Keep Calm & Carry On

                    
On an unrelated note, and I don't feel like editing my last post since the photo adder seems to dislike me right now...when in doubt, listen to Disney soundtracks, eat cupcakes, and keep on keepin' on until the weekend...


Life? Life is good.

Much Ado About Grits...

So I got back from Warwick and Stratford-Upon-Avon last night, and it was a wonderful trip! Unfortunately, I was in a little bit of a hurry to leave so I forgot my camera...sad day. I'm getting all my pictures from friends though (Thanks Alex & Andrea!). We started off the day with the usual Don't Be A Tourist drill and played speed dating to get to know some of the other people on the trip (you're sitting on the bus and the window seat stays seated while they aisle seat moves back or forward one seat and you chat for a bit) and I ended up meeting another history major from Leeds Metropolitan University! So that was pretty cool. Warwick castle was BEAUTIFUL. I loved how touristy it was, however lame that may be. I got to attempt to take the sword out of the stone, but I was not successful. How disappointing. We got a delicious lunch at the carvery in the castle and I got to try what is apparently considered a delicacy...fried fat. If you know me, you must know that I love to eat anything, so the vacuum cleaner I am thought of as totally loved it. After Warwick, we headed off to Shakespeare's hometown of Stratford-Upon-Avon. It was really pretty considering all the architecture was from the Tudor times..so think Britain with those black and white houses. I know that's how I thought of England before I got here! So basically we went to visit Shakespeare's house...we had tea. Just kidding. However, we did enjoy a nice walk through various sites that he would have been at like his granddaughter's house (okay, maybe he would have been dead by the time she was around), his birthplace, his grave, and his church. It was all very exciting! Sunday, we went to the Spiceworld exhibit at the Leeds City Museum, and it was fabulous! We got to dress up and do karaoke and learn all sorts of random Spice Girls facts that I'm sure will show up on Who Wants to be a Millionaire...right?? Anyway, I need to get cracking on that last 2,000 word paper before I go to IRELAND this weekend with some fantastic people.

Don't Stop Believin'

This is me. I am writing a 2,000 word paper. I am not going to be working on this paper tomorrow. I will be in Warwick & Stratford. Problem? Yes. Do I care? No...So, pictures of Warwick Castle and Shakespeare's hizzouse tomorrow. and hopefully I look more like this...

No, not like a caterpillar..but the smiley fact that is the caterpillar. Maybe I'll even get a cupcake with a smiling caterpillar...oh the possibilities! The title..is random, but somewhat relevant. I need to start believing that this paper isn't the most boring thing I've ever written. Although, I do get to talk about how cynical and annoying film critics can be in respects to films about history...considering they constantly forget that they're HISTORICAL FICTION. Sorry, I guess it's pretty easy to forget that fiction isn't supposed to be real...I'll give the critics the benefit of the doubt.


Kiddddding!


Anyway, back to work so I can have a relatively stress-free weekend!


2nd photo via www.weheartit.com

Fearless

Sometimes, I think fashion world is just playing a horrible joke on society in general.

As you may or may not recall, harem pants briefly made an appearance into stores (a couple of seasons ago, I don't really keep up), well, today while shopping for a toga for the Otley Run...I recognized something that had faded into my memory as a brief eyesore...HAREM PANTS!!!

Ugh, as much as I love the silhouette of a dropped crotch...It's quite unflattering. Anyway, back to the Otley Run...I successfully completed one last night (give or take one or two stops). Pictures to come soon...it was such an experience!


So here's a list of ten things I'm looking forward to in the next year (I guess this post would have been more appropriate in January, right?)


1) Travelling, of course. France, Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, Germany, Austria, Belgium, & the Netherlands...SPRING BREAK 2011. It's going to be tough to top!

2) Trying new food! This kind of goes with travelling...but I'm definitely especially excited to have old favourites and then trying some soon-to-be favourites!

3) Growing my hair out. As small as this is, I don't think I've had long hair in quite awhile, so we'll see how patient I am about this...

4) Being able to see certain people that are pretty nifty that I miss a whole, whole, lot. So I can basically sum it up with this.

