University, not college.

Hello family and friends! It has been a somewhat busy week for me here in the UK. I had an international meet and greet on Wednesday, the 21st of September. I was supposed to meet at the school at 10:00 am but my train was over 20 minutes late and I missed my first meeting (Oops.) It was not a big deal though, there were many meetings throughout the rest of the day that I had to sit through and become really really bored.

My first day of University was ok. They call it University here. It is never called college because college is when a Brit is 16 and 17 and is before one goes to University. They don't have 4 years of "highschool." There were about 200 international students that attended the meetings on Wednesday. I know that there was one other American, but I couldn't find her. It was a very awkward day. At my home university, Black Hills State, the international students hang out with each other. If you are Asian you hang out with Asians, Polish hang out with Polish, etc. It was EXACTLY the same on Wednesday. Languages were being spoken all around me and I did not understand any of them. Every student was looking for another student from their own country. I gave up looking for an American about halfway through the day. I don't want to be that person that only has American friends while I am in another country. I think I will try to find some british girls to talk to in class. British people are more fun anyway. (my opinion.)

On Thursday I skipped my meetings because they were pointless, and stayed home. On Friday I had to meet my international advisor and it went well. I found out that I will meet my academic advisor on Monday and get my timetable (schedule) and student card next week. Next week is Freshers week at the school which is why we don't have classes. Freshers week is a pretty big deal I think. I know that there are massive parties and clubs are crazy with students. A whole week of partying before starting classes? Why not.

O yeah, I thought I would mention that my university has 2 bars. Like, inside the university. Have an hour between classes? Just walk to the Student Union for a pint. This would never work in America in my opinion, where college students drink only to get drunk. Messy.

Boats!

It has been another week here in England. For the most part, it was not very eventful. In an effort to stop gaining weight and fit in the clothes I brought here, I started running again. I ran almost every night this past week and even though I get lost sometimes, I am starting to understand Totton a little better. Harvey and I went down to one of his favorite pubs on Friday night called the farmhouse and had a few drinks and food. The farmhouse is a chain so it is not a unique pub but the food and drinks are cheap!

On Saturday, Harvey and I headed to Southampton. Our first stop was to walk the route from the train startion to Southampton Solent, the school I will be attending. This Wednesday the 21st, I have my international induction programme at Solent. It starts at 10:00 am and I will have to take the train from Totton to Southampton and then walk to the school. I did not have a chance to see the inside of Solent yet, but the outside is modern. Fortunately, the school is not especially large. I am extremely nervous about Wednesday and have no idea what to expect but I am also very excited!

Our next stop of the day was to look for apartments in Central Southampton. We want to be close to Harvey's work and my school so being in the center of town is our best location. We went to a rental agency and have a viewing this weekend so hopefully we can get into an apartment by October.

Around 1pm we headed to the boat show! Southampton is a port city as I have stated before and have an annual boat show each year. This is a HUGE boat show. Mostly its comprised of vendors, but once you get to the docks you can see at least a hundred boats on display. Obviously I am not extremely interested in boats but the best part of the show for me was walking out on the docks. The view was beautiful. It was a windy day so the ocean water was rushing pretty rapidly and would spill onto the docks. I just wanted to sit down and put my feet in the sea! Another highlight was seeing the cruise ships that port in Southampton. There was one you could get really close to and I decided that I was definitely going to book a cruise while I am here.

Harvey's brother in law James welcomed his parents to town on Sunday afternoon. They are from Cornwall which Grace jokes should be its own country. The only thing I know about Cornish people is that their accent is very difficult to understand and also they make a great pasty! Cornish pasties are DELICIOUS! I am hoping his mom makes some while she is here. :) On Sunday night we headed to a pub/restaurant that I had never been called "The Empress of Blanding." It was named after a pig. Absolutely none of this made sense to me. Why someone would name their pig and why name their pub after a pig, I did not ask. However, the pub was really cool. We all got starters, mains, and desserts. The bill was 174 between 7 of us. (Pretty reasonable for 3 courses) The pub was decorated beautifully and also had quotes written on parts of the walls. I posted my favorite below.

I have noticed as I write this blog that I have been writing a lot of stories. I love writing about what I did yesterday or the day before but what is getting lost in my stories are the little things. The little aspects about England that I do not have enough space to write about or seems too far off the subject when I am writing my stories. The little things, though, are my favorite things. The things that I am getting used to or things I feel like I will never get used to. I have only been in England for a little over 2 weeks but it feels like I have lived here for months. I want to tell you about the England that I experience so my stories make a bit more sense to you.

The little things

1. Weather: I thought everyone was joking when they talked about how cloudy and miserable England's weather is. Well, they were NOT joking. England's weather really is terrible. It is cloudy every day here and I am not exaggerating. I want to go for a run, and it rains. On the plus side, I rarely have to worry about heat and sweating and I never really have to do my hair.

