Not having internet in my room sure is making this blog thing difficult.
I haven't had time to post the pictures up on the blog, but if you have a facebook account, I have posted quite a few there. SOON TO BE, DON'T WORRY!
Just to let all of you know that at 8am Friday morning, our group will be traveling to Stratford, England for a weekend excursion. Why Stratford? Why it's the birthplace of Shakespeare, that's why!!
I'm really looking forward to it, and I'll tell you all about it when I get back.
Tonight will consist of a night out with one of our professors, who always shows us a great time.
Sorry for the lack of detail, but I'm writing this post while waiting for my laundry to finish, which is in about 2 minutes.
Talk to you soon.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
France, etc. [quick edition]
UPDATES UPDATES UPDATES
So I don't have time to write an extensive post at the moment because I have three books to read and two papers due tomorrow morning at 2pm, so I'll brief the weekend and provide pictures/stories at a later time.
Friday night a group of us went to a really fun pub/club in Camden called the Underworld. To sum up that night...I had the most amazing hotdog of my life, I ended up with a very large British parking cone in my dorm room, and I didn't receive a wink of sleep.
That zero-wink sleep didn't help because I had a train to Paris at 6am.
After a full day of festivities in Paris, I met up with buddies and went out to a club and had an absolutely wonderful time. Details later; this post will be kept PG.
Once again, I received little sleep. 3 hours at the most. Which again is unfortunate, because Sunday morning I had a train out of Paris heading for Arras, France at 9am for the Main Square Festival.
The festival started at three oclock, so after five hours of waiting at the gates, 8 hours of no water, no food, and no bathroom breaks immediately followed.
I had a train out of Arras at 7am Monday morning, but once again (just as I did in Paris) I had made no accomodations whatsoever for the large gap between when Radiohead stepped off stage around 12:30am and my departure. I mean...none. This turned out very interesting.
Once again, I'll explain stories with pictures when I get a chance. No promises of PG-ness. I'll give you the raw skinny.
So once again, little to no sleep. That's three days in a row now.
And so here I am now. I hopped on the train back to Paris, visited the gravesites of Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde, and then got a train back to London at 5:13pm. [I'm actually getting used to 24hr time, so it feels strange to read it like that.]
Like I said before, I have an insane amount of reading/writing to do, so check back soon for much more interesting and in depth accounts of my adventures.
I'm looking forward to yet another night of absolutely no sleep due to the extremeness of my procrastination my first week in Europe.
Don't worry, mom. I'll catch up on sleep. And I'll start eating right again now that I can actually communicate my orders to the vendors.
...simultaneously chugging coffee and tea in a desperate attempt not to fall flat on my face and fail to get my assignments done,
Evan.
ps: I miss you all, but I sure don't miss the states.
So I don't have time to write an extensive post at the moment because I have three books to read and two papers due tomorrow morning at 2pm, so I'll brief the weekend and provide pictures/stories at a later time.
Friday night a group of us went to a really fun pub/club in Camden called the Underworld. To sum up that night...I had the most amazing hotdog of my life, I ended up with a very large British parking cone in my dorm room, and I didn't receive a wink of sleep.
That zero-wink sleep didn't help because I had a train to Paris at 6am.
After a full day of festivities in Paris, I met up with buddies and went out to a club and had an absolutely wonderful time. Details later; this post will be kept PG.
Once again, I received little sleep. 3 hours at the most. Which again is unfortunate, because Sunday morning I had a train out of Paris heading for Arras, France at 9am for the Main Square Festival.
The festival started at three oclock, so after five hours of waiting at the gates, 8 hours of no water, no food, and no bathroom breaks immediately followed.
I had a train out of Arras at 7am Monday morning, but once again (just as I did in Paris) I had made no accomodations whatsoever for the large gap between when Radiohead stepped off stage around 12:30am and my departure. I mean...none. This turned out very interesting.
Once again, I'll explain stories with pictures when I get a chance. No promises of PG-ness. I'll give you the raw skinny.
So once again, little to no sleep. That's three days in a row now.
And so here I am now. I hopped on the train back to Paris, visited the gravesites of Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde, and then got a train back to London at 5:13pm. [I'm actually getting used to 24hr time, so it feels strange to read it like that.]
