Clubbing!

So it was Rachel's friends birthday last night. We went to this club called Mahiki (my hicky) hahhaa. yeah so.. the club was SO nice. Apparently it's a club that prince William and Henry go to often. I can see why!!! I think last night was the most fun i've had while i've been here. The drinks were very cool and unique. Rachel's friend had a table reserved and they ordered a bunch of drinks. There was one drink that comes in a treasure chest. The open the treasure chest and you see it's full of ice and pineapples and it has a bottle of champagne in it. The pop the bottle open and pour it all into the treasure chest! Then they take about 20 long straws and stick it in the middle and everyone goes at it. It was way cool! Here are some pics:

Oh, you tube...

Tonight felt like the longest night thus far....
Rachel, Kristy, and I had tonight planned all week long. We were going to get ready most of the day, get dinner, and go out to see a play tonight. Ha...
So I curled Kristy's hair, Rachel helped me finish it up. I quickly got ready and we all ran downstairs to eat food. We literally had about 10 mintues to eat. By the time we all got ready and did our hair and makeup we were very late. After swallowing our food, we ran to Gloucester station to get on the tube. Rachel had to buy a new (her fourth!!) Oyster card 'cause she kept misplacing all the other ones. She also stopped at the bank to withdraw some money for the tickets. After getting off, Rachel realized her wallet was missing.
SHE HAD BEEN PICKPOCKETED!!!!!
what the hell.... I was standing next to her the whole time, and looking at our purses. I don't know how anyone could have stolen her wallet. It's crazy. She (obviously) started crying and we talked to security. We sat in their office for a good 2 hours while Rachel was trying to call her credit card company to cancel the cards. Luckily for us, the security officers were SOOOO nice. We ended up buying them a couple slices of cake for their generosity and help.
What a hell of a day.
Tomorrow night we're going to dinner with one of Rachel's friends from home, Aaron. Then we're going to a cluuubbbb for someone's birthday party.
Should be fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's all. Good night

Gifts from home!

So I just got a package in the mail today from my mommy!!! Thanks mom. While I was carrying it up to my room everyone was looking at me and asking "what the heck is in that?" haha. I still haven't even gone through everything but the leggings are super warm and they fit perfectly!
ooo. And I just opened the rest. Thanks Sanaz for all the stuff you sent! Eman, thanks for the chocolate! yummmm. Everything is great. Makes me miss home even more.
Today is the first day of sun in a little while! I'm actually going to go outside and take advantage of it after this post.
Last night I booked a flight from Ireland back to London on St. Patty's weekend. Which means i'm going to be in Ireland on St. Patty's day!!! I'm thinking about booking Lisbon, Portugal as well but i'll know for sure by later today.
I'm already counting down the days until Spring break! Can't wait to go around and travel and do all sorts of stuff. I think tonight we're going to go see a play. Which play? I have no idea.
I should do laundry.. I haven't done it since i've been here. How gross. Then again I brought enough crap to last me at least a month an a half without doing it. But still.. I should do laundry. That might happen today.
I'm glad my classes are literally a 30 second jog away from my building. I am already late almost all the time! Yikes. I feel like my alarm doesn't go off, but i'm sure it does and my automatic reaction is to just shut it off. I need to start getting on top of that.
Anyway, i'm still alive! yay. that's what matters. haha. My mom didn't have to fly over and drop me off. I made it here myself! muahaha.... yeah
Crap I think it's drizzling now...or SNOWING!!!!!!!!!!
I'm going to go check it out.
Later!

Buckingham Palace, etc

Hello! So i've been slacking recently with the postings. There have been a lot of juicy things happening, but this blog isn't private so i'll definitely have to write those down somewhere else and talk about them at a later date.
On Tuesday I'm meeting up with friends to discuss where we want to travel. Amsterdam is a must on this list. We're going to start booking flights soon. Also Kristy, Rachel, and I have decided to go see a play this week. I think our first one will be Jersey Boys. I really want to see Les Miserables. REALLY!
Last night I went on the London Eye! It was pretty nice, but expensive. They really know people will pay the damn 17 pounds it costs to go around that thing once. But it was a once in a lifetime thing, so it's okay. There were people selling hot dogs and chili really close by. It smelled great. I've been trying to not spend so much money on food. You can get really caught up on that and spend a good 40 pounds just on food for the weekend! I think i've spend about 15 pounds for the whole weekend. I am cheap. Oh well. I can't wait for the food to start back up tomorrow! A lot of people around here hate it, but I love it! And they have something here very close to mast o' khear (yogurt and cucumber). It's freaking great. I can't wait. mmm. I gotta take a picture of my food next time. Hopefully I remember.
Kristy and I found this great place that sells hot chocolate for 1.20 and it's so yummy! I can see myself drinking a cup every night. haha. This could get dangerous. I hope i'm losing weight here. I hardly eat here compared to what I ate at home so I should lose SOMETHING! Maybe...
So we went to Buckingham palace today to watch the changing of the guards. It was alright. One of those things you just do for your check list. There were just so many people that I don't think I got the full experience of it. But the palace was HUGE and amazing.
I still don't feel like I know my way around. I could figure out how to get home from a couple blocks away, MAYBE. The buses are just so complicated. More complicated than the tube, which is still slightly complicating for me. Mostly probably because I just throw my head down and follow my friends whenever we go on the tube. Bad idea. Haha.
I'm pretty content with my classes thus far. It's only been a week but I don't think they'll be too difficult. I still need to order more books on amazon. It's a pretty easy process but i'm still waiting for some of my books that i've already ordered.
Some of my friends said they found a cheap kabob place for only 4 pounds. I want to check that out. I need cheap food places. I want to make a list of the things I should try from here and try to eat all of those things. I don't want anything I could get back at home. Soups are very popular here. The bowls are pretty decent sized. The other day we went to a restaurant and a couple girls got tomato soup. It was sooo yummy. It came with a couple slices of bread and butter. It was great. I've noticed that the portions here are SO much smaller than in the U.S. We went to a Thai restaurant tonight and the pad thai was so much smaller than if I had ordered it back home. Also back home it usually comes with a spring roll and some soup. Here it was 7 pounds for just the pad thai. Granted, it was still delicious but it's very interesting to see the portion differences. Fat times for the U.S.
Anyway, I think i'm going to watch some Pineapple Express before bed.
Good night and thanks for reading!