2. Food: I love bacon sandwiches. I love England's cheese. When we were in America, Harvey refused to eat American cheese that comes individually wrapped in plastic. Now I know why. I have bought mild cheddar cheese from the store and it is the tastiest most delicious cheese. We process everything so much in America. It is disgusting. The bacon here is thick, salty, and covered in meat not fat. Roast beef is delicious and thick and juicy. Lamb is unbelievably tasty. I know this will change my food choices when I get back to America.

3. Food continued:  England, like America, also has a lot of processed food. You could never imagine the amount and different kinds of crisps (chips) they sell here. Its not just bbq and sour cream and onion. Its prawn cocktail (shrimp flavoured) and smoky bacon and roast chicken. The amount of sweets (candy) they have is also enormous. Sweet shops everywhere. You walk in, and there are tubs and tubs of sweets that you can shovel into small bags and  take with you. At the grocery store there is an ENORMOUS aisle of just sweets. My favorite is Haribo. 

4. Pubs: I have said before that I love Pubs. I will tell you now why I love Pubs. Pubs are nothing like any bar in America that I have been to. Most are old and oddly shaped. Sometimes the tables are small and you can barely fit in. I have seen pastors in pubs, rugby players in pubs, elderly couples in pubs, young couples in pubs, dogs in pubs...etc. So many different people go to pubs. I am surprised how many people are in the pub drinking at all times of the day. Pubs have a sense of community. In Totton, when we go to a pub, Harvey's sister Grace knows almost everyone. The biggest difference is the atmosphere.

5. Pub Food: Another reason I love pubs is pub food. On Sundays for 6 pounds you can buy a Roast Dinners at most pubs. Its a heaping pile of Roast Beef, Veg, (they never say vegetables here its always veg) and Potatoes and usually comes with a pint (beer). Harvey's favorite meal as I have mentioned is Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding. Yorkshire pudding is a sweet batter when cooked is kind of like a pancake but better. My favorite meal is Fish and Chips, although I had lasagne the other day and it was amazingly delicious. The food is mostly comfort food..and what is more comforting about it is that you never take food home. You always eat your entire heaping pile of food so I never worry about eating too much. I always leave the pub feeling uncomfortably full but ridiculously happy!

Yorkshire pudding is the donut looking food

 

  6. Tea: I have to mention tea even though I think most people know that the British drink it. However, in case you don't understand how essential tea is a part of life here I will tell you that I drink a cup of tea about 4 times a day. I drink it with 2 splendas and a little milk. If one is making tea, it is rude not to ask everyone else in the vicinity if they would like a cup. Grace and James both know how I like my tea. I know how they like theirs. This is what I have noticed about tea. It is never selfish.

7. Family: I have met many people here over the age of 25 that live with their parents. I have met many people here who are in their 30s and are not married. I have met many married women who are in their 30s who have not had children. When the women in their 30's have children, they only have 1 or 2.

 In midwest America, if you are not married by 25 you are almost considered an old maid. If you do not have a child by 30 people think you are strange or believe you are never having one. It is not common to only have one child.

Families are different here. Harvey is 29 and only one of his friends has a child. He is finally at the age where his friends are getting married. I was worried when I came over that I would not relate to Harvey's friends because they are older than me but they really are not that different.

The littler things

8. Grammar: Tyres, Yoghurt, Colour. What do these words have in common? That's right. They are spelled wrong. Well, wrong to me. I don't know if I will ever get used to spelling yogurt "Yoghurt." It is just too wierd.

9. Lingo: I have given you a taste of lingo already in this post. Food has a lot of different lingo that I have noticed. Also, you never say "Can I have a Jack and Diet" when ordering Jack Daniels you say "JD and diet coke." It seems easy enough to understand but they are always confused if I say it my way.

 I will give you my favorite lingo I have noticed so far. "I can't be bothered" means "I don't want to do that," To take the piss means that you are making fun of someone. "Toilet" means "Bathroom" (I know, it sounds disgusting). People do often say bloody and bollucks. Fuck and Shit are a part of daily grammar and I have also even heard C*#t, which is too horrible."Bum" is butt..saying that you are "gutted" means that you are sad, and yes, "fag" means cigarette. If you are "fit" it means that you are attractive and a "mate" is not your significant other but your friend. If someone "winds you up" it means they are getting on your nerves. These are the most often used slang I have noticed. I have never understood what "cheeky" means. People use it in so many different contexts.

I can't force myself to say mobile phone instead of cell phone and sometimes my stubborness to keep my own lingo makes people confused about what I am saying.

