Gonna write you a letter, gonna write you a book

I know that postage is getting more and more expensive these days, but since I miss all of you and I don't even have to walk outside to get my mail (they leave it on the kitchen table!), I would love to start getting some mail - postcards, letters, care packages, pretty much anything but a Howler. And even better, I promise to use some of my free time to write you back! (I already bought some postcards!) Here is my address:

Room 1

Kulukundis House

University of Sussex

Brighton, England

BN1 9RL

Even rain can't dampen my spirits in London.

This weekend was, in a word, unbelievable. I remember feeling so excited when I left my flat on Friday afternoon. Even after only a couple of weeks in Brighton, I was READY to travel.

The five other girls who are here from Wash U and I met Sorrel, our 100% positive and perky (but in a wonderful, not obnoxious, way) guide from ACCENT (a company that works with several schools that have study abroad programs in England) at the Brighton train station and bought our 16-25 railcards (discounted travel, woo hoo!) and tickets to London. After about a 45-minute train ride (during which we were offered drinks and snacks, just like on a plane), we were there! I was a little too tired to truly appreciate the sights during the bus ride to our hotel, but dinner at a delicious Turkish restaurant revived me. We agreed that we could have filled up on just the appetizers, including hummus and spanikopita.

On Saturday morning we had an orientation session with a British professor who teaches at USC. We talked about our reasons for coming to the UK, our goals, and any fears or concerns we had. This was helpful for me because I hadn't really gotten the chance to reflect on all of those things since I got here. We also talked about British stereotypes and a little bit of history (there are over 300 languages spoken in London - it's the most linguistically diverse city in the world!). After the orientation another ACCENT staff member took us to lunch at a gaudy Indian restaurant and told us about some other optional (but free!) events that they have planned for the rest of the semester. For example, next weekend we're going to a football (soccer) match. If I take advantage of all of the trips offered through ACCENT and the International Office at Sussex, I could potentially be going on at least a day trip almost every weekend when school is in session (and more, obviously, since I'll be traveling during Easter break). Wow.

We had the afternoon free, so we went to the British Museum, aka one of the most impressive museums I've ever been in. It seemed every corner I turned revealed something bigger and more ancient: the Rosetta Stone, a statue from Easter Island, sculptures of mythical creatures that guarded Assyrian rulers, remains from the Parthenon... amazing. Even the main entryway was impressive - you felt like you were entering some ancient Roman city. We spent three hours there and still only saw a fraction of the museum's offerings. I suspect you could live there and still not see everything.

That night was a performance of Wicked, made even better with British accents ("dahncing through life"). Two major differences between British and American theatre: 1) no free playbills (this was slightly disappointing). 2) you can eat in the theatre. As in, they sell ice cream during intermission (of course I bought some). I was much further from the stage than I was when I saw the production in St. Louis, but it gave me the same rush. Ahhh musicals.

On Sunday we awoke to rain, but that didn't stop our plans for a walking tour of central London. We met our feisty and hilarious tour guide, Angie, at the ACCENT office and continued to... everywhere. Seriously. We walked, took the Tube, and took buses to Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, Trafalgar Square, Chinatown (decorated for Chinese New Year), Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Big Ben, the River Thames, the London Eye, and Kensington Gardens. Main things I remember:

1) If you see something that looks like gold at Buckingham Palace, then it's gold.

2) We happened to arrive at Buckingham Palace in time to see a reenactment of the execution of King Charles I (well, minus the actual execution part), who was executed for shutting down Parliament for awhile and acting without them.

3) There is a fountain in front of Buckingham Palace with a statue of Queen Victoria on one side. Except Victoria's nose is a different color because some moron guard shot it off by accident. Way to go, sir.

4) It's dangerous to be dazzled by the uniforms (furry hats) of the guards at Buckingham because, as Angie kept insisting, "They are trained killers." Thanks Angie.

5) I don't think any place has taken my breath away more than Westminster Abbey. Seriously, just go there someday. We also happened to pass the choir room at a time when the boys' and men's choirs were rehearsing. You couldn't go in, but we stood by the door and listened. I could have stood there for hours. It was a truly magical moment.

