the first week

The first week is over, and although I didn’t spend too much time in Wolverhampton, I got to see a bit of it. Oh my, what a long and awesome weekend I had!! Let me start with Wednesday.

Wednesday: Welcome weekend for international students. They basically gave us an overview. Much like they did at NAU about our experiences and stuff. That was at 10 am and then we had a little break. There are two other girls here from NAU that are here in the same hall as me. So after the first meeting, we went into the town centre, and wow. It is really nice, and big. There are like two shopping malls and then LOADS of little shops everywhere else. It is cute. After that, we had another meeting for classes. I had to change one class, but it will still count for the same credit back home. I have an 11am class on Monday, then nothing till 6pm. Tuesday I have 0 classes, Wednesday I have class at 9 then at 2, Thursday I have one class at 6pm and Friday, I have no classes as well. I finally got a hold of grandma and auntie here and made arrangements to meet them at their hotel on Thursday so we can catch a bus to LONDON! I couldn’t sleep Tuesday or Wednesday because I was worrying about stuff 4 months from now about how to get to the airport with all my shit. And I starting thinking that I was getting meningitis and die while I was over here. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me. But I cant help but worry about things, which blows, but I think once school starts I will have other things to occupy my mind. So I didn’t sleep that well.

Thursday: Wake up at 6.30 in the bloody morning, get dressed, pack, etc. Go down stairs ask where the train station is… guy explains it to me and I have no idea. He said he would drop me off near the train station, but I would have to walk a bit. So, I got on the school bus and he dropped me off just down the road. Got to the train station, caught a train at 7.58 and arrived in Birmingham a little later. I got a taxi to their hotel and talked while they got ready. We then went to the coach station to catch our bus to London! It was a three hour journey, which I slept most of the time, so I didn’t get too see too much of the country side. Got into London and tried to catch a taxi to our hotel, and the cab driver said it was just down the street. UHHH! No. He totally refused to give us a ride because there was a bigger crowd wanting a taxi. So we walked at least a half mile, if not more to our hotel with luggage, mind you. It was pretty interesting… Luckily, I only had my backpack but grandma and auntie had their luggage. We made it to our hotel and unpacked. We went to a local pub and ate some dinner then I decided we should go to Westminster Cathedral even though we had no idea where it was. Well, it took us awhile, but we found it! It was so beautiful. I don’t know what it is, but something about churches with amazing architecture is amazing. Even though I am not religious myself, I love it. Something about it made me feel calm. Soon after that, we had to find a cab to take us to Waterloo Station so we could buy tickets to Paris the next day. We got there, and the travel man said it would be cheaper to go on Saturday, so we booked it then. We went back to the hotel and decided to take a grand tour of London all day on Friday. Shortly after that, we were all in bed. Sore and tired.

Friday: Woke up at 5 in the morning so we could get ready then go to the coach station to catch our bus for our tour! Our tour lady, Karen, was fabulous. She told us so much about the places and about the history. Very animated and friendly. We went to all the popular spots; Buckingham Palace, House of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, and then Tea at Harrods. It was amazing. We got to see the changing of the guards parade and got a tour of Tower of London, saw the Crown Jewels, saw the tower bridge, got a private tour of Westminster Abbey where some of the most famous people are buried. Jane Austen has a memorial there as well as Shakespeare, Darwin, etc. etc. And of course the royalty of England. Never in my life have I been totally blown away with how these buildings were. I am sure the people in London think nothing of it, but the architecture, meaning, places, is just amazing to me. I had a lot of fun and took a lot of pictures. After our tour that lasted all day, we went back to the hotel and crashed.

Saturday: Woke up at 4 in the bloody morning and went to Waterloo station to catch the eurostar to Paris. The man I was sitting next to decided to sleep… and he snored. And his breath smelled like asshole. A lot of people on our little coach was looking back at him in disbelief, I am sure. After that, we arrived in Paris, and realized everything was in French. We walked around not knowing what to do for awhile, and then Aunt Dolores went to buy a map and we had to ask directions to the Eiffel tower, where I was supposed to meet my friend Katie at 12. He wrote it down, but French handwriting is chicken scratch, so I took the piece of paper and went to a metro map and figured out how to get there. We bought tickets and started on our journey. Three stops later, we have made it to the tower. You can see the tower, obviously in that vicinity. I have seen many pictures, but it still shocked me how big it was. About 10 minutes after we got there, I saw my soul mate and of course, we freakin’ run to each other!! It was so great seeing her. And, we were in Paris! How many people can answer with, “Oh, I just went to Paris.” when asked what they did for the weekend?! Katie took us to a place where you can view the entire tower, and it was stunning. We went and had some lunch and then Katie took us to Arc de Triomphe as well as Notre Dam. God, these places are amazing. I can’t describe them, they are just so breath taking and enchanting. You really need to experience yourself, because everyone will have a different reaction to it. Anyway, after that we went to the train station again to go back home. It was sad saying goodbye to my friend, but she will come visit me, and I am sure I will go back. It sucked that we only had 5 hours, but we got to see a lot thanks to Katie. After that, we were right across from the London Eye by Waterloo and I wanted to ride it, but we just missed it. Oh well, I am in England for the next four months, I am sure I will be able to eventually. Got a taxi back and went to the same Italian restaurant we went to the night previous because there was nothing else. I shoved my face filled with food because I had just a salad for lunch and didn’t eat much of it anyway. After that, we went to the hotel, I changed into my pajamas and the last thing I remember was grandma getting out of the shower.

Sunday: woke up to the fucking FIRE ALARM GOING OFF IN OUR ROOM. It was so loud and all our eyes were still closed. I was about to tell Aunt Dolores to turn off the damn alarm, but we didn’t set it. Glad it went off though because it was 8:30 and we needed to get to the coach station to get back to Birmingham. The ride back made me want to puke. The driver was horrible and I started getting really sick. So, once again, I went to sleep!! Woke up about 20 minutes away from Birmingham. Oh, but before that, our battery died on our bus, so we were about 40 minutes late taking off. After that, we had to find the train station so I could hop on a train back to Wolverhampton. It was sad saying goodbye, but I am so glad that they could come with me. I had so much fun and it really helped having family here for the first week, only because we know how I worry. But this week has come to a close and I start school tomorrow. I am really excited. Tomorrow I have German and Contemporary Literature. I feel a little sick right now, so I don’t think I will post pictures tonight, but tomorrow I will. Hope everyone had a good weekend, I know nothing can compare to mine!!