Wow. I am not even sure where to start really. England is beautiful! The people here are super nice. The food is healthier. And the culture.... interesting. Because this is my first post, I have separated it into sections. I hope you all enjoy. :)


Where is Lynette even at?
I am in Cheltenham, England which is a little over 2 hours from London. If you look at a map, it is near Bath, Stonehenge and the Cotswalds. It is a little town of about 80,000 people. Yeah, I know. They think that is little -strange to me as well.


The Living Arrangements:
I live on a campus called Pittville. Most BCA students live in Regency, but since there were so many of us this semester they had to put Manchester students up here or we would have been in home stays. It is quite a ways from town which has its pros and cons. I live in Cardew on the ground flat; I think there are 6 or 7 flats in my building. I live with four other girls - who are awesome! (there are only 4 boys in the whole building) We each have our own room with a bathroom, and we share the kitchen and dining room. I literally feel like a family already with these girls. We often eat dinner and tea together (a.k.a lunch and dinner) and ALWAYS keep our doors open. Well, except for me but I'll explain that later. The girls are called Sophie, Natalie, Georgie and Sophie. They are all first-years, so they are either 18 or 19. They are a good time and remind me of my girls back home. When I first arrived, my room looked like a jail cell.. picture this: a triangular room (because I have a corner room), all white walls with yellow-ish stain marks, ugly green curtains that are massive, a built-in white desk top, one set of gray shelves on the wall, a twin bed, a gray dresser and three doors - one to the bathroom, closet, and to get out! Oh, I forgot to mention a trash bin and a radiator - white. I hardly brought anything to decorate with because I was not expecting this. But, I have found a dollar store and it looks much more like me :) Back to the radiator - IT IS FREEZING! I am cold all the time anyways, and this just makes it worse. The radiators are on a timer and only stay on for like five seconds. There is a button in the kitchen you can push to make it run longer, but it doesn't work. So, I often find myself leaving my straightener on longer, turning all (3) of the lights on and keeping them on all day, keeping the shower running with the bathroom door open, and other things. It is starting to work, but I am just not used to this! Anyway, I LOVE where I live and who I live with - I wouldn't have it any other way.


How I get around:
By foot. Because we live at Pittville, we live about 15 minutes even further out of town. Our walk to Regency (the other residence hall) is about 20 minutes, and our walk to Park (one of 3 campuses) is about 45 minutes - on a good day with little traffic. I have found walking to be the best idea ever! It gets my energy flowing and I am able to check out the beautiful scenery. After my walk, I am so hungry and thirsty though! But, I walk to town and to campus almost everyday, sometimes multiple times a day. However, because I am a sports major, most of my classes are at the Oxstalls campus in Gloucester. I have to take the bus there or I'd still be walking. It is about a 25 minute bus ride - supposedly. The first time I rode out there, I caught the bus at half past 7 and arrived to the bus stop at 8:45am. Good thing I gave myself extra time. But, each bus ride is different and I always learn or see new things. In the mornings, I ride with all of the school children dressed in blue suits with black shoes - dear lord. They are so cute though with their accents! The bus costs 1 pound each way, so I am spending 6 pound a week for school - not my favorite.


My temporary MC = University of Gloucestershire:
I'm not really sure where to start on this one. The academic system here is so different! I haven't yet learned all of their vocabulary, but I will try my best at explaining this. I have four modules (classes). On Mondays I am in from 1:15-3:15pm for Television Genres. I am really excited about this class. It is based on discussion, group presentation and one assignment. Tuesdays are my early days - up at about 6am. But, I am in from 9:15-10:45am, then again at 3:15-5:15pm. I go to Oxstalls this day, which means I have to hang out at campus all day. :( It will be quite lonely. My day off is Wednesday - woot! Thursday I am in from 3:15-5:15pm, and Fridays from 10:15-11:15am. As you can tell, the scheduling is quite different, but not near as different as the actual lectures. Each module only has one or two assignments which are usually an essay. For level one classes, it is expected that you have 4-6 sources per a 1500 word essay, at least 10 sources for a 2000 word essay, and you can imagine the rest. But, I have all semester to prepare them and make them perfect, so I try to look at it that way. However, they tell first-years to aim for a 70! eeeks! However, it is neat to listen to the different perspectives on each module. Most of my classes are discussion based, so there are a ton of questions shot at me, and in return, I have a million things to say to the English students.


What will I eat?
Well, meals here are quite entertaining. They do not use many preservatives, if any at all. So, most of the food you buy here has about a week to remain edible, then it's expired. The girls told me to get used to going grocery shopping once or twice a week. Between the five of us, we share two TINY refrigerators and a freezer. Their is no dining hall, so we cook every meal. I haven't yet gotten the hang of this, so I have been living off of nutella and biscuits (chocolate spread and crackers), eggs, yogurt, salad, cereal and canned foods. Most tea (supper) is cooked at the same time, and for you and somebody else. Well, sometimes. The other night the girls made spaghetti bolognese. Basically it is spaghetti and meat sauce with red and yellow peppers, mushrooms and onions. It was SO good. I am excited to start actually cooking and figuring out when and what to buy at the store.
The campuses have a refrectory, or a dining hall. They have hot and cold sandwiches, and some hot meals. I grab a sandwich sometimes, but it is sort of expensive. I have always drank a lot of coffee, but even more so over here. It is probably my favorite thing. They also drink this stuff called squash. It comes in a two-liter bottle. It is a juice base and then you add water. Let me tell you, you MUST add water or else it tastes nasty!


The good stuff:
English people love to party! Monday and Wednesday nights are the biggest, but it happens every night of the week except Sunday. But, you can party and purchase alcohol on Sunday -weird. Oh, and watch out while you are at a club, 90% of the time everyone is 19 years old or younger! Talk about a shock! It is a good time though. I went out for my friend's birthday and decided I couldn't afford to do it every night. So, I decided I'll only go clubbing once a week, if that. It is a lot of fun to go sit in a pub and watch the telie (TV), or chill in your flat.


And for everything else:
I think I am finally getting settled in and over the homesickness. I can't wait to start exploring the town more than just to campus and the grocery. I have picked up on a lot of new terms and I hope I can return with an accent :)


I'm excited to say "Welcome to me new life until May 26th!"