Like I said before, I have an insane amount of reading/writing to do, so check back soon for much more interesting and in depth accounts of my adventures.
I'm looking forward to yet another night of absolutely no sleep due to the extremeness of my procrastination my first week in Europe.
Don't worry, mom. I'll catch up on sleep. And I'll start eating right again now that I can actually communicate my orders to the vendors.
...simultaneously chugging coffee and tea in a desperate attempt not to fall flat on my face and fail to get my assignments done,
Evan.
ps: I miss you all, but I sure don't miss the states.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
worldly connected
I do now have a cell phone. It's a local UK number, so if you fancy ringing me, e-mail me and I'll give you specific instructions on how to reach me.
THE TRAVELING BEGINS!...i mean...CONTINUES!!
I have just booked two tickets on the chunnel for Saturday morning to Paris, France. My friend Nick and I are traveling to Paris on Saturday, staying with friends in a hostel (FREE ROOM!), and then heading out early Sunday morning to attend the Main Square Festival in Arras, France - about an hour and a half north of Paris. Being the fourth of July weekend AND the fact that we booked so late, we definitely did not get great rates, but it will definitely be worth it.
------------------
...soooo...classes....
------------------
I have class Tuesday through Thursday (not bad, eh?). Although I only have class only three days per week, I have at least two papers due every week, and about 2-3 books/wk to read...OH THE HUMANITY!!
Class Schedule:
Tuesdays:
THE TRAVELING BEGINS!...i mean...CONTINUES!!
I have just booked two tickets on the chunnel for Saturday morning to Paris, France. My friend Nick and I are traveling to Paris on Saturday, staying with friends in a hostel (FREE ROOM!), and then heading out early Sunday morning to attend the Main Square Festival in Arras, France - about an hour and a half north of Paris. Being the fourth of July weekend AND the fact that we booked so late, we definitely did not get great rates, but it will definitely be worth it.
------------------
...soooo...classes....
------------------
I have class Tuesday through Thursday (not bad, eh?). Although I only have class only three days per week, I have at least two papers due every week, and about 2-3 books/wk to read...OH THE HUMANITY!!
Class Schedule:
Tuesdays:
- ENG 455 from 10:30 - 12
- ENG 310D from 2-3:30
- ENG 360 from 3:30 - 5
Wednesdays
- Wednesdays are typically reserved for class excursions and trips around the city with relevant pertanance to the class. We will be seeing plays, screening films, going on tours, site-seeing, etc..
- I may have ENG 455 on Wednesdays, but I'm not sure yet. I'm still getting into the groove of things..
Thursdays
- same schedule as Tuesday.
I'm going to guess it's at least 99 degrees in the basement of Connaught Hall, where I am right now. I gotta get outta here.
Wishing I didn't eat that sausage this morning cuz it definitely is making me feel bloody nasty,
evan.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
PICTURE EXTRAVAGANZA!! get up to date.
Pictures from My trip to Chicago / Airport
Shep was very excited about my arrival.
Shep's apartment building...pretty fancy, eh?
random building in chicago. startin' off my tourist mindset.
We were VERY excited to finally eat some food. As you can tell from Kelsey's face.
Pictures from thus far in London [condensed]
Our residence Hall. [Better pictures at a later time, I promise]
Our residence hall can be seen through the foliage of this relaxing park. Perfect for quiet reads and half-naked hackysackers.
My first view of the UK.
My dorm room. It looks much different now.
View from the Free Standing area on Court 2 that we waited FOREVER at. The Williams Sisters were playing.
So...story:
Jess and I were completely fed up with the fact that all the courts were repeatedly tarp-covered and inflated with no play due to the rain. We stood in the Free Standing area to watch the Williams sister for over an hour and a half and we saw NO play. So we wimped out and decided to leave; we were both exhausted and ready to pass out.
On our way out, we decided to at least go take a LOOK at the giant court #1. (the one they usually show on TV). Jess talked the security guard into letting us go take a look and just see it because they were just warming up anyway. I then asked the security guard how much seats like this would cost. He picked up on my indirect request for free seats, and pointed Jess and me to TWO EMPTY SEATS! We got moved around a few times because the true owners of the seats showed up, but he was very cooperative and generous. These seats go for about 80 pounds per, and we paid only 17 pounds for ground seats. Good deal, eh? Wonderful deal, indeed.