 

10. Kissing:  I am horrible at kissing. As a lady who meets new people often, I should be able to recieve a cheek kiss gracefully. I can't. Usually if I meet someone new all that I can think about is if they are going to cheek kiss me and how can I get out of it. They make it complicated here. There is not a specific side that they kiss on and they don't tell you when they are going to do it. How can I help it if someone lunges at me with their lips pursed and I get completely surprised and awkwarded out?? Obviously I am semi-joking and being dramatic but I do get a bit of anxiety over the cheek kiss. I don't want people to think I am rude or for them to feel awkward just because I do.

Kissing isn't just for cheeks when you meet. Kisses are given freely in texts, emails, and fb wall posts. People xxx (kiss) on every single text they send. Like my lingo, I cannot force myself to kiss on texts or fb yet.

Pirates and Pearls.

Saturday night was the Pirates and Pearls Ball. I was invited as Harvey's date and he was invited because he is part of the sales team of the hotel where the ball was located. Since I had gotten back from Winchester a mere 3 hours before we had to leave I was exhausted and no longer cared enough to worry about my dress or how I would look at the ball. I took a quick nap and then started the process of getting ready.

I wore a short black dress and Harvey assured me this would be just fine. We made our way to his hotel and he gave me a quick tour before we settled into a lounge and were offered our first (of many) free drinks of the night. Harvey is the only man that works with his sales team so naturally when we were all supposed to meet in the lounge at 7, it was 7:30 before all of the ladies showed up. I was very relieved when all of the women were wearing short dresses and I was definitely not out of place. No one wants to be "that" girl.

We headed into the reception area where we were offered our second free drink of the night. I did not know that the ball was named Pirates and Pearls until I arrived and many people were dressed up. The reception area had many themed decorations and was really cool. After what seemed like forever (I had high heels on and had to stand the whole time) we headed into the ballroom. There were around 15 tables and Harvey's sales team was Table 12. I also did not know that the reason for this "ball" was charity. It was put on every year for different charity organizations.

The food was delicious although very late. It was a 3 course mean that was supposed to start at 8 but we didnt end up eating the main course until 9:30. I am not a happy when I am hungry. The starter course was salmon, the main was Roast beef with Yorkshire Pudding, the dessert was a lemon tart. After eating there was an auction and a band. Unfortunately, around 11:30 I was falling asleep in my chair (not from drinking, I had only had 2 the whole night). Harvey got a cab and we headed home.

Our table. I am in the back :)

My first "ball" was an interesting one. It really was not what I considered a ball at all. It was like a fancier prom but with unlimited free alcholic drinks and pirates. There was a photo booth which was a highlight and I am sure if I could have lasted longer the night would have ended up a blast. I did not leave dissappointed. I left with a bag of goodies and a hope that sometime Harvey will be invited to another one and I will be able to go.

Winchy!

On Friday, I took the train to Southampton (the large city where Harvey works and where my university is) around 5:45 and met Harvey. It takes around 10 minutes by train to get to Southampton from Totton (a suburb of Southampton where Harvey's sister lives and where we are currently residing). Hopefully, the parentheses helps everyone understand Southampton and Totton a bit better. I keep getting questions about it! Anyway, when I met Harvey at Southampton we jumped on another train that would take us to Winchester. It was around a 20 minute ride.

If I have had a favorite day/s so far, it has been Winchester. We met our friends Chinny and Jools (the couple that accompanied us to the festival last weekend) at Jool's apartment which was only a 5 minute walk from the train station. Jool's (short for Julia) has an AMAZING view of Winchester from her apartment. We ate fajita's, drank some wine, and Chinny played his guitar. We finished getting ready and headed out on the town to see Winchester nightlife around 9pm.

 

 The nightlife in Winchester was pretty calm. The bars were not empty, but by no means were they packed. It didn't matter to me though, I was captivated by how Winchester looked at night. We first stopped at a pub called alfie's. I haven't mentioned pub too much in my blog, but I LOVE pubs. After a few drinks at Alfie's, we spent the rest of the night bar-hopping and eventually headed back to Jools around 12:30. I knew I had to take it easy on Friday night because of the ball on Saturday.

Harvey, Chinny, Jools, and I woke up on Saturday morning and ate bacon sandwiches (of course) before heading out to tour Winchy, Harvey's nickname for the town. Jools family lives in Winchester, and the only things I had heard of the town was the boys poking fun at Jools for being prestigious because she had grown up here. Winchester is full of so much history. The town boasts of King Arthur's table, the fact that Jane Austen lived here, the bunkers that are now apartments that held World War 2 soldiers, and the Winchester Cathedral. I posted a link to a page on the Winchester website in case you wanted to find out more! Who wouldn't??

