a new dream.

Tomorrow, I am hopping on a plane and heading back to the good ol' States. As excited as I am to see my friends and family I am also not ready to say goodbye to London and the UK. This was an experience I've been dreaming about for years, and it's almost over.

I've seen Big Ben and went on the London Eye. I've visited Westminster Abbey and saw Queen Elizabeth's grave. I visited Leavesden Studios and relieved the magic of Harry Potter. I saw The Phantom of the Opera on stage. I visited Berlin for a week and caught up with Kubie after two years. I visited Hampton Court and walked the same hallways King Henry VIII did. I toured the Guinness and Jameson Factories in Dublin. And so much more. I keep saying this, but this trip has literally been a dream come true.

I couldn't have done this without so many people in my life, that have supported and helped me.
My parents, for the guidance and advice, and giving me the okay to follow my dreams.
My siblings, for all the laughs, and support. I can't wait to see you guys and go on lots of icee runs when I get home.
Anna and Meagan, I couldn't have done this without you guys. So looking forward to next semester and the shenanigans we'll get into!
And for Kalee, Kelsey, Kelly, and Cat, you girls are the best and I am so happy we all came here. I can't imagine what this trip would have been like without you girls here with me!

In some ways, leaving London is more terrifying than when I came here back in September. I've finally fulfilled something I've been dreaming about for a very long time. I don't really know what to think or even what to do... but, I guess it's like what Eugene Fitzherbert said, "Well that's the good part, I guess. You get to go find a new dream." :)

Traitors, Beheading, the Crown Jewels and... Fish?

Today I was able to let out my inner history nerd by visiting the Tower of London, and my inner child later when I visited the London Aquarium!

I went to the Tower by myself, since all of my friends visited it during Reading Week when I was in Germany. I really enjoyed the walk to the Tower, because I was able to walk on the coolest bridge in London (my opinion, at least).

I purchased an audio guide for my visit of the Tower, which I really enjoyed. There were five tours that you could listen to and they delved into the history of the different parts of the Tower, like how it's been used as a jail, castle, and storage area. Speaking of, I got to view the Crown Jewels today and let me say... they are just as beautiful as you'd expect! I walked around for a good two hours and saw and learned so much. 

This is Traitor's Gate, where prisoners would arrive by boat to be put in the Tower. Anne Boleyn would come through her the day before her coronation and only three years later, as a "traitor" to her husband.

This is a statue of a King Henry III's polar bear. 

Yes, the king had a pet polar bear.

He kept it on a long leash so it could go fishing in the Thames.

King Henry III's throne that stands in the meeting hall of St. Thomas's Tower. Henry and his son Edward I built the medieval castle that is part of the Tower and was used by many monarchs as a place of residence and business.

This is a monument honoring those who were executed in the Tower itself. Most prisoners were executed on Tower Hill. Some of the privileged prisoners to be executed here include Anne Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey.

After the Tower I grabbed some lunch and ate at a beautiful park across the street. Then, I made my way to the London Aquarium where I met up with my friends Matt and Kalee. I didn't get any pictures at the Aquarium, because my camera is broke and I couldn't tell if they were turning out well enough. But my friend Matt got some really great ones and I'm going to steal them from him! The Aquarium was super cool; I got to see sea turtles, and Nemo's, and penguins!

Overall, it was a really great day in London! It's days like today that make me never want to leave :)

Ireland! Ireland! Ireland!

So, I visited Ireland this weekend with my friend Kalee.
And it was definitely one of the best weekends I've had here!

We arrived around midnight on Friday... or I guess you can say Saturday! We took a bus from the airport to our hostel. I was a little worried about what going to a hostel would be like, since I've only ever been to hotels, but luckily ours was clean, easy to find, and the staff was very nice! We went out after we arrived and found our way to a late-night rock bar! Where I drank my first beer, a Fosters, and my first Irish cider called Bulmers. Both were very delicious. We went back to the hostel afterwards and headed to bed.

