write down everything that comes to my mind. This should be interesting because my thought process is soo random and strange (I am just full of lovable characteristics) I will let you know how that goes haha. But for next week in class, we have to watch Little Miss Sunshine, which I have seen numerous times... but honestly how could you not love a class where you get to watch good movies, and actually talk about interesting things. And I just found out it goes towards a 500 level comm arts credit at Madison, so it is extremely helpful in my major. I just love that class, and it definitely has made me really sure that I want to go into that field for my career. I will probably win an Oscar for both best original screenplay and best actress. You can quote me on that one haha. soo anyway, last night we were supposed to go to a fancy club with some of the other kids in my program (they all set it up) we were supposedly on the list but that turned out to be a bust. But as Babs Streisand says Don't Rain on My Parade (haha Casey I hope you appreciate that) So Hannah and I ended up meeting up with one of our advisors (Damien) and another kid in our program Mike (he is an awesome guy) and went to a Cuban club in another area of London called Camden. I danced the night away to some Latin music, and I must say my salsa is getting quite good! I had such a fun time, and glad I got to experience yet another side of London. OLE! Today, I think Kate and I are just going to walk around Kensington and hit up a few museums. Then later we are gonna start planning our trips. Hannah, Lena, and I are going to Ireland Feb 11-14. back to the homeland, because I am an irish princess :) andd for spring break we are going to go to Spain, I am really excited to practice my Spanish, and show off my new dance moves. But I must be off, London is calling my name. I Love you all!!!!!!!!!!

Shout out to Uncle Butch :)

I love this city.

It is 4:45 and my roommates are still sleeping from their nap they started like 2 hours ago. Normally that would be me, but for some reason (thank god) my napping has gone down quite tremendously. Patrick is probably stunned by this. haha Right now I am sitting in the front living room, sprawled out on the couch, listening to the London streets. God I still feel so lucky to be here, and it still hasn't hit me that I actually live here. Seeing Mark the other day was really nice. He showed me around Richmond which is one of the many boroughs of London. It was absolutely beautiful I was there past time when the tube closed and had to take the night bus home. Needless to say I got lost, but Mark helped me figure out how to get home- at least I know for next time. Then last night, Hannah came into my room around 5 and said that she read online that Justin Bieber was going to do a performance at the Science Museum which is about 4 blocks away from our flat. We decided that, although it was a long shot we should check it out. After waiting outside, we got in and saw his show which was all acoustic. haha Oh man. Also we were the oldest people there by quite a few years. The preteen girls were hilarious yelling in their british accent pleading to get in. We just kind of sat and laughed "with/at" them as they tried every excuse in the book to get past the security guards. All in all I had a good time, spontaneity is a magical thing. Today, I had my contemporary britain class again. After we talked about the British stereotypes we have, he gave us some more American stereotypes they have. Here is a small list: we are loud (he can read me like a book ha!), puritanical (the whole janet jackson super bowl thing wouldn't be a huge deal over here), and how the Brits are all frightful of our gun policies and confused as to why our laws are as lax (for lack of a proper word) as they are. I guess I thought that was interesting- that of all the crazy things in our culture, gun control really stands out to them. I guess that says something, you know? anyway, now I am just sitting here, blogging because I don't want to do my homework- some things never change. I have to read this book about the West Indians in London, sounds riveting I know. Well for my next distraction I think I might watch the tube for a bit.
Cheerio pip!
xxxxxxx

busy busy busy

Hello World! Sorry I haven't written in a long time, I have been super busy. buttt I am really excited because today I am meeting up with my friend Mark. He lived on my floor freshman year in Sellery, and was from London. He is just genuinely a nice guy and I can't wait to see him. ok let me try to fill you in on my life. For class (art class) we went to the Tate Modern Museum and is was amazing. I saw priceless works of art and the exhibit we went to specialized in pop modern art, so there were a ton of Warhol and Hirst, it was just really cool. Even coming from a person who doesn't understand art, I thought it was really cool and I am happy I got to go to that. Oh and ps- the way you get to the museum is by crossing the Millenium Bridge which was in the 6th Harry Potter movie. Booyah. I got a sweet picture of it. ok I also had my gender lit class- boring. And my screenwriting class is going to be so much fun, my homework is to watch the movie Fargo- how can you dislike a class that gives you a movie to watch for homework, Nice! Ok and 2 nights ago one of my advisers here (the hottie Damien) took us on a bar crawl! We went to like 5 bars and it was a blast. All of them were really historic and Damien was a great tour guide. God, I love this city! Then yesterday we had afternoon tea at this really fancy restaurant. It was tasty and made me feel like a posh Brit. After tea I did some homework and we went to Imperial College Union for their back to school night. There was a 2£ cover charge but it was worth it. I finally got to be somewhere with a bunch of english kids my age, ya know meet some locals. I talked a lot of the night with this boy from Northern Ireland. And he wanted to talk about american football. So after I cried a bit do to the Packer loss hahaha, he told me that every superbowl there is a huge gathering at the Union to watch it. So now I know I can go there. butt I must get ready to meet Mark. I will try to write more soon!
xxxx
Cait

