Mid-Term Crunch and a Quick Synopsis of Previous Adventures

Due to the overwhelming concept of actually being in England for an extended period of time, it’s taken me a while to adjust and thus a while to update my blog. So, this will be an attempt to update briefly on things I’ve done, experiences and trips that are the light at the end of the dark tunnel that is my mid-term essay pile.

First off I would like to explain where I do my grocery shopping. The nearest grocery store is called ASDA, it’s basically a giant Walmart superstore and is in fact, owned by Walmart. Layed out the same, easy to navigate and I don’t mind it. What I do mind is the absurd variety of food that it sells!

Example, the flavours of crisps.

The hotdogs...

And this needs no explanation.

That cake was actually part of something I really like about going to school here, the overwhelming presence of Doctor Who. A group of us had a season finale party 2 weeks ago and the cake from ASDA was a fun treat.

I also spent a weekend in England with my friend Casey only to be hit with a freak heat wave. Our hostel room was 45 degrees Celsius and the streets were at least 30 degrees. It was actually great sunny weather and really added to the trip. I rode the London Eye, went to London Dungeons (SCARY STUFF) and completed a dream of mine. I went to the Sherlock Holmes museum.

The Sherlock Holmes museum is at 221b Baker Street and is basically a remake of the house from the Conan Doyle books. I’ve been a huge Sherlockian for a while and it was such a dream come true to stand in Holmes’ study and look over the journals of John Watson. I did raid the gift shop a bit but it was a worthwhile investment. There was a Beatles store beside the museum which was a nice perk as well.

Last week I went to Cornwall for three days on a King Arthur epic of sorts. It was a trip with 20 of my classmates where we went to sites from the Legends of King Arthur and a random out of place giant indoor jungle (the biggest jungle in captivity apparently) called the Eden Centre. I climbed up the Tor, and the Holy Grail is said to be buried at the bottom somewhere, and I also navigated the beautiful ruins of the castle the King Arthur was born and spent his childhood in. I’m also pretty into the legends of King Arthur and loved the experience as well.

So many other things have happened and I feel that a post on dorm life and my new friends is in order but I just don’t have the time right now. The mid-term crunch is on and between running from my dorm to the castle for classes 3 times a day I’ve been living in the library or the computer lab attempting to keep ahead of things. I do have my midterm trip quickly approaching, I’m leaving Sunday for Scotland and am ridiculously excited.

Links to pictures from all adventures listed in this post are available on my pictures page. (Or will be soon)

Will Update soon with more interesting things and possibly a better writing style.

-MegaTron

A Quick Update

I had my first day of classes today. In a 14^th century castle 5 minutes away from my residence building. Now, so far I’ve had no real problems with the weather, it was more like a late Canadian autumn with random bouts of rain than the crazy damp climate everyone kept warning me about. However, today I woke up to a nice surprise, 45 mph wind. Honestly, I almost blew over on the way to the castle this morning, and then what little rain we received was a fine mist blown into your face like ice. Thanks England.

On a brighter note, I quite enjoy my classes so far based on what I’ve witnessed. My drama Prof. is funny and energetic (go figure) and I think my English Professor and I will get along swimmingly.

I went to Brighton yesterday, it kind of reminded me of New York in a way, minus the plasma televisions on buildings and times square. It was full of old buildings and beautiful monuments, while at the same time crowded with everything from brand name shops to discount ones and little pubs with British fiddle bands. I bought a nice big sweater, which came in handy today when dealing with the wind. So all in all, goodstuff.

Finally, I want to take a few lines to thank my amazing Nana for finding me a lined raincoat in TJ Maxx before I left for the U.K. I’ve used that thing at least twice a day every day since I landed and it’s a miracle coat. So, thanks Nana J

Big shout out to my friends and family, I am currently working on a more “British” blog post but I’m waiting until I stumble upon sufficient information before I post it.

Ciao.

Meghan

An Explanation

There's less than five days until I leave so I figured I should probably explain what's going on. Well, in May I was accepted into Queen's University for a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree. I love the campus in Kingston and the University itself is amazing. However, I didn't apply to Queen's U in Kingston, I applied to the Queen's University campus in East Sussex, England! So, my first year is in the U.K then I'm off to another beautiful campus in Kingston, Ontario.

Did I mention my campus in England is a huge Tudor style castle? (Pictured above)

It's been a roller coster of craziness just trying to get ready to go, from crying in the middle of Digital Audio Studies when I discovered I was accepted, (it was the day after I was declined from my first choice University :( ) to freaking out about U.K visas (so tedious) and working my butt off all summer so I could afford to breathe the air in another country, well let's just say I've been busy. Totally worth it though.

Totally worth it.

-Meghan