5) Adhering to my New Year's Resolutions. Also known as pretty much eliminating the chance of any what ifs, because "what if?" is probably my most frequently asked question...that or "why?". The point is, I'm not saying "no regrets" (If you know me, you probably know my rant about how I think "no regrets" is a cop out, but I digress) but this year is my year for sure.             
               

6) The final season of Greek. I am OBSESSED with this show! 

7) New fashion. So excited for spring! This month is going to get warmer (up to 50 degrees, hopefully.) Maybe I'll actually get to use my shorts I brought...eventually.                                                         

                  

8) Disney Princess Half-Marathon with Katy! I need to start training...and technically it's next year, but it's going to be A BLAST.

9) Cowboy boots. I cannot wait to come home to my precious pair of cowboy boots (or maybe just get a replacement pair from here!)

10) Mexican food. When I get home, I am so ready to scarf down SO many tacos & flan.

all pictures except for the Greek photo courtesy of www.weheartit.com

Croeso y Gymru (Welcome to Wales!)

This weekend, I booked a trip with Don't Be A Tourist to North Wales...and it was AMAZING! As you may or may not know, despite my sometimes impulsive nature, I love planned trips. Our tour guides, David and Emma were great and knew a lot about the culture and had everybody on the bus do a sort of "speed dating" so we got to meet new people! We formed into groups and learned some interesting facts about Wales.

1. To say good morning, you say Bore da.
2. The mines in the Great Orme are 4,000 years old!!
   
3. The animal on the Welsh flag is the red dragon (I'll explain later)
4. There are 4x as many sheep as people in Wales!!

Anyway, we started off the day in Conwy, a city famous for a castle that was built by William I of England to keep the Welsh from uprising aga

inst them. It was breathtaking and absolutely confusing. So I can see how it was probably perfect for keeping enemies out..or confusing them once they got inside. After the castle, me and Andrea wandered around the city with Jessica, Quinn, and Robert in search of the smallest house in Britain. We finally found it and it's probably the size of a children's playhouse! No joke! Even I would probably have to crouch to crawl into the door...and I'm only 5 feet tall. We got back onto the bus and headed to the seaside town of Llandudno, where Lewis Carroll met the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland. We got to our precious hostel that was pastel yellow and Victorian (I was in love), and took a quick r

est before we were to climb up the Great Orme!

It was really steep..so kind of tiring, but it definitely warmed us up and introduced us to the majority population of Wales...the SHEEP! At the top of the Great Orme, we had a beautiful view of Llandudno and the ocean. As we continued our hike, we made our way to the UFO hill. Apparently, it is a popular place where UFOs are frequently sited, so people write messages to extra-terrestrials with big rocks! I, myself, wrote a message to the aliens...So perhaps Alpha Phi will be on a planetary basis. Ha! Anyway, after climbing this lovely mountain, we headed off to a very filling dinner at Fish Tram Chips. After exploring the city a bit, we headed back to compose ourselves before heading out to the pub for the evening. I'm not sure what the name of this pub was, but there was a karaoke night! After much hesitation, my friend Jessica convinced me that we should go up and preform a song. We WERE going to sing Don't Stop Believing by Journey; however, it was already being done...we settled on Love Song by Sara Bareilles (kind of awkward considering our audience was 40+ for the most part). After this (unexpectedly) exciting night or dancing and singing, I headed off to bed to get ready for our next day of travel! We started off the morning with a bang...also known as a hike to Aber Falls. It was gorgeous! I haven't done that much walking in a while but it was certainly refreshing and I cannot wait to do it again. After Aber Falls, we went to Betws-y-Coed. It was a lovely small town where I got quite the meal.

It was a traditional Welsh supper including baked eggs, Welsh cheese, and potato and leek mash all baked together in a kind of casserole. (Picture included...I miss my food sometimes.) It was SO good and it came with chips! We left the city (which was literally a one street city...so interesting) and began to make our way to Allen's Sheep Farm...and we learned about 10 different types of sheep. Apparently wool is a by-product of sheep farming, and the real gain is lamb. I don't think I could eat lamb...not after thinking about the fact they're slaughtered before they even lived for a year! Anyway, we saw a demonstration of how a sheep dog herds, and it's amazing. They have this look in their eyes and it's like they're stalking their pray. Quite the spectacle. After that, I literally slept the entire ride back to Leeds except for the rest stop (it was almost a four hour drive, I think). So I guess you can say I had a pretty exciting weekend!