Yesterday : Natural History Museum, London Eye, Big Ben, Parliament!

Buckingham Palace/Changing of the guards

My lunch... yummy!

Buckingham Palace!

Getting ready to go on the tuuuube!

The changing of the guards. SO serious. haha

Me in front of the palace

Rachel, Kristy, and myself

Buckingham palace

Just a really quick video

Private

Anyone know how to make this blog private? I have certain people I (obviously) don't want to read this, but i'm not quite sure how to make it private.
Let me know, if you know.
Thanks!

Start of the Term Party

Pictures of the night. Too tired to post about my day, though.
My first ride on the tube!!!




War wound! Got stepped on with 4 inch heels! OUCH

My and my roomy!

Sister Act!

Friends!

More friends!

Hello! Today has been quite a day.

First off.. here is a picture of my roommate!



That was taken during our walk.

So this morning I set my alarm for 9am in order to get breakfast. As soon as it woke us up, I looked at Kristy and we both thought the exact same thing: 'set it for 930!' 930 we woke up and bummed it down to the cafeteria. I (once again) filled up my plate as much as possible. It was great. With only 2 meals a day, you gotta do what you gotta do.
Anyway we were sitting and eating and all of a sudden one of the guys gets up to refill his water and I hear a girl at the table say "that took about 8 minutes. I timed it." Kristy and I look at eachother with a puzzled look on our faces. We later found out she had literally timed the amount of time it took this kid to eat his food. Now he's not a slim kid, but goodness really? You need to waste your time with that? I feel like the girls I have come into contact with recently are the "mean girls" of this program. They constantly talk about EVERYONE (including myself i'm sure). Kristy and I are trying to find some new people to talk to, and stay clear of them. We'll see how that goes. They continue to talk about the most ridiculous and fickle things. I just sit there and think 'really? there are people out there in the world like you? amazing'. Stupid stories about how many hookups they had at the age of 16, and how they got drunk this night and that night. I guess most people are into those type of stories, but not me. I also still feel like they judge me whenever they see my plate of food. One girl commented to the other girl saying "wow. look at you! eating so healthy!" And then they both looked at my plate... hahahhaa. I mean, I really don't mind. For the most part i'm darn proud of my body, and my curves. I don't care. I need food. I love food. Kristy has kind of noticed it as well. We were talking about it tonight on our walk, and how we both feel like they're just judging us so much because of how much food we get. I find it entertaining, honestly.
I went on my first "pub crawl" tonight. On the way to the pub crawl, Kristy and I saw 2 foxes. We thought they were super cute so we made the mistake of walking toward them. Then all of a sudden, one of the foxes darted towards us. I definitely saw my life flash before my eyes. Kristy and I grabbed eachother and started running and screaming. Everyone along the street stared at us like we were crazy. It was hilarious. Anyway, the first place we went to was very quaint. I forgot the name of it but it's literally like across the street from my building. It was 2 stories and they had board games in a book shelf that people could just pick out and play. Very nice place. Food looked pretty good too! The second place we went to was the Imperial College Bar. SO packed. It was hard to move around very much. There I met people that recently met Kristy. Pretty much all guys. They were very nice though. I think i'm going to end up hanging out with them more than the girls here. The girls just boggle my mind. Tomorrow night Kristy, the guys, and I are going to that start of the year party. That should be fun. I want to attempt to get more than ONE phone number in my phone. Haha. That would be great!
I recently bought a ticket for Stonehenge with a couple other people from this program. It's not until March but it sounds like fun!!!!
Anyway my camera ran out of battery and I don't want to plug it in 'cause i don't think I have the right adapter. I'm going to go to a store tomorrow and buy one just in case. I think I might have blown the fuse in my straightener. Woopsay!
I think this is all for now. I am tiiiired.
Good night.