6) I have to double-check names, but there was a king who had killed another king and built an addition to Westminster Abbey in hopes that if he had monks pray there everyday, he would be forgiven. Then his son came into power and changed the national religion. Take that, Pops.

7) There is an apartment being built near Hyde Park and the most expensive shopping district in London, and it's already been bought for 110 million pounds. A studio flat. No, I don't understand either.

8) You have not truly lived until you have had cream tea at Kensington Gardens. Cream tea refers not just to the tea but to the whole process of "having tea," aka leisurely stuffing yourself with tea (cinnamon, in my case), cucumber sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, and cake (orange and chocolate fudge - two different kinds). I'm salivating right now just thinking about it. I could have died happy after that scone. Food bliss at its best.

Despite the rain, mostly gray sky, and a delayed train back to Brighton, I could not have been more satisfied with the weekend. And now back to classes... *sigh*

"America is a baby, really." - me "We're just teething." - my brother

I ended up having a good first weekend in Brighton ("first" after orientation, at least). On Saturday I went with my flatmate Amy and my friend from Wash U, Audrey, to Brighton. We explored the beach and the pier (there is a midway with rides, but I've heard they're pricey), and I am so happy to be so close to the ocean. I'm pretty sure I'll be going to the beach every free weekend I have once the weather turns warmer. We got fish and chips for lunch and then went shopping. Don't get too excited - my big purchases were postcards and socks. haha There are so many shops in Brighton, I'm pretty sure I could go there every weekend until June and not see them all. I saw Terre a Terre, a world-famous vegetarian restaurant that I'm excited to try (saving it for a special occasion though, because I've heard it's also pricey. darn exchange rate).

On Sunday I went with some Wash U girls and a couple other international students to Rottingdean, a nearby town where Rudyard Kipling lived for a few years. The scenery during the bus ride there was so quintessentially English - rolling green hills (I don't know how the grass is so green here, but it's definitely a different green than in the US), sometimes juxtaposed with views of the ocean. I don't think pictures will ever do this place justice... which just means that you all have to come visit me. ;-) We had afternoon tea complete with cake, sandwiches and scones with clotted cream and jam. yummm. There was also a little museum that told the history of Rottingdean, particularly during WWII and Rudyard Kipling's time there. Rottingdean was where I saw the pub that is nearly 200 years older than America, hence the conversation with my brother. Some of the buildings really did look medieval.

Some of us "expats" went to East Slope Bar on campus (the one near my flat) to watch the inauguration on Tuesday (the swearing-in ceremony started at 4:30 here, so most people were out of class by then). The place was packed - standing-room only - and not just with Americans! It sort of made me wish I could be in two places at once, because I bet the atmosphere was even more electrifying in the US, but it was still cool to experience it from another side. The Brits are big fans of Obama, too. The same bar stayed open until 3 AM on Election Day so that people could watch the results come in. Afterwards some of us went to a pub in Brighton called The King & Queen to celebrate. They have karaoke on Tuesdays. I didn't sing this time, but it's one of my goals for the semester. I'm also considering singing at an open mic night on campus - another one of the on-campus bars hosts one every Thursday. I went last night with my flatmates and some of the performers were really good!

Now my brand new, heavy duty traveling backpack is packed for London, where Wash U is sending us for a weekend orientation. I'm hoping it works well, especially after the "test runs" around the house and all the effort my parents put into buying it (including driving to Barnes & Noble to ask what color I wanted because they needed to order it by a certain time and I was too engrossed in New Moon to answer my phone... oops... thanks, Mom and Dad!). I'm leaving at 2:10 to take the train from campus to the Brighton train station, where we'll meet our guide for the weekend and continue on to London. Being the Harry Potter nerd that I am, I'm really hoping that we get off at King's Cross Station (aka home to Platform 9 3/4... yes, they actually have a photo op especially for hopeless fans like me). We're seeing Wicked tomorrow night - I'm excited to compare this cast to the one I saw in St. Louis.