With this post, I wanted to post some easy ways to save money while abroad, mostly because I have plenty of time in between my classes, so here goes!

1. If you have any groceries in glass containers, definitely wash them out after you're done and use it as a cup! (I used my Nutella container as a cup!)
2. Invest in a Nalgene or aluminium water bottle...you'll be thirsty if you're doing anything strenuous or just walking a lot.
3. If you have a meal plan and they offer fruit or something you can throw in your bag (or pockets), take it! Even if you won't eat it at that meal, it makes a great snack or lunch.
4. Search around for meals, just because it's the first thing you see and you're hungry isn't a good reason to pay an extra 5 dollars, pounds, euros, or whatever for anything!
5. Pre-drink.
6. Hit up discount stores, just because your university may recommend somewhere doesn't mean it's the best. (If you're in the UK...Discount UK is the bomb.com)
7. THRIFT. You never know what you can find...
8. Before you leave, invest in good quality things you'll use a lot. A cheap umbrella isn't going to do you much good when the wind blows it inside out permanently (personal experience...)
   
   

Now it's time to do work on my *hopefully* excellent Medieval Studies paper! Adios!

I Shop, Therefore, I Am.

So I figured it's about time to make a post about some of little things I've picked up around town! I've literally been resting all day (finally) and catching up on some Gossip Girl. Just a side note, Nutella & bananas are the ultimate snack... especially when you get bananas from the dining hall for free and Nutella for 99 pence! Anyway..down to the nitty gritty.

I got this shirt from the vintage fair at the Corn Exchange in Leeds, this is the best length where it can be a dress or a shirt! This shirt is from Germany..but I'm not quite sure what time period, it's definitely post 1950's.

Perfect weekender bag...totally using this for all my weekend trips!

Another sweater that I think is pretty much fantastic! The rhinestones add something to the jewel tone...mmmm.

I am in LOVE with this dress, it seems like it'd be perfect for a day out shopping or maybe a day at work depending on how it's put together, you know. It's such a precious dress, and it has those adorable heart buttons!

Detail.

As you all know...it's super cold in England, so I've had to invest in a couple new sweaters. One is my favourite just because it's a v-neck...and coral!

This sweater is great..it's long enough to wear with some skinny jeans or with leggings! I have another sweater similar to this one...but I would say the colours of the stripes are more pastel-ish.

I LOVE this shirt! I don't think I've ever worn vertical stripes and this definitely elongates the torso...and the colour! You can't really tell what the sleeves are like, but they are FANTASTIC! Then, the purse that I got...it matches perfectly with that first dress, doesn't it?

That's all I've gotten so far...I'm sure I'll have more by the time I end up on the plane back home! I'm not looking forward to the fact that I'm going to have an overweight luggage though...ugh. Well, I should probably be productive and start working on reading Parzival (for my medieval studies class) and getting ready for Wales!

Oh yeah, I'll be in Wales for the weekend so expect pictures by Sunday!

STUDYING Abroad, I Have to Remember That...

So I think I need to post blog about the more than fantastic classes that I am taking here since I am supposed to be studying on my study abroad, shouldn't I?

Let's start with my Spanish class.
It's definitely an experience, you would think that Spanish would be a relatively stationary thing when you look at it at first. WRONG! I never thought about the fact that Spanish here would be taught from someone from Spain! The thing is, in the States, you're going to learn (at least more than likely) from someone from South or Central America, right? Well, the two have some really big differences that are tripping me up. First of all, they pronounce their c sound with a -th sound.

For example,

When I say my name (or anyone in my family says it), it's

MarCela.

Here, my professor says my name like...

MarTHela.

Interesting, right? Also, carro (car) means chariot in Spain Spanish...and coche means car. Which has gotten me some awkward looks from my classmates and professor. It's super interesting, and we also learn a lot about the culture of Spanish speaking countries in this class, so it's fascinating to learn about Spain instead of other South American countries that are so prominent in American Spanish courses. My professor is definitely amazing, probably the best I've ever had! Perhaps now I can learn Italian since I have French and Spanish (somewhat) down!

