Allison Abroad

School

Sat, 05 Feb 2011 05:58:11 -0500

Classes started again this past Monday and it’s hard to believe I’m already in my second - and last semester in England. It’s scary to think how fast time has flown by since last spring. I remember the day I got accepted to study abroad - the day before my birthday, and by far the best birthday present I’ve ever received. I love Leicester, and I love England. When I went to Finland for Christmas, I missed England more than I’ve ever missed America. I have five and a half months left here…I’ve almost been here half my time. I never want it to end! When people ask me if I like going to school here, I say I never want to go home. Not that I don’t miss home, but I just love it here. Things are so different here - not better, but different, and I’ve gotten so used to them. It’s interesting to find out what the new study abroaders think is interesting/cool here because I realize what I’ve begun to overlook since I’ve been here so long. I could easily live in England in the future.

Classes

Mondays I have my Renaissance Drama Seminar at noon. I don’t know anyone in the class, and it’s on Shakespeare and his Contemporaries, so it’s pretty difficult since I haven’t read much Shakespeare, or any other Renaissance plays, really. I also have my Medieval Literature lecture on Mondays at 1pm. It’s similar to Old English…..enough said.

Tuesdays I have a Postwar to Postmodern Literature Lecture at noon. It might be interesting, but I think it may be quite difficult, too, because post-modern lit is really frustrating to me as far as I can tell at this point. I also have a seminar for Medieval Lit at 4pm, and I really like my seminar group! And my professor is pretty fit (in the super intelligent way). hahaha always a plus. I then have another lecture for Medieval Lit, so two solid hours of Med. Lit…just like my two solid hours on Mondays of Old English…oh boy.

Wednesdays I have no classes - again.

Thursdays I have a seminar for Postwar to Postmodern Literature at 10am. It is my only class of the day. It’s going to suck getting up for class and then having nothing to do the rest of the day. AND it’s an intimidating seminar. The professor is really nice, but she definitely is going to be demanding in the work that we do.

Fridays I have a lecture for Renaissance Drama at 10am. Another one I don’t think I’ll be making it to all the time since they post everything online anyway. I then have a film screening/lecture for Postwar to Postmodern from 2-4 and then an overlapping film screening/lecture from 3-5 for Renaissance Drama. I’ll have to choose which one I’ll go to…

Anyway, that is it for now. I have a ton of work to do for this week - I have to read Richard 3 by Monday at noon, some Middle English stuff by Tuesday at 4, and The Lonely Londoners by Thursday at 10. OHHH the life of an English major….

Thursday, 3 February 2011 We had a study abroad society party...

Sat, 05 Feb 2011 05:43:02 -0500

Thursday, 3 February 2011

We had a study abroad society party themed “Noah’s Ark” at the Varsity in town. I tripled up with Michelle and Derek as our favorite animal: Elephant. In our little bus group, Sam and Danny were penguins, Kristin, Grace, and Ian were Cows, and Polly and Alaster were panthers. We had a really good time at the bar, then we ran through town like a herd, freeeeeezing and trying to find our way to the new club Republic. All in all it was a pretty hilarious night.

The new study abroaders arrived last Wednesday, 26 January 2011....

Sat, 05 Feb 2011 05:36:34 -0500

The new study abroaders arrived last Wednesday, 26 January 2011. There are so many Americans it is ridiculous..Americans have officially invaded Leicester! It was interesting to find how many people thought me to be English. I guess I picked up more of an accent than I thought…Which I actually don’t want…I want my American accent back! So I plan on hanging out with Americans more often than not so I can get my accent back! :P

We had a study abroad society bar crawl on Friday 28 January, and my feet got stomped on when we ended up in our student union club - the O2 Academy. Girls in high heels mixed with alcohol is certainly not a good combination…as my feet are green/purple now….ha ha haaaaaa

Monday, 31 January 2011

We had a Refreshers Bar Crawl just like the first bar crawl we had (Freshers Bar Crawl) and it was amazing. I had a really good time compared to the Freshers one which I just had a less-than-great time. I’ve made some good friends over the last week. It’s just like last semester - I have no idea who will be my close friends a week from now. It’s all up in the air, which is scary to think about. I’m worried that I won’t have as good of friends as I had last semester because I think I’m still in the comparing mode - I compare all my experiences this semester to those I had last semester. This time last semester, I remember going to Primark for the first time with Sarah, Tory, Tam, and Brittney to get our first Fancy Dress Party costumes. It’s been hard the last week - I’ve been homesick more days in the last week than I ever was last semester. I don’t know why..I don’t even know if it’s homesickness or just me missing my friends from last semester. I now know how my friends felt a year ago when they had to start over without all their study abroad friends. It really isn’t easy at all…and to top it off, everywhere we go in Leicester there’s a memory from last semester, and it just makes me more sad :/

Anyway, I’m sure it’ll get better in a few weeks. I’m having fun most of the time, and it has gotten easier in the last few days. I’m positive this will be an amazing semester like last one was :)

I’m so ready for my exam to be done so I can put OLD...