Saturday we explored Dublin and did some shopping! Our hostel was very close to the city centre, where there is literally everything you could want. Shops, restaurants, bars, you name it. At night, we went out to a pub where we both ordered the Traditional Lamb Stew. I had never ate lamb before, but that stew was sooooo delicious! It definitely hit the spot. We then traveled to Temple Bar, a street (and also a pub) that is very famous in Dublin for all the pubs on it, as well as the abundance of street performers on there. It was an energetic and fun place to visit on a Saturday night! We even met a couple of cute Irish boys at our hostel who we talked with for a while! ;) Later that night we met a middle-aged Irishman who was really into American politics and had a discussion with him about the outcome of the election and such. It was a really fun night and Dublin is definitely a city that comes alive at night!

Sunday we visited St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Castle, and Trinity College. St. Patrick's was nice and it had some cool statues and artifacts, but it was small and didn't have as much to look at like St. Paul's in London. Dublin Castle turned out to not really be a castle... or at least not like Buckingham and Windsor so that was a little disappointing. Trinity College was a treat though, because we visited the exhibition on The Book of Kells in their Old Library. We also got to go into the part of the library where they house the oldest manuscripts and books they own, so that was neat!

Monday was definitely my favorite day. We visited the Guinness Storehouse and the Old Jameson Distillery! Both of them are definite must-see's if you ever visit Dublin, even if you don't really drink. It was awesome to see how both Guinness and Jameson whiskey is created and all the backstory behind both of these legendary drinks. Both exhibits were very well-done and were a lot of fun to visit! And, of course, if you happen to like Guinness and Jameson, you get a free drink at the end of the tours!

I absolutely loved visiting Dublin. The people were so funny and animated, the drinks were great ;), the city was fun and easy to walk around, and it was such a great experience. I definitely have to go back to Ireland and visit the countryside someday!

Sadly, I have no more big trips planned while I'm here. I still have lots of places to visit in London though, so I'm going to definitely enjoy my last five weeks here!

My week in Berlin!

I flew back to London yesterday after spending a great week in Berlin with my friend Kubra and her family and friends! I went to the zoo, tried new and different kinds of food, learned a little bit of German (my favorite phrase isn't appropriate to put on here...), experienced the German nightlife, went shopping, and caught up with Kubie. It was a relaxing week off from school and I really enjoyed Berlin. It was different from London in a lot of ways, some good and some bad.

Germans appeared to be friendlier than Brits. They usually always greeted you with a hug and they talked a lot... The subways and trains were always noisy with conversation. The food was also very, very good. Being a Turkish German, Kubra took me to a lot of Turkish and other ethnic restaurants. My favorite was definitely Wonder Waffel, where I made this delicious treat.

However, Berlin was definitely dirtier than London. London and it's surrounding boroughs are actually quite clean for the amount of people that live and travel here. But Berlin streets were littered with trash, so that was slightly unpleasant. And they don't sell cider there. I was very upset about that.

There's definitely a lot more I want to see in Berlin, and of Germany, so I'm excited for future trips to visit Kubie! :)

On Friday, I leave for Ireland with my friend Kalee until Tuesday. I won't have my laptop with me, so expect a long blog all about that trip! I can't wait! :D

Hallo aus Deutschland!

England gives their students a week off from school, called Enrichment Week so I decided to spend my week in Germany!

So, last night, I flew from London to Berlin to spend eight days with my great friend Kuebra! She was an exchange student my senior year of high school and one of my closest friends. We haven't seen each other since then, so when I came to London I made sure to find time to visit her.

She lives in Berlin, so today we wandered through different parts of the city. We visited her father's clothing store, ate an assorted kebab plate at Orient Eck, rode the Underground a lot, ate at Wonder Waffel, went shopping, and relaxed with her friends at the restaurant she works at.

So far, the best thing about Germany is the food. Holy crap, it is soooo much better than British food. I can't really explain why but I might gain 10 pounds this week. Also, it actually feels like fall here. Back in the UK, it's always rainy and cold but in Germany I get to actually see the trees changing colors and the sun is shining!

I'm really looking forward to rest of my stay here. Maybe I'll even get to go on the autobahn! ;)

Houses of Parliament and the Globe Theatre!