Many pictures I was planning on posting have somehow been lost, but I'll eventually find them.
I've been hogging internet from my friend Sheila and I feel bad so I'm gettin' outta here.
Now you're all caught up. phew. not really, but close enough.
Cheers,
evan.
PS, for another perspective of the Study Abroad trip, check out my friend Sheila's BLOG
Shep was very excited about my arrival.
Shep's apartment building...pretty fancy, eh?
random building in chicago. startin' off my tourist mindset.
We were VERY excited to finally eat some food. As you can tell from Kelsey's face.Pictures from thus far in London [condensed]
I wasn't quite sure if I was in the UK yet, but alas I saw the roof of this car out of our coach window. Very reassuring.
Our residence Hall. [Better pictures at a later time, I promise]
Our residence hall can be seen through the foliage of this relaxing park. Perfect for quiet reads and half-naked hackysackers.
My first view of the UK.
My dorm room. It looks much different now.
The view from my dorm.
The park from outside the front entrance of our residence hall.
Some of the lovely crew in the pub in the basement of our dorm.
Birkbeck College - where we are taking our classes. It's about a 2 minute walk from our dorms.
Rear view of beautiful Birkbeck College.
St. Paul's Cathedral.
The stage at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. So, so, soo absolutely amazing.
Jess wasn't very happy about the smell of the Thames River.
Bridge?
OMG WATCH OUT! I love this picture.
View from the Free Standing area on Court 2 that we waited FOREVER at. The Williams Sisters were playing.
So...story:Jess and I were completely fed up with the fact that all the courts were repeatedly tarp-covered and inflated with no play due to the rain. We stood in the Free Standing area to watch the Williams sister for over an hour and a half and we saw NO play. So we wimped out and decided to leave; we were both exhausted and ready to pass out.
On our way out, we decided to at least go take a LOOK at the giant court #1. (the one they usually show on TV). Jess talked the security guard into letting us go take a look and just see it because they were just warming up anyway. I then asked the security guard how much seats like this would cost. He picked up on my indirect request for free seats, and pointed Jess and me to TWO EMPTY SEATS! We got moved around a few times because the true owners of the seats showed up, but he was very cooperative and generous. These seats go for about 80 pounds per, and we paid only 17 pounds for ground seats. Good deal, eh? Wonderful deal, indeed.
Many pictures I was planning on posting have somehow been lost, but I'll eventually find them.
I've been hogging internet from my friend Sheila and I feel bad so I'm gettin' outta here.
Now you're all caught up. phew. not really, but close enough.
Cheers,
evan.
PS, for another perspective of the Study Abroad trip, check out my friend Sheila's BLOG
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
UK TO STAY!
Well, ladies and gentlemen...I finally made it! I don't feel it's necessary to go into the nitty-gritty specifics detailing my forgetful personality and procrastinating nature. To make a long story short, I waited until the very last minute to get my stuff together and pack, and if it wasn't for my trustworthy friends on the Study Abroad trip with me, I'm not sure I would have ever managed to leave the airport. Apparently reading the emails and notifications from our professors was useful. That's what they told me, anyway.
I was driven to the Detroit airport early in the morning, and departed for O'hare in Chicago at 8:30am. Taking into account the time chance, I arrived at the airport at 8:35am central. Traveling with me was a fellow study-abroad buddy named Kelsey, and it was a good thing she was there. We had a nine hour layover in the Chicago airport before we departed for Heathrow Airport in London, so we decided to make the most out of it. We hopped on the blue line towards downtown and met my good friend Shep for breakfast on Rush Street because he has an internship there this summer.
After getting back to the airport, we still had 4.5 hours until we even BOARDED, so we sat at an airport sports bar and watched the Spain vs. Germany soccer game. When we meandered our way to our assigned gate, we realized that there were dozens of other students in our study-abroad program already there that had arrived on later flights. After some chit-chat, we boarded and took off smoothly.