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 11:25:32 -0500

I’m so ready for my exam to be done so I can put OLD ENGLISH behind me. I’m very interested in it from all this studying - no sarcasm - but I’m tired of it now. Cramming so much OE into 8 days is terrible! Anyway test is the day after tomorrow and I’m revising with a friend tomorrow so I think the exam will go smoothly if I can find the building it’s in after all haha.

The new study abroaders arrive in Leicester on Wednesday and I am so excited about it! I can’t wait to show the new people all the things I love in Leicester/England :)

I have spent 8 hours studying today. Believe it or not, I only...

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 14:21:50 -0500

I have spent 8 hours studying today. Believe it or not, I only spent about 5 minutes total on Facebook. I did research and translations and readings and writing and memorizing and I think I know quite a lot about ‘The Life of St Aethelthryth’ and ‘Sermo Lupi ad Anglos’….sounds thrilling, I know. You should read the essay I turned in yesterday entitled ‘Masculinity: Literature’s Presentation of the Relationship of Males with Females’….even more exciting than Old English which is just unbelievable. Luckily next Wednesday, 26 January 2011, I WILL BE DONE WITH OLD ENGLISH. YESSSSS that’ll be a happy day. It’ll be about as happy as I was leaving the hospital after 5 days in it. THAT happy.

And now my good friend, Mike Amico, whom is going back to California tomorrow, has just walked into my bedroom with two bottles of red wine, to which I turn to happily. And therefore, this post is done.

THE SUN

Sat, 08 Jan 2011 07:53:03 -0500

The sun in England is incredibly deceiving.

In California, when the sun shines, it’s USUALLY warm. (95% of the time)

In England, if the sun is shining, it doesn’t mean it’s warm…even if it’s warm on my back as it comes in through the window while I’m sit at my desk typing this.

I went for a run this morning…after three minutes I couldn’t feel my fingers. After three minutes and ten seconds I couldn’t breathe through my nose. Blehhhhhhh

I miss California sun purely because it doesn’t deceive me!

If the sun is going to shine is should at least provide a BIT of warmth! In my opinion that is :)

This was night #3. It was the Winter Solstice Ice Sculpture...

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 09:32:00 -0500

This was night #3. It was the Winter Solstice Ice Sculpture festival thingy at the nearby channel. We went there for a while - it was so cold - so so so so soooooo very cold.

My second night in Finland - It was about 4pm when this photo...

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 09:30:05 -0500

My second night in Finland - It was about 4pm when this photo was taken - Alisa and I took Tarmo and Mamu for a walk on the lake behind her family’s house. It was my first time ever walking on a frozen lake - and it was -15ºC, so it was absolutely FREEZING.

Earlier that day we drove up to her house in Varkaus from Helsinki, which is about a 3-4 hour drive. I arrived the night before, and she and her uncle picked me up from the airport and we spent the night at her dad’s parent’s house just outside Helsinki. There was a TON of snow in Helsinki…and the entire drive up to Varkaus was a winter wonderland - towering trees caked in pure white snow line the little two lane highway. It’s absolutely jaw-droppingly beautiful!

The semester is now over…It’s sad to see it go. We...

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 09:17:00 -0500

The semester is now over…It’s sad to see it go. We came here when the weather was beautiful and warm, and when the weather became cold and wet, yet still beautiful - if not, even more beautiful in a coat of white, a ton of my friends left since they were only here for the semester. I think the hardest thing to think about is that we will never be all together again…maybe some of us will meet up, but we’ll still be missing people. I mean if you really think about it, it’s hard to keep in touch with people…how many people do we actually keep in touch with? There are two sayings in regards to this - ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ and ‘out of sight, out of mind’ and I hate to say it..I really do, but let’s face it - out of sight, out of mind is the more realistic quote. I do try to keep in touch with people, but it’s a two way street. In any relationship, effort on both sides is needed, and with time differences, jobs, school. and LIFE in general, it’s always going to be difficult to keep in touch. And then there’s this point we get to where we’ve not talked for so long that it’s almost tedious to get back in touch because there is SO much to catch people up on and yet not enough time to do it!

I guess this is me being negative. It should probably stop now…..

Positive thinking:

I’ve got friends literally all over the world thanks to this experience. There are places I may have never had any reason to go to before, but now do because I have someone I would like to visit. I will definitely be going to South Africa. and Australia. and France. and Germany. and Poland. and Sweden. and Spain. and all over England! and probably all over America as well! This has been the greatest experience of my life thus far. I’m so thankful for it, and I know I will ALWAYS remember it.