Today I went with my British Life and Culture class into London to tour the Houses of Parliament and the Globe Theatre! I couldn't take pictures of Parliament, but I did snap a couple at Globe, so stay tuned :)

Kalee and I rode the train into London and grabbed some BK breakfast at Waterloo before meeting up with Kelsey and Kelly. We rode the tube over to Parliament, where when we emerged onto the street were met with a LOT of police men and some of the streets being blocked off. We asked our instructor what was going on and she explained that the Tories (Conservative political party) were trying to pass some new legislation that dealt with the unions and people were planning a protest today! How interesting.
We headed into Parliament after that, where we had to undergo security checks very similar to ones at the airport. We split into groups and headed off! The tour was actually quite long, almost an hour and a half. We visited the Norman Arch, saw a lot of busts of previous Prime Ministers, walked our way into a long processional chamber where there were portraits and statues of influential monarchs (like my favorite Queen Elizabeth!). Then we headed into the Prince's Chamber, where I was SO PLEASED to find portraits of important people from the Tudor reign circling the room. Gotta love those crazy Tudors. The House of Lords was the next stop on the tour. The House of Lords is the non-elected part of Parliament. Up until Tony Blair's rule as Prime Minister in the 1990's, it was actually a hereditary position, passed down from father to son. They don't have nearly the amount of power they used to and actually have to answer to the House of Common's now as the real power in Parliament. We walked through a few more rooms before heading to the House of Commons. It was much less elegant and regal looking than it's counterpart, and our tour guide explained that during the bombing of World War II, the House of Commons was completely demolished. So Winston Churchill re-built it, but on a less grander scale since the UK was broke.
The tour was very informative and I loved seeing the splendor of the Houses and witnessing the history of the UK proudly shown throughout the building.

After the tour we headed out into the streets, where the protest was in full swing. I have never witnessed a protest at this scale, so it was really strange but interesting to see it happening right in Central London. We took the tube across the Thames and found our way to the Globe. The tour at the Globe was much shorter than our previous one, but just as enjoyable. The Globe is actually the 3rd one to be built and opened in 1997. The first Globe, the one from Shakespeare's time burnt down 400 years ago and the second one was closed during the rule of Oliver Cromwell. Our tour guide gave us a bit of history lesson and we were able to take some pictures inside the theatre.

Unfortunately, I missed the Globe's season since they only run shows during the summer, on account of the fact it doesn't have a roof. But I guess it's just another reason I have to come back to London sometime! :)

Oh, and these are the super cool souvenirs I bought at the gift shop. The shot glass reads "I'll ne'er be drunk whilst I live again." I got a pin too that says "All the world's a stage."

Sadly, I've also caught a cold in the past couple days so hopefully I'll be able to get over it soon! I'm going to see a play on Wednesday at the National Theatre, and then we're visiting Oxford in one week! And then I'm going to GERMANY. Lots to look forward to!!! :)

encounters with awesome people.

Today I met my favorite Youtube vlogger, Charlie McDonnell also called charlieissocoollike.

My friend Kalee and I met up around 11 to head into London, when we found out that the trains running from Surbiton station were shut down. So instead we had to take a bus to Clapham Junction and get a train from there to Waterloo. Then we had to navigate the Tube to get to the Youtube gathering. The process of getting there took longer than expected, so we arrived late to the event and were in the back of a very, very long line. And we had to stay in that line for 4 hours before I was able to meet Charlie, his lovely girlfriend and fellow vlogger Bryaryl Bishop and another of my favorite vloggers, Michael Aranda.

After meeting them, I couldn't wipe this crazy grin off my face despite the fact that I was cold, stiff, and very hungry.

I had put "Meet Charlie McDonnell" on my list of things I wanted to do while I was in England. Honestly, I thought that would be one of the things I would never get to do. It feels unbelievable that I can! :)

Here's one of Charlie's videos if you're curious why I would spend four hours in the cold to meet this British vlogger.

Stonehenge and Bath.

Yesterday, I visited this beautiful historical landmark. 

With the GORGEOUS weather we had yesterday, I was slightly in awe of Stonehenge. I know some people find it to be just a bunch of rocks, but this is the most important pre-historic monument in Britain. It's older than the Pyramids in Egypt. It's still a mystery how the ancient peoples even got the stones to the site. There have been modern attempts to do so and they all failed. If that's not remarkable, then I don't know what is. 