 http://www.visitwinchester.co.uk/site/about-winchester/20-unusual-facts

Since this is not a history lesson I am going to tell you what I saw in Winchester and how I saw it. First of all, the streets in Winchy are very narrow and covered in stones. The stones are gapped enough that moss grows in between them. Such a normal thing, a street, yet to me it is so beautiful! The Great Hall that holds King Arthur's table was large and ornate. My mom and I have always been a bit obsessed with stories (movies) of King Arthur and his knights, so this was a big thing for me. Outside the Great Hall there was a garden that was opened by The Queen and The Queen's Mother. Everyone laughed when I stated that I could be stepping on the same stone that The Queen, herself could have stepped on years ago when she was there. Apparently, this wasn't amazing to anyone but me. The Winchester Cathedral was beautiful, but to me it is a large church and we didn't go inside so I don't think I appreciated it as much as I probably should have. After touring the city a bit more we stopped to eat at the oldest pub in England, The Royal Oak. I had Fish and Chips (YUM!) and Harvey had a Roast Beef Yorkshire Pudding Wrap. Right before we headed home we stopped to grab some sweets (candy) at the local shop. By the time we arrived in Totton I was extremely full and needed a nap before getting ready for the ball in 3 hours.

Slugs and Festivals

I am very happy today because I finally got a phone! I ordered one from the 3 company which is one of the bigger cellphone companies here. Phones are MUCH cheaper here. I bought a new one for 50 pounds, with 15 pounds a month for all-you-can-eat 3g internet data, 300 call minutes, and 3000 texts a month. Its the best deal I have found so far. I also have applied for my National Insurance Number which is essential for me in order to get a part time job. The hardest  thing I have experienced so far is trying to find a bank to start a UK bank account, and since the weather has been horrible the past 2 days, walking to the bank is out of the question. In order to register for my classes I need to pay for my tuititon and in order to pay for my tuition I need a UK bank account. I'll let you know how that works out. 

In other news.....

This past Saturday, September 3rd was festival day! Harvey and I met another couple and headed to a Totton festival called PULSE. I wasn't sure what to expect but we knew there was a 15 pound cover charge and we looked up some of the bands that were playing. Of course, we had never heard of any of them..but it still seemed fun.

The festival reminded me so much of the Heritage Festival in Rapid City. There were 3 stages with acts playing all night (3pm to 11pm). There was face-painting, plenty of food, and drinks. The choice of drink was beer, wine, or cider. I have never been a huge fan of cider, it reminds me of hot apple cider from the holidays, and since it is alcoholic...its a little too sweet for me to drink all night. I attempted a glass of wine, but since it wasn't chilled and the British hate ice (Seriously, I can't figure out why no one uses ice here..its a problem)  I could barely swallow the wine and ended up drinking Foster's beer the rest of the night.

All in all, it was a pretty great time. The people at the festival were definitely eclectic, but the couple we were with (Chinny and Jools) are really nice people. Harvey and I are heading to Winchester on Friday, which is where Jools has an apartment. It is about 30 minutes away from Totton and from what I have heard is a historical, unique city. I am excited!

This weekend is going to be busy. Harvey works at a hotel in Southampton and his sales team is invited to a ball on Saturday night. Someone dropped out and I am allowed to be Harvey's date! At first, I was extremely nervous because I am not a "ball" person and I have no idea what to wear. Harvey reassured me and tomorrow I will head to Southampton to find accessories to wear with one of the 15 dresses I brought with me. I can't wait to blog the mishaps of my first 3 course dinner and dance.

Getting acclimated to England...

The sun is shining today in Totton! I am excited about this because every day I have been here it has been cloudy at least for parts of the day. I am crossing my fingers it does not rain at all today! I didnt expect to miss South Dakota, but I definitely miss the sun! I spent too many hours packing dresses and shorts to not be able to wear them.

It was a bank holiday on Monday. Which is basically a day off of work for no particular reason. I would compare it to Columbus day or President's day in America without having the excuse of "Columbus Day" or "President's day." Lets just call it what it is, a day off. :) We didn't do much on Monday, but that is expected of a holiday I guess!

I have been trying to figure out a phone situation that would work best for me but I am having issues. Harvey had an old phone and thought if he got a SIM card, I could just buy minutes. This would have been cheap and perfect for me, but of course his phone was too old and they don't make SIM cards for that type anymore so I might have to buy a new phone. I don't feel like spending 75 pounds on a phone that I will only use for 10 months and not be able to use it when I leave. Damn phone companies! I am not too worried about it, I will figure something out.

Harvey went back to work on Tuesday, and since I do not start school until the 21st and am still looking for a job, I have been hanging out a lot by myself. On Wednesday night I met Harvey in Southampton and we went out for drinks and food with his coworkers. He works with women, only women. We went to a restaurant/bar called the pitcher and piano and it overlooked a dock full of HUGE boats. I can't wait to move into Southampton. It is such a cool city and I want to become a part of it!