coffee and classes

So I came here thinking that my flat would have a coffee pot, incorrect. Needless to say the first few days were a little rough. Another girl who lives down the hall, Taylor, was feeling the same way as me, so we decided to go halfzies on a coffee machine (only £6) Now maybe I can be alert in my morning classes instead of half dreaming. Speaking of classes I have had two so far. Monday mornings I have Contemporary Britain for 3 hours. The professor Justin something is nice and it is obvious to tell he is passionate about what he is teaching, but he loves to talk a little too much. The first day was like an overview, but I can already tell that class will be a little hard for me. We will be learning about the monarchy and its influence on British national identity. I'm sure it will be interesting and I want to learn about their political system here but I am not in school mode yet. After class we had yet another orientation with Mary. so boring. She basically repeated herself for the eighteenth time. She likes to talk about how rude the british are, and I haven't seen that yet- I wish she wasn't so negative about her own culture cause it makes us all think that everyone here wants to steal from us or ignore us or be completely rude. I don't know. anyway, after orientation Hannah and I went to a different grocery store, Sainsberry, and it was so cheap! We got a tub of ice cream for like 85p, nice right? I am such a bargain hunter. After shopping we went to a play! My first ever British play, Warhorse. It was nicely done and very creative, but way too sad for me. I do not enjoy watching something on animal cruelty, but the acting was very good haha. Although the main character, Albert, spoke like Forrest Gump with an accent which made me giggle at inappropriate times.   Hopefully the next play I go to will be lighter and full of more British wit. I was so tired after the play and crashed as soon as I got home, only to wake up early to go to class again today, bummer. I had intro to pop culture with the same professor as my class yesterday. Thankfully, he spared us on his random stories this time. I am really really excited for this class, as it is all about music. We will be talking a lot about the Beatles, which made me think of Patrick cause I know he isn't the biggest fan. We also have to go to concerts and write a review which I am really pumped for. He gave us a list of a ton of jazz and blues clubs that I am really excited to go to. I feel like everything I hear about I want to do, I wish there were more minutes in a day.
Although, and as everyone knows, I am not a fan of waking up early in the morning, I am almost happier that I have morning classes so that I have the rest of the day to do whatever I want. If my classes started at 2, I know I would sleep the whole day, and while I do that in Madison- I have limited time here and just want to make the most of what I have.
Wellp, off to another museum! I will try to write more later..................asd fuis;g eutg av

Cheers!

Sneaky Sneaky

Ok, so I had to add another quick thing cause I am proud of myself. So tomorrow, as previously mentioned, we start classes. In the living room area of our flat there is a bookshelf with a lot of textbooks on it. So, being he clever minx that I am, I decided to stash one of every book in my room so if I do in fact need any of them, I won't have to pay! I am so thrifty- I should get an award. The books are left by past participants so I know that I will most likely need some of them. Badabing, saved myself some pounds.

Alsooo, I would like to comment on the food. We have to make our own food here which is fine, except the grocery store and food in general is so different. Right now I am eating a salami and cheese sandwich. (salami because it is seriously the cheapest lunch meat). Last night I made myself pasta, and this morning some cereal. I want to be more creative with my meals, but I am not trying to spend tons os pounds at the store. Food that you would expect to not be too expensive is pricey. A small container of juice is like 3 pounds. And then things that normally aren't cheap are really cheap here. Like 1 lb of ground beef is only 80 pence. I guess it will take a few walk thrus of the grocery store to figure out how to allocate my moolah.

ps Mom, I am eating yogurt, oranges, and carrot sticks on the daily. Healthy healthy :)