After the short visit we traveled to Bath, which is my second favorite city I've been to yet. After London, of course. Bath was literally stunning. All of the buildings in the city are made of the same kind of limestone, so when you enter it you see the remarkable view of these offwhite buildings glistening in the sunlight. Unfortunately I didn't snap a picture of that, but here's an example of the buildings around the city. 

When we arrived, we had an hour for lunch. We went to a cafe where I ordered a pie that had potatoes, onions, peas and cheese. It was sooo yummy. After lunch we did a walking tour of Bath. We saw the most important locations in just over an hour, so we were moving around! Then we did a tour of the ancient Roman Baths.

We were able to move through the museum at our own pace. I enjoyed listening to the audio guide that was provided and seeing the remains of the once great temple and bath built by the ancient Romans. I could definitely see how grand and beautiful it once was and I really enjoyed the tour. 

Then, we had to stop and buy some real Italian ice cream to end the day :)

call me crazy but...

The thing I miss most about home (besides my loving family and crazy friends) is the food.

So, I am just starting my fourth week here in the good ol' UK and I'm starting to miss certain things like crazy. While I love the city, the pubs, my classes (not the school so much, but that's a rant for another time), and the people... I miss the greasy American fast food I'm used to.
Sure, they have McDonalds, Burger King, and Pizza Hut over here. But it's not the same.

I miss Menna's and Rallys. I miss Mountain Dew icees. I miss Spanky's pizza and breadsticks.

But they do have top notch chips (fries) over here that I eat all the time. Really healthy, I know. But I walk everywhere so I've actually lost weight since being here. So ha!

But yea, this was basically a blog stating how much I miss fattening food.

And my friends and family. Because I really do miss you guys a lot. <3

first day.

Well, that wasn't so bad.

I only had one class (Early Modern Britain and Europe) from one to three today. It seems like it will be an enjoyable class, especially since I have technically already studied Early Modern Europe through a couple different courses at Central.
The only thing I might have a hard time with is that the UK university system is based more on personal study, rather than assessment. I'm not going to take one test or quiz this semester, or really even have homework to turn in. My grades are based around a combination of a paper, portfolio, and a presentation. It's a little daunting, but I'm fairly confident in my paper writing abilities!

After class I had to wait a couple hours for my first Feminist Society meeting! It went well, they basically discussed what they hope to do during the next school year and all the events they have planned so far. It seems like a great society and I'm looking forward to being a part of it!

Tomorrow, I have two classes and then we're going to the London Premiere of THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER.
If I see Emma Watson, I might cry.

a night out, greenwich, and more!

Friday night was a night out on the town! We got dressed up and headed out to The King's Tun for an evening of dancing! It was a lot of fun to just let loose and experience the nightlife of Kingston! We all made it safely home too, which is always a good thing! :)

Saturday we went to Greenwich! Greenwich is a city located down the Thames from London. King Henry VIII held his court for twenty years there during his reign and his daughters were born there! (I love Henry and his daughter Elizabeth, so this was so cool to me.) Unfortunately, the palace of Greenwich was destroyed during the Civil War so I wasn't able to see where Henry, Elizabeth, Mary, and their contemporaries lived. But I was able to visit The Queen's House, which was built for James I wife. Now, it's an naval art museum. We also visited the Greenwich Market, which was really, really cool. It had a lot of different retail and food vendors set up, and it was bustling with people. We ate lunch at a local burger joint, which had the BEST burgers so far. It was almost like being home! We also got free cake and tea from Kingston, which we enjoyed while sitting underneath a statue near the Maritime Museum. I actually liked the tea too, which was surprising!

One of my favorite parts of the trip though was the boat ride down the Thames to Greenwich, because one of the crew members gave some historical commentary and pointed out important buildings and landmarks. It was really awesome to see The Globe Theatre, The Tower of London and rest of the city from the river. While going down the river, it was almost like seeing an abandoned city. You couldn't hear or see the city life which was really quite strange.

And today, it rained. A lot.
I had signed up for Photo Frenzy, a photo scavenger hunt in Central London for this afternoon. It would have been a lot more fun if the weather had been nicer, but we got to eat at Planet Hollywood afterwards and the food was really good! And then we made a trip to Primark, because I was in desperate need of rain boots...

Classes start tomorrow! But luckily I don't have Monday classes... so I get to sleep in! :)

BRIGHTON.