Memories:

I remember the first time I met Tamaryn Skye Ross: she was going on and on about how we all needed to go to Paris for her birthday - which was two months away! I knew she would be my friend from that day on.

I remember walking into everything during the international students welcome program with jessie, sarah, mike, and joe…always late.

I remember the first Digby house party…the one where we played beer pong with ‘eye balls’ and flip cup so many times that when I started laughing, I fell on the ground, and then everyone else fell to the ground, and since we were too drunk and happy to get up, we just remained on the ground and talked and joked and had an amazing time.

I remember the first Hastings House party - the one where Josh called 999 for an ambulance after drinking too much absynthe.

I remember the Digby house party for Jason and Jessie’s birthday. and the next morning hearing about how she ran around her house shirtless, yelling at people, such as Flo for being too good looking to be in her presence - and yelling at a random boy that told her to shut up that he had no future, or something along those lines.

I remember the bar crawl, where we sang ‘Hey Jude’ and took up the entire dance floor as we formed a circle, arm in arm, having the time of our LIVES.

I remember when we found out what a fancy dress party was! and when we were walking to catch the bus and Tam’s feet came out from under her hahahaha :)

I remember getting lost in the city centre with Mike, Tam, Dean, Joe, and Tilman!

I remember waiting for the bus to arrive in the pouring rain with Joe, Sarah, Flo, Mike, Jessie, and Matt.

I remember when Tory, Sarah, and I decided to go out on our own in town on a Sunday night. We met some boys at a bar and ended up having an amazing night out.

I remember the gay bar - it was also the first night I went out with my housemates..

I remember the vagina cupcakes….

I remember HOUSEMATE DARES NIGHT. such a hilarious night for me…

I remember fab foursome dinners at my house with Tam, Sarah, and Tory. Gossip and good food with good friends - what more do you need? oh ya…WINE

I remember laying in bed with Tam, Sarah, and Jessie as we facebook stalked..

I remember our amazing International Thanksgiving!!! Definitely unforgettable!!

I remember the first snow fall - Brittney, Mike, Dean, and Tam knocking on my bedroom door to wake me up at 4 in the morning because it was snowing for the first time and Dean and Tam had never seen snow before! :)

I remember the snowball fight that Helen, Sanaa, Donald, and I had in our backyard..

Then there are the nights that i DON’T remember, but I know I had fun - SAS Halloween Party, SAS Bar Crawl, Swim Team Short Course Nationals, Manorcroft House Parties, Digby House Parties, Beaumont House Parties, Chilli Whites, I <3 Mondays, Propaganda, The Big Shabang….SO MANY AMAZING NIGHTS.

The wall in my roooom

Sun, 05 Dec 2010 13:33:43 -0500

The wall in my roooom

BUCS University Swimming Short Course Nationals 12-14...

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 15:38:05 -0500

BUCS University Swimming Short Course Nationals 12-14 November

Went to swimming nationals in Sheffield, which reminded me a lot of Los Angeles purely because there are a bunch of random buildings and offices that don’t fit together in any way haha. It’s not a pretty place. It’s a big factory town. Anyway, I swam in a relay on friday night and then an individual on Sunday morning. We had a swim social on Saturday night..we went to the University of Sheffield student union which is nice, but I like the Leicester union better. There were a lot of people in fancy dress…one of which was dressed as Borat. HA. brave one, that boy. We dressed up as brownies….hahaha it was a pretty good night, but I was worried about my race in the morning so i didn’t have as much fun as I should or could have..

After the Study Abroad Society bar crawl, Sanaa and Lisa and I...

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 12:52:13 -0500

After the Study Abroad Society bar crawl, Sanaa and Lisa and I sat at the kitchen table and when Sanaa and I began singing every Britney Spears song we could think of, Lisa left us hahaha. Then Lauren came out and we called Lisa back and we sang Build Me Up Buttercup a few times and eventually gotten into a place mat war hahaha. The photo with the couch is great because if you look by my bedroom door, you can see her head sticking out from behind the sofa where she was hiding hahahahaha. I love my housemates :)

Study Abroad Society Bar Crawl

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 15:07:25 -0500

Study Abroad Society Bar Crawl

My eating habits tend to be a joke of the house. I was eating...

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 15:01:32 -0500

My eating habits tend to be a joke of the house. I was eating curry and chips (fries) and had to add cheese….i do love my cheese.. hahaha

This was my first Monday night out to Liquid and Envy’s...

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 14:58:50 -0500

This was my first Monday night out to Liquid and Envy’s “I Love Mondays” which is a student night in the club called Liquid and Envy. Every Monday is a student night there. It’s cheap entry and all the drinks we tend to drink are only one pound for the night, so it’s a really cheap and really fun night out. It’s always a good time at Liquid!