Oh, one of the best parts of my week was buying tickets for Spring Awakening! Spring Awakening is a musical that I first became a fan of last spring. It's closing on Broadway this month and going on a national (US) tour that is coming to St. Louis in February. I was really upset to discover that I'd be missing it while I was abroad, until I found out that a UK version was also opening in January! I made it my mission to go, and luckily Audrey (the same girl I mentioned before, another Wash U student who is here) was interested when I told her about it. We found a weekend we can both go (February 27th) and I got 5th-row seats for 25 pounds!! SO EXCITED. Those of you who know my obsession with musicals will understand why this was on my must-do list for the semester!

I'm trying to figure out a way to share my pictures with all of you (mainly, the ones who aren't on Facebook). I'll be able to post a few on here, but I'll take way more than that. I think you have to have a Yahoo account to use Flickr. Any suggestions?

Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore...

Reasons I am certain that I am no longer in Indianapolis/St. Louis/at Wash U:

-I have yet to see a squirrel on campus (though I've heard they exist), but I have both seen and heard seagulls

-speaking of seagulls, I am about 30 minutes away from a pebble beach by bus

-the countryside looks like something straight out of Pride & Prejudice (maybe I should have called this blog "Searching for Mr. Darcy..." ;-) )

-this campus has legit hills, and legit staircases, and at some points I have to climb both to get to class

-there is a bar on campus practically catty-corner to my flat, and one of our orientation activities was a pub crawl

-it totally threw me off to hear one of my professors speak with an American accent (and it totally throws me off to think that I have an accent)

-the library is open 24 hours a day (except Saturdays)

-you can't print double-sided - the trays on the printers are actually bolted shut in the computer lab near my flat. I guess Sussex trusts its students more with alcohol than paper?

-there are no Geico commercials with the Australian gecko, but there are Churchill commercials with the talking bulldog

-and of course, the speech - "zed" instead of z, "advert" instead of commercial, "boot" instead of trunk, "crisps" instead of chips, and dozens of other slang words that I am still learning (and which my flatmates take great delight in teaching me)

I'm taking three classes: Psychology as Art, Social Psychology and The Look of America (about visual culture in the US). Psychology as Art has one one-hour lecture and one one-hour seminar (discussion section) per week, Social Psychology has two one-hour lectures per week and the occasional seminar (I think two this term), and The Look of America has one one-hour lecture, one one-hour seminar, and the occasional film screening. In other words, I have a LOT more free time. Surprisingly the days still seem to fly by, but I think that's because I'm still getting adjusted and figuring out where everything is. I'm also working in a lab, helping a professor with a study on the effects of music on positive (aka not misogynistic) feelings towards women. I think I will enjoy that more once I figure out the schedule for the computer labs in the psychology building - I got kicked out of two different ones today for classes.

One of my flatmates, Aoife (pronounced like "Eva" with an f - it's Irish), took me grocery shopping on Wednesday, and it's nice to have food. I also auditioned for a couple student-directed plays yesterday - if I get in, great, if not, I'll go to the activities fair on Tuesday and check out the other societies (clubs). I think they have a Concert Choir here (though they have a defunct website) and there's a Games society that gets together every week to just play different kinds of games. :o)

I really like my flatmates - Aoife, Amy, and Ami (Ami is the one with the dreadlocks, and Amy only has one lung. How's that for unique!?). Amy, Ami and I went to East Slope (the bar near our flat) last night with one of Ami's friends, who asked me lots of questions about America and was dismayed to find out that Britain's biggest claims to fame in America are Harry Potter and the Spice Girls. haha Ami went home for the weekend, but Amy and I are exploring Brighton tomorrow and tomorrow night, and then I think I'm going to Rottingdean (a nearby town where Rudyard Kipling lived) with some Wash U girls on Sunday. In the meantime, it's time to conquer my laundry and catch up on my reading (like I said, I haven't been able to take very much advantage of my "free time," or time out of class).

Every day here is an adventure - lots of ups and downs, I figure some things out and get presented with new challenges. I just have to stay calm and trust that I'm making the right choices and have faith that everything will work out. Easier said than done - cross your fingers for me!!

ps. Those of you who experienced my obsession with bangers and mash will be delighted (though maybe not as much as me) to know that it is, in fact, a real food, and I even bought vegetarian sausages and frozen mashed potatoes so that I can experience this delicacy for myself sometime soon. ;-)

Cheerio!