I spent today in the beautiful coastal town of Brighton!
Kingston took a group of international students down in a double decker coach (which was super cool) and we were able to walk around the city, eat lunch, and tour the Royal Pavilion.

So, when we first arrived Cat, Kelly, Kalee, Kelsey, and I went straight to the pier. We all really wanted to see the ocean and the coast, which didn't disappoint at all.

The pier had a lot of snack shops and two huge arcades, with some carnival rides as well. We bought a "flaky cone" at one of the ice cream stands, because my best friend Meagan told me I had to try one while I was here. It's basically vanilla ice cream (which does taste different than vanilla ice cream in the States), with a soft chocolate stick inserted in it. AND IT WAS DELICIOUS. We headed out to lunch then and stopped at the All Bar One restaurant. Thank GOD we did, because there was an Adam Levine look-a-like waiter working there. Not kidding, he was so attractive. 

Next was the tour of The Royal Pavilion! The Royal Pavilion was King George IV's "party palace". Up until last century, Brighton didn't have the best reputation in England. So, naturally for the notoriously over-indulgent George, he chose Brighton as a place he wanted to have a home. So he bought a little house when he was young and as soon as he had the money to build, he began to build this beauty.

The Royal Pavilion is said to be one of the most exotic places to visit, because of the clash of cultures. The exterior was greatly influenced by Indian architecture, but the inside was influenced by the Chinese. However, since none of the people working on it had ever BEEN to China... they failed on some of the details. Regardless, this is still the most beautiful building I have ever seen. We weren't allowed to take pictures, and I can't even begin to describe the beauty of the interior. So many colors, so much gold, so many chandeliers, so many dragons, so many details... it's absolutely stunning. As a history major and British history fanatic... this was one of the coolest things I've done so far in England. 

After the tour we walked around for a bit more and then ended up sitting on the pebble beach, which was quite different than Lake Michigan beaches, but still very beautiful. Actually, the pebbles were much dirtier than I thought they would be! 

We headed home afterwards, which was fine until I realized that the girls sitting behind Kalee and I were the definition of a vapid American girl. It was really frustrating (and almost insulting) to listen to them discuss their sex lives, drug and alcohol use, and how daddy pays for everything!

Not too much planned for the next couple of days but I'm visiting Greenwich on Saturday so expect a blog then! :) 

Hello, my name is HPG.

Today, I went on a Harry Potter themed tour of London.

Oh my.
I stood where Emma, Rupert, Dan, and Jo stood at the Deathly Hallows part 2 premiere.
I stood where they filmed some of the scenes for different movies.
I was at Platform 9 3/4.
I geeked out.

It was kinda hectic tour, because we went on the Underground and I was not familiar with the tube at all. Without our tour guide, we would have been SOO lost.
There's a couple other stops I'd like to visit before I leave London, like Millenium Bridge (and obviously Leavesden Studios!!) but I really enjoyed the tour!

Tomorrow, Kingston is taking all of the international students to BRIGHTON for the day! I'm excited to see more of this beautiful country! :D

loving london.

So, I visited London today.
Yea, I can cross that off my dreams checklist. :)

First off, it was beautiful. I can't even begin to tell you just how beautiful the city is. Walking down the street you'll pass cathedrals and monuments that have been around for centuries, and then right next to those would be modern shops and businesses. It was so interesting to see the past and present collide, in a way I have never seen in the States before.