One mediochre movie, 4 albums worth of music, 2 episodes of the office, 2 episodes of seinfeld, 30 minutes of guitar hero on tour, 1 hour of crossword puzzles, 1 lasagna airplane dinner, and a breakfast of a croissant and jelly later, we FINALLY ARRIVED! With various naps in between/during, of course.
Apparently I did something right, because customs was quick and painless, and my bags were actually ready to go. This is something I had never experienced. Quick...painless....easy....international flights? nahh, I must've missed something.
I have POSTED some PICTURES on the top of the sidebar to your right from flickr. They are from the airport, chicago, the flight, and initial pictures in London.
There will be much more to come. Much, much more.
........................................................................................................................................
So I wrote all of the above content in my dorm room, and then the internet cut out. As of right now, I am told that I will be unable to have internet in my room even though most other students DO have internet. They do not know the reason, but the IT company apparently isn't here in the summer. So I have to publish my posts from buddy's rooms or in the basement.
UUGHH!
Last night was the first night out, and boy was it a night. A group of us went to a pub/club named tigertiger, and our RA joined us. It was extremely exclusive, and luckily I had my passport on me because they don't accept international ID's.
I have no time to continue right now because I have to run to class, but there's much to tell, so keep up to date.
PS:
There is a pub in the basement of our residence halls (omg yes!). When I was there last night, I saw somebody who looked very familiar to me. We started talking, and both realized that we were neighbors in east lansing. Literally. He lives in the house right next to me and he's on a different study abroad program stayin in the same residence halls.
wow.
WISHING I HAD INTERNET IN MY ROOM,
evan.
EDIT: THE PICTURES WILL NOT BE IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE YET. SOON!
I was driven to the Detroit airport early in the morning, and departed for O'hare in Chicago at 8:30am. Taking into account the time chance, I arrived at the airport at 8:35am central. Traveling with me was a fellow study-abroad buddy named Kelsey, and it was a good thing she was there. We had a nine hour layover in the Chicago airport before we departed for Heathrow Airport in London, so we decided to make the most out of it. We hopped on the blue line towards downtown and met my good friend Shep for breakfast on Rush Street because he has an internship there this summer.
After getting back to the airport, we still had 4.5 hours until we even BOARDED, so we sat at an airport sports bar and watched the Spain vs. Germany soccer game. When we meandered our way to our assigned gate, we realized that there were dozens of other students in our study-abroad program already there that had arrived on later flights. After some chit-chat, we boarded and took off smoothly.
One mediochre movie, 4 albums worth of music, 2 episodes of the office, 2 episodes of seinfeld, 30 minutes of guitar hero on tour, 1 hour of crossword puzzles, 1 lasagna airplane dinner, and a breakfast of a croissant and jelly later, we FINALLY ARRIVED! With various naps in between/during, of course.
Apparently I did something right, because customs was quick and painless, and my bags were actually ready to go. This is something I had never experienced. Quick...painless....easy....international flights? nahh, I must've missed something.
I have POSTED some PICTURES on the top of the sidebar to your right from flickr. They are from the airport, chicago, the flight, and initial pictures in London.
There will be much more to come. Much, much more.
........................................................................................................................................
So I wrote all of the above content in my dorm room, and then the internet cut out. As of right now, I am told that I will be unable to have internet in my room even though most other students DO have internet. They do not know the reason, but the IT company apparently isn't here in the summer. So I have to publish my posts from buddy's rooms or in the basement.
UUGHH!
Last night was the first night out, and boy was it a night. A group of us went to a pub/club named tigertiger, and our RA joined us. It was extremely exclusive, and luckily I had my passport on me because they don't accept international ID's.
I have no time to continue right now because I have to run to class, but there's much to tell, so keep up to date.
PS:
There is a pub in the basement of our residence halls (omg yes!). When I was there last night, I saw somebody who looked very familiar to me. We started talking, and both realized that we were neighbors in east lansing. Literally. He lives in the house right next to me and he's on a different study abroad program stayin in the same residence halls.
wow.
WISHING I HAD INTERNET IN MY ROOM,
evan.
EDIT: THE PICTURES WILL NOT BE IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE YET. SOON!
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