This night had a fancy dress theme. I was the devil, Lisa the dark angel, Helen the angel, Lauren an army girl, and Sanaa a police woman. I don’t have a group photo from my own camera unfortunately but there are some on facebook…

The boy I’m hugging in the photo is my friend, Joe. He always keeps me warm when we are waiting for cabs home after Liquid!

This is the view outside my window when it was really looking...

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 14:51:21 -0500

This is the view outside my window when it was really looking like autumn! the leaves fell of the tree in the yard, and that’s how you know winter is coming….and i love that time that overlaps the two…the air is so freshhhh :)

Friday night we had a party at our house. It was only a...

Sun, 31 Oct 2010 08:21:33 -0400

Friday night we had a party at our house. It was only a pre-drink party for the O2 Academy at the Student Union, but like last time, we had a HUGE turn out!! (I LOVE MY HOUSE)

Anyway, photo order:

1) I was Britney Spears (Baby One More Time)

2) Me and Polly!!! (for those that don’t know, Polly and I lived together last year when she studied abroad at Long Beach. Now I’m studying at her school)

3) The entryway to our house was packed with people, too…

4) Our Kitchen counter.

5) The Club at the student union. The dj was Zane Lowe…apparently he’s a big deal, however, Sarah, Lauren, and I didn’t enjoy him. There were so many people in here that Sarah and I just walked into the crowd and held hands so we wouldn’t get lost. We couldn’t dance because there were so many people, so we just got pushed around. At one point (like many others although this one is the most memorable for the following reason) Zane Lowe counted 1 2, 1234 and this guy near us sprayed his bottle of beer on me and Sarah. It was RIDICULOUS.

6) I found Tilman in the club! We went in the same cab TO the club, but once there I didn’t see him until halfway through…typical thing to happen at the O2 (losing your friends)

7) What we came home to: Dean and Alfie passed out in Lisa’s bed. Mike passed out on the sofa…

all in all it was a very good night! We went home at 4am. Brought some boys back with us and stayed up talking and eating toasties (grilled cheese) until 5:30am! ha

Thursday was the start of HalloWEEKEND. My favorite weekend of...

Sun, 31 Oct 2010 08:09:52 -0400

Thursday was the start of HalloWEEKEND. My favorite weekend of the year for the pure purpose of getting to be someone else three nights in a row :) This night was our Study Abroad Society Halloween Party at our sponsor bar in town - Varsity. It was our society’s for the evening. Sanaa, my housemate, did my hair and make up for my Vampiress costume. It looked amazing! I was so thrilled with the outcome! I met up with my friends at Hastings House and we all took the bus together. I didn’t plan on drinking, and ended up drinking more than my share because everyone was in a giving mood. I paid for one drink and it was my second drink of the night…out of 8. Everyone was buying rounds. It was a great party! It was nice because it was the first time we were all together since the international students welcome program four weeks prior.

In the photos - in order of appearance -

1) Me and Joe (from Long Beach, whom I have known since the first semester of freshman year from crew). He was Russell Brand.

2) The crowd of people in Varsity!

3) Tam and I - She’s from South Africa - she was an army BABE.

4) Tam, Amanda (the creator of our society), Tory (long beach), and myself.

5) Mike (Long Beach) and myself. He was Peter Pan!!

6) My friend Jonny was the Kissing Booth. I had to…haha

Day 41 Wednesday, October 27, 2010 I woke up feeling MUCH better...

Sun, 31 Oct 2010 08:00:31 -0400

Day 41

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

I woke up feeling MUCH better than the day before. All the sleep helped a ton. I didn’t have classes, and didn’t want to do anything because I wanted to make sure I was better for Thursday night’s Study Abroad Society Halloween Party, so I moved about the house but never left the room. It helped a ton.

These photos are of my shelf in my cupboard and my half of the fridge. Notice the Tapatio. My mom sent it to me in the mail…which I forgot to say I FINALLY received on Monday afternoon. it took forever, and now it’s worth it. the Tapatio was a surprise my mom stuffed into the parcel. It was an awesome surprise..i don’t know how i got on so well without it for the past 5 and a half weeks!!

Day 40 Tuesday, October 26, 2010 I woke up very ill this day....

Sun, 31 Oct 2010 07:57:08 -0400

Day 40

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

I woke up very ill this day. Decided to email my professors for my two seminars and let them know I wouldn’t be making it because I needed to get better as soon as possible. I was meant to be going out Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, AND Sunday and then Monday again, but getting sick Monday night ruined that for me. I even planned on going to swim training monday and tuesday night, but that failed since i was so sick. I couldn’t breathe..i was feverish. I literally slept 33 out of 35 hours. I left my room three times..all to go to the toilet/get a drink of water. I am the most miserable sick person, as my housemates learned from Tuesday..