Well, we started the day taking a train to get into the city. (On a sidenote, I think trains might be one of my favorite forms of public transportation.) We got off at Waterloo Station and headed right into the city. None of us girls really had a plan... or an idea of where to go... or a map. But honestly, I wouldn't have done it any other way. There were so many signs and maps around the city that we never got lost. We were able to head right to the London Eye, Parliament, and Big Ben. I couldn't wipe the silly grin off my face after I saw Big Ben for the first time. It was so crazy to see that awesome of a monument RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME.
Next we visited Westminister Abbey which was... wow, beautiful. Such detail and the architecture was breathtaking. After that, Trafalgar Square and lunch!
Lunch was... interesting. It was our first time at a sit-down restaurant in the UK and we weren't 100% sure how they operate. But the staff was kind of rude and confusing, so it wasn't the best first experience. I definitely like British pubs more than restaurants so far! After lunch we went souvenir shopping for a bit and then headed to BUCKINGHAM PALACE. God, that place was just awesome. I know I keep saying how beautiful everything was, but I'm not joking when I say that. EVERYTHING WAS. Like Hyde Park, which we went through after Buckingham.
On our way back to Trafalgar Square and The National Gallery, we went down some ritzy avenues and saw upper class shoppes (definitely felt underdressed!). Kalee and I visited the National Gallery for a bit, which was really interesting because I've never been in an art gallery before, but I found it really cool to walk around and actually see real art for once. Especially since most of it was from the Renaissance era and I just took a class where we discussed some of the Renaissance artists and such.
Then we went on the London Eye, which was relaxing and cool to see how the city is laid out and watch the sun set over it!

We ended the day catching a train to Kingston where we went to The Kings Tun Pub (again!) for some food, and then home!

Overall, today was brilliant.  :)

feeling like a tourist.

Today we (as in the girls that came from Central with me) walked around Kingston!
Cat and I live just down the road from each other, so we rode the bus to Kingston University. We had to wait for the others to join us, so we walked around the campus building a bit. We found a lovely student diner that had cheap meals, so I'm sure I'll eat lunch there a lot! You can even buy a BAKED POTATO. Yea, like a really big potato and buy toppings to put on it. Super awesome.

After everyone arrived we started walking around Kingston. We all bought phones, visited Primark (which is like, the best store I've ever been to. It's going to be really hard to not spend all my money there!), tried to buy our Oyster cards but failed miserably, so instead we went to The King's Tun Pub and enjoyed a nice drink!

Then, we had to start heading home. So I got on a bus and thought everything was going to end out okay.
WELL, I got off at the wrong bus stop. Silly me. So I walked down the road, THINKING I knew where I was going but I was so wrong. So I stopped at a place to buy my Oyster card, which is a card that you use when you use public transportation so you don't have to pay every time you get on a bus, I got some Chinese for dinner, and I bought some groceries. Then I got hopelessly lost and confused, carrying around my hot dinner and three heavy bags of groceries. Yea, not my happiest or best moment.
So, I just get on a bus and hope for the best. Thankfully, this nice old man helped me, probably because I looked like a lost fool, but he told me what I had to do and I eventually found my way home!

Tomorrow, orientation!
Yay? :)

the longest 2 days of my life.

Monday, September 10
7:20- Woken up by my siblings as they said their goodbyes.
8:00- Showered and dressed
9:00- Lunch with mum
11:20- Arrive at Muskegon Airport for 12:05 flight
11:40 (Chicago Time now): Arrive in Chicago
6:10- Flight to London delayed 50 minutes
7:10- Board plane
8:00- Take-off

Tuesday, September 11
9:20- Land in London
12:30- Leave airport
1:30- Arrive at Kingston for orientation

And I haven't left yet.

I haven't been to my home stay yet. I haven't ate since 8 AM this morning. I haven't showered. I haven't even changed my clothes yet. I am exhausted, sore, and grumpy.

Thankfully, I have all of tomorrow to do whatever I want. Like sleep. A lot.
However, I'm not letting this awful beginning ruin my experience!
I am already in love with Kingston, the city, and the surrounding area. It is all so beautiful and I'll post pictures when I finally get a moment to take some! Probably tomorrow. :)

two weeks and counting.

This will be my blog that I'll be using while I'm studying abroad at Kingston University! I leave in exactly two weeks from Chicago! I don't actually start classes until Sept. 24 and I'll be back in the USA on December 17.

I have wanted to study abroad since I was in high school. I thought it sounded like so much fun to leave the USA for a few months and immerse myself in a new culture. So when I started the process back in January to study at Kingston and since then, it has felt like I am finally accomplishing one of my dreams.

Here is a link to Kingston's website if you guys want to check out where I'll be studying for three months!

http://www.kingston.ac.uk/



I'll be posting a blog once or twice a week, at least I hope to! I'll be posting hundreds of pictures on Facebook too, so keep a look-out for those!

I feel so blessed to have this opportunity and I can't wait to see and experience everything the UK has to offer! :)