Day 4

I love London! Now that I am officially all settled in and actually have some spare time, I will try to fill you all in on what has been going on in my life. Well, day 1 was a little rough. I was really sad to leave everyone, and the states in general (not to mention the plane rides were terrible). Then I got to the flat, and a wave just hit me. I guess since I have been so excited for this trip for so long, I never really thought about the negative aspects (ie, being away from my family, and everything that I am used to). Needless to say I had a little melt down, but that was quickly over once I went to my first orientation that night. Everyone in my program met at a little restaurant where we had a small meal (nasty! tons of unidentifiable meat haha) and wine (finally something to calm my nerves!). One of the main coordinators of our program, Mary, just gave us a little preview on what was to come. After that, I came back to my flat and went to sleep at about 7:30 p.m. The next morning we had a walking tour at 10 which was amazing. Although it was freezing, I still found it enjoyable. It was interesting to learn about the neighborhood that we are living in. I found out that the flats that are in this neighborhood go for about 2.8- 250 million pounds. I feel so lucky to live here- at least I can pretend I have money hah! The next few days are confusing, I don't really remember the order of events, but we did have another orientation where we got a brief overview of the culture and what classes and school would be like. Then we had a bus tour on another freezing day, where we saw the main sights of london like Parliament and Westminster Abbey, etc.... We learned so many interesting things about the city and it made me appreciate the history of everything. And the most important thing we saw was obvi where they filmed parts of Harry Potter (Gringotts Bank, Diagon Alley, the Millenium Bridge) Yes, you should all be jealous!! hehehe Today was the first day where we finally got to relax and do whatever. Some of the girls and I went to the Natural History Museum which is only a few blocks away from my flat. The building itself is beautiful and looks like it should be a castle or something. We spent a few hours inside and only saw a few parts of the museum. I am excited to go back, and visit the other museums around this area, I know for my art class- the first day we go to an art museum... I will try to channel my brother and Aunt Lizzy to help me get through that one, cause lord knows I can't figure out that stuff.

Well that is an incredibly brief overview of my first few days here. These are my first thoughts on this lovely city.

1. EXPENSIVE, the exchange rate is bad, but even that aside- everything is just so much more pricey in general.
2. the city is so big! I live in such a small area and I am overwhelmed. I shall be Pocahontas and explore until I know where things are
3. The Brits are really closed off. You have to make the effort to talk to them or get a conversation out of them. Also, Mary told us that most of them look through people instead of at them, and if you look someone in the eye they may take it as a come on. Well, everyone must think I am a freak cause people watching is one of my favorite things to do.
4. Everything here is really environmentally friendly. I always think of Alison because the stores won't use plastic bags, and recycling is a big deal here. They recycle everything, and it makes me realize how much the states don't- but should.
5. Obviously it is beautiful here. I love the mixture of old historic buildings, and modern ones. I wonder if the natives are still in awe of this city? I don't see how they can't walk down the street and feel really lucky to live in such a historic and absolutely gorgeous place.
6. Fashion is so strange here. I am going to be a creeper and try to take pictures of random people so you all can understand what I am talking about. Explaining their clothing choices won't do them justice. My new friend Hannah and I call some of the ladies snow princesses because they wear these gaudy large fluffy fur hats. But I will try to take some pics and add them so you get an idea. 

Well that is about all I got right now.  I could seriously write so much more but I actually want people to read this and don't want to bore them to death with my excessive writing. I will try to add another post tomorrow after my first day of classes! ahh so excited! Love you all!

GO PACK GO

The Night Before...

What do I even write on this thing- well here goes nothing I guess. It is the night before I finally officially leave for London!! WOOHOOOOOO- haha I hope some of you got that reference (ahem, Casey) I am... not surprisingly still awake and stressing over my flights tomorrow. I hope everything runs smoothly and that I have packed everything I need. It is just so crazy to me to think that I will be there in a matter of hours. I have been waiting and thinking about this moment since I first found out I was accepted into my program. Going there is not the big deal, it's the fact that I will be living there for four months that seems sooooo crazy to me. Four months is not a lot of time for me to accomplish everything I want to do, and I want to do everything. I am so excited to meet new people and learn so many new things about the country and myself. I want to go to class and learn about London and the UK. I want to go to museums and see priceless works of art, and be reminded of the rich history. I want to shop in little markets and huge department stores. I want to go to pubs and have a pint with the locals. I want to go to the clubs and see what real London nightlife is like. I want to take the tube all over and go places I didn't know existed. I want to watch a rugby game and actually know what is going on. The list goes on and on and on. I feel so lucky that I actually get to do this. I already miss my family and friends and I haven't even left yet. That is definitely going to be the hardest thing. I know the fact that I can't get a big hug from my mom, or see that notorious smirk from my brother after he does something naughty- will be super hard. But absence only makes the heart grow fonder. So all of you better miss me a whole lot, and I expect tons of hugs and compliments as soon as I return :)
I love you all!!!

xxxx (writing x's before you sign your name is the cool British thing to do- I'm on top of the game)
Cait