Next, I am also taking a medieval studies class on the age of chivalry. I'm not usually too interested in medieval history, but this class sounded particularly interesting. So far we've learned how debunk lots of modern interpretations of chivalry and we're getting down to business as to how it really was. The second week of classes, we took a visit to the Royal Armouries in Leeds...and it was FANTASTIC! To the left is a picture of the Hall of Steel, which is a lot of armour displayed ALL THE WAY TO THE FOURTH FLOOR! It's very interesting to learn all the history of why and how certain armours were developed...and not only do they have displays of weapons and armour, but they also have a library full of manuscripts from that time period. We got to see the Armouries librarian dress up in a full suit of armour...and it turns out every August, they have a joust! I wish I could see it...I'm sure I'm going to love this class more as it goes on as soon as I learn to discipher old French and old English, ha!






The next class I'm taking is Deviance, Crime, and Social Control. This is a sociology course focusing on the concepts of crime and deviance and how they intertwine. I do enjoy this class, and it's interesting to get the British perspective of crime and deviance. I remember on the first day of class, we were discussing two big deviant groups in the UK, "football hooliganism" and "hoodies". Now, I had no idea what either of those were until I asked some of my friends from Leeds, and still it's a little hard to grasp the concepts of these being large social problems. Anyway, on the note of crime, it's interesting to hear about high profile crimes as well...because every country has different crimes that are considered particularly heinous (or if they would be terrible crimes in both countries, a lot of the times the news isn't publized in another because it has nothing to do with the populace at hand). In fact, I should be writing a paper for this class...ha!

The final class that I am taking is Traditional Alcholic Beverages...because you probably would never have the oppourtunity to take this class in the States! There is so much chemistry behind brewing a beer (as we haven't learned about wine yet), and it has taken 4 lectures to cover not even all of the beer making process! In March, we will brew our own beer in groups, and I am so excited! We get to design a logo and an advertisement, and it's going to be a blast. However, these past lectures have sort of scared me into knowing one mistake can absolutely destroy a beer's intended taste! I'll definitely post more once the brewing proccess has begun.

Anyway, that's all I've got!

First Couple Weeks In Leeds

So I know I've been in Leeds for almost a month...and I said I was going to keep a blog, but I guess things got a little too crazy. Now that they're settling down, I'm taking this rainy (typical) Sunday in England to study and blog! How exciting. Anyway, I'll start off with the adventure I took on the almost 24 hour journey from San Antonio to Leeds. I left for the airport with the usual 1.5-2 hour time gap to get through international security, and I ended up having more than enough extra time to spend with my family before I had to go. While getting ready to head into security, I realised that I left my raincoat at home! So my dad had to drive all the way back home to go get it so I did not freeze once I got to England...and believe me, I would have without it. After finally getting through all of that, my flight was delayed because the plane was late from where ever it was coming from! I had a connecting flight in Charlotte, so if it was delayed enough, there would have been significant problems. However, plane arrived eventually and everyone boarded and there were literally no more than 20 passengers in a giant international plane! I ended up meeting a man from London and we talked about culture differences and the fact that I was going to have to go on London Underground during RUSH HOUR. I started telling him about Tech and my study abroad program and then he began to speak badly about Leeds, which was funny since the other man next to us piped up and revealed he was a Leeds graduate! The flight attendent told us via the intercom that due to the lack of people on the plane, that we were free to move to any free seat. This was very nice since I pretty much took over the entire middle row of the seats and slept for as long as I could (which wasn't very long...too many butterflies). Anyway! The interesting part of this story is when I finally got off at London Gatwick..I had to find the Gatwick Express to get to London Victoria. That wasn't too hard, and before I knew it, I was in London. Funny thing is...the Underground is underground, right? Well, they're not done building the elevator (um, talk about handicap unfriendly AND luggage unfriendly), so I had to lug my huge suitcase down the stairs if it wasn't for the awesome guy at the Tourism office who offered to take my luggage all the way down to the train and give me a tour of London the next time I was in town! BAM!
Marci 1, London: ...Still winning.
So, what I didn't know about the Underground is that it's pretty much cutthroat to get on the train. It took about 20 minutes to finally get to the front of the chaotic mob that was attempting to shove themselves into this tiny traincar, right? WELL, like I said, cutthroat world...I got pushed over by a bunch of miserable looking people and ended up tripping over my luggage- embarrassing, right?? Well, this guy with missing teeth that was arguably an ex-punk rocker from the 1970's/80's was nice enough to hold back the masses so I could get myself and my giant luggage onto the train. We had nice chat about how everyone in the Underground looked like they just saw a train run over a kitten or something..and then we talked about his bike accidents. Unfortunately, I did not get his contact details...but he was definitely a character that I won't forget. When I FINALLY got to King's Cross, I was early so I waited for about an hour until my train to Leeds got there. Nothing really particularly interesting happened until I was about 5 minutes from Leeds and the train came to an abrupt stop. You know, it seems normal, a train stopping when it's close to let other trains enter the station first...5 minutes go by...then 10...and eventually 30 minutes later the captain finally annouces that we couldn't go into the station because...