Well, here I am in England! This trip has been nothing short of an adventure so far. I left Cincinnati at 8 PM on Wednesday night. I sat next to an older British couple who had been traveling around the western US, ending in Vegas. The guy suggested some places that I should visit and also told me that after spending six months in Britain I'll know why they spent thousands of years conquering the world trying to find sun. I watched Mamma Mia, ate dinner (pasta, salad, bread and a brownie) and attempted to sleep but didn't have much luck between the incredible amount of turbulence and a couple of screaming babies. I'm usually bad at sleeping on transportation, though.

Both of my bags arrived, customs decided to risk letting me into their country, and I found the person I was supposed to meet at the airport, aka the nicest staff member at Sussex, aka James from the International Office. It threw me off more to see the driver on the opposite side of the car than it did to drive on the opposite side of the street (maybe I would have felt differently if I were driving!).

It's odd to see Sussex as a whole campus when I'm used to seeing fragmented pictures in brochures. I swear all of the buildings look identical, even more than at Wash U. I'm in Kulukundis House with three flatmates, two of whom are named Amy. I've met two of the three so far and they're really nice and happy to have a full house again (there was no one in my room last semester). One of them (I'm going to have to figure out everyone's last names so it's not confusing when I talk about them) is thinking about studying at Purdue next semester.

The jetlag hasn't been bad (Brighton is five hours ahead), but I'm still tired. My time here has mostly been a blur of meetings and other orientation activities. It's weird to meet all of these people and not know who your friends will end up being. There are six of us here from Wash U, so it's nice to have some familiar faces even though I don't actually know any of the girls that well. Tonight there is a welcome reception, tomorrow night is dinner in Brighton (I'm actually in Falmer, which is about 20 minutes outside of Brighton), and Sunday is a guided tour of Brighton with free time afterwards. I'm glad to have Internet, and I bought some push pins and poster stickies so that I can decorate my room (I have more bulletin board space), but I still need to buy a phone that I can use for local calls and pick up a few things that I forgot at home (I was surprised to find out that there is nowhere on campus to buy a hairbrush - yes, I managed to bring BOTH sets of camera chargers but forget a hairbrush - but the more I thought about it, I don't know if they sell those at Wash U, either).

I'm somewhat overwhelmed but optimistic, and I miss you all. I'll write more after classes start.

Countdown: 6 Days!?

Hello, family and friends!

Welcome to my study abroad blog! For those of you who may not know, I am studying abroad this semester at University of Sussex in Brighton, England. Brighton is on the southeast coast, about an hour away from London by train. I will be there from January 8th to June 27th, with a month-long "Easter break" between March 20th and April 20th. One of the main reasons I chose Sussex was its proximity to the rest of Europe and this time I would have to travel. I have several friends who will be studying in other countries, and I hope to see as much of the world as I can during the next six months.

My program at Sussex is organized through the psychology department at Washington University, so I will mostly be taking classes in psychology and working in a lab. My research supervisor is interested in the possible effects of the media, particularly music and video games, on prosocial behavior in children. I'm hoping to get involved on campus, possibly joining Concert Choir and/or doing theatre.

There are no guarantees as to how often I'll be able to write, but I'll try to keep this blog as updated as possible so that you can get a taste of my European adventures. Maybe I'll be able to add pictures and videos, too! Please leave comments - I'd love to hear from you. Also, if you will be in Europe at any point during the semester, let me know - I'm always up for both visitors and traveling! 

In the meantime, however, I will be packing, packing, packing and spending as much time as possible with family and friends. Keep me updated on your lives, especially those of you at Wash U whom I would normally see on a regular basis. I now have e-mail, Skype, AIM, and this blog, so there's no reason for us not to keep in touch!

ps. In case you're wondering, yes, the URL of my blog does refer to Harry Potter. I will unfortunately not be in London for the premiere of the 6th movie, but I'm on a mission to see as many Harry Potter-related sites as I can, including the restaurant where JK Rowling began writing the books on napkins. ;-)