Day 2

Tuesdays and Thursdays I only have one class: Childhood, Socialization, and Culture. Seems pretty interesting considering i'm really into in the field of Child Psychology.
Today after my class I ended up taking a nap and unpacking all of my stuff. After all my clothes were in the closet I realized I didn't bring as much as I thought. But we'll see how that goes.
I cannot stress this enough: I AM SOOOO GLAD that I was paired with my roommate. Holy moly. Some of the girls around here... they plan their outings and classes around alcohol. It's ridiculous! A lot of them throw around mommy and daddy's money like it's nothing. The other day some girl spend $2,000 USD on bedding! BEDDING!!! Our beds are just fine as they are! Too many high maintenance people around here. They complain about everything: their classes, the showers, the food, etc. I'm glad i'm not rooming with any of them.
Speaking of the food.. I love food. It's pretty decent here. Not a big cafeteria but the food is good. You can only fill up your plate once. Once you hand your card over to be swiped you can't come back so I ALWAYS make sure to load up my plate. The girls here are crazy. They put a couple of veggies on their place, and pick at it. Then they complain about how they're hungry and want to go back to get food. They're all pretty weight conscious. I feel like a pig when i'm around them 'cause my plate is filled as much as possible while theirs has so much extra room. I feel like they stare and me and judge me on the inside, but I don't mind. I guess my swipes only pay for 2 meals a day, 5 days a week. It's not as bad as I thought but I find myself getting hungry from time to time. Lately i've been eating my Pocky that I brought from home. My roommate, Kristy, found this place down the street that gives you a sandwich, chips, and a drink for 2 pounds! That's pretty great in this area. NOTHING is that cheap.
Another thing about my roommate that I really like is that she is very conscious about spending her money. That's definitely something we have in common. She's not "cheap" necessarily, but she does know the value of a pound and doesn't spend it frivilously.
I feel like i'm sort of out of place here. I came so late, and everyone already knows everyone. I feel like I missed so much. I hope I get to meet some people and create some friendships soon! Otherwise i'll REALLY be out of the loop. Everyone has eachother's cell phone number and texts eachother all the time. It's hard to not feel out of place. My roommate really does a lot to help me feel included, though. I really couldn't ask for more. I don't consider myself a shy person. I know if I had been here for orientation week I would have made so many friends by now. It's just weird coming into the mix later, that's all. Definitely harder once everyone already has their little group set.
Thursday night i'm going with my roommate to "The start of the year party". That should be interesting. Maybe i'll meet some people there. I should also figure out what i'm doing this weekend considering they don't feed us Saturday/Sunday. I'd like some cheap Indian food. There's a place called "Wagamama" down the street that has Japanese food. Some other girls went there the other day and said it was pretty good and cheap. Maybe i'll check that out too.
Anyway, I guess that's all for the day.

Miss everyone at home! Thanks for reading.
<3

Pictures!

Here are some pictures! Enjoy.

Down the street view:







My bed/desk:

This is my room! (Roommates side)

This is my school ID!

The view from my room:

This is my HUGE water bottle that was only 36 pence!!!!!

I'll post about my day later today. But those are just some pictures. A picture of my roommate is to come as well!!

I have arrived!

Hello Everyone!
I have finally arrived to London! It is SUCH an amazing and beautiful place. I've decided to create this blog in order to post stories about my day, and have a way to keep in touch. Also, it helps me to not repeat the same stories/experiences over and over again (my fingers get tired).
So I arrived in London around 545 am after one horrible experience with United Airlines (don't take them!!!) The plane was pretty empty so I got the whole row to myself, which was nice. On the other hand they only offered 3 movies: Paper Heart, Cinderella Man, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. I ended up watching Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs twice.... Also, their snacks are no longer free! What the heck? They now charge your credit card $4 for a bag of chips! Holy moly. At this point I was like forget that, and decided to pull my yummy Pocky out of my bag to eat instead. Until I realized I packed it in my suitcase. =( So I had a good 5 hour flight with nothing to eat. The flight from D.C. to London was better (purely for the food factor). I got the pasta option which came with a salad, bread roll, and a brownie. YUM. The pasta was great. I love food. When I arrived I found my bags (surprisingly) quickly and was picked up by a friend of a friend; very nice guy. Around 730am I arrived to campus to meet my roommate! Poor girl... I ended up waking her up because I couldn't open my door.
I like my roommate. Her name is Kristy and she's from New York. Very nice girl. We hit it off right off the bat. We had breakfast and she gave me a tour of the area and showed me where my classes were located. My schedule is as follows : Monday/Wednesday 130pm-550pm. Tuesday/Thursday (12pm-130pm). Pretty sweet. I'm taking Child Socialization & Culture, Human Sexuality, Psychology and Cinema, and Psychopathology. oooOoOoO. After class I went to get some food with Kristy from the dining hall. They've got some pretty good food. I can't complain. Kristy and I realized we ate a bit too much and decided to go on an hour long walk around town. SO many beautiful things to see! There's this pretty cheap Thai place down the street that i've heard many great things about. I can't wait to try it out!

So this was my first day here. I am going to try to keep up with this blog and keep everyone posted on my experiences. Feel free to IM/Skype/Message me whenever you want.

Love, Love, Love