SOMEONE GOT HIT BY A TRAIN.

All right, now you don't hear that every day. The authorities were investigating so here I am...so close to my destination but in reality, I was about an hour and a half away from my destination. It was terrible, and then the thought of the train going over the rails where someone's body was..it wasn't too pleasant. Past that, I arrived at Leeds safe and sound and found people to share a taxi with. Surprisingly enough, I stayed awake to do a couple really essential things and then passed out until the next day...

Now, that's only my first day. FIRST DAY. In a nutshell, I ended up going to many of the international student's events and met people from countries I had never met people from before! Croatia, Finland, Denmark...it's really amazing how international this school is. I ended up trying so many different foods and despite having a language similarity...England is so much more different that I thought it would be.

Things I've randomly noticed:

I'm clumsy, and I fall A LOT so I think it's kinda funny when I do and I laugh. However, here if I laugh at myself fall, I guess I appear insane or something because I've gotten the strangest looks...

Maybe this is just a difference from Tech, BUT they go out literally every night.

Costume parties are frequent and encouraged (it's amazing)

They say "hiya" instead of "hey/hi/hello"

Jeans aren't prominent here. If you're not a fan of the leggings as pants fan...you'd die. I however...love it.

Besides that, I have had the chance to travel a little bit in Yorkshire and outside of Yorkshire (but not too much, YET!)

So far, I've been to York, Harrogate, and Liverpool.

York and Harrogate are very similar to me in the sense that they are very small towns in Yorkshire...and they are both very beautiful in the spring. I've learned more British history in the past couple weeks that 12 years in public school and 2 years in university have taught me...I might be a pro now. Who knows? I have some really particularly pretty pictures...

Clifford's Tower in York
York Minster..in, well, York
The gardens in Harrogate.
New Zealand themed garden in Harrogate

Things that we did:

York

• Visited the Castle Museum...they had rooms from all sorts of different time periods and an entire exhibit for the 60's!
• Saw York Minster...it's gorgeous.
• Wandered the Shambles..it's the picturesque street of old England!
• Visited the Richard III Museum and confessed to our sins before an 'execution'...too bad the executioner was on holiday!

Harrogate

• Visited the Royal Pump Museum...and tried sulfur water. While it's healing attributes are undeniable, the taste doesn't seem worth it!!!
• Visited the gardens. They were gorgeous even without the flowers!

Liverpool

• Visited the Liverpool Cathedral, the largest Anglican cathedral in Europe.
• Took a stroll through one of Europe's oldest China Town's. The smells were incredible.
• Took a bus tour of important Beatle's sites (childhood homes, Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, etc.) Our tour guide was amazing.

To end this post, I'll write a little bit of what the next few weeks will entail since I've got to get some of this homework out of the way!

• A trip to North Wales
• *Possibly a trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon
• DUBLIN, IRELAND
• Bath & Stonehenge
• Easter Break: Italy, Croatia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, France, Spain(possibly)

The end!