Update: In the UK! (days 1-17)

I keep making these promises to myself to keep this blog up to date, since I've tried to start a couple before and always trailed off after not too long. I've even told myself that same thing when I first started this one, and lo and behold, I've let quite a bit of time go by between posts. However, I figure that as long as I'm abroad (i.e. for the next couple months) I may as well keep this blog up to date as a sort of journal of my travails and excursions. I'm pretty new at this whole "being abroad" thing, since this is virtually my first time ever being out of the United States for an extended period of time. I've been to Canada a few times, but once was on a school trip, once was for Christmas with my family, once was for hockey camp, and once was for New Years with a large group of friends from school. Up until now, each time I had been fortunate enough to venture outside the United States, I didn't really venture away from American culture. In that respect, at least, this is my first time experiencing a foreign culture. Now, after that long-winded introduction, onto my time in the UK so far!

I arrived in Manchester at the airport around two in the afternoon on September 20th. I had flown all night from JFK, connected in Paris, and then finally landed in England, which would be my place of residence for the next three months. I would characterize my first few weeks here in the UK as the exploits of a naive American tourist on his own. I've spent way too much money on travel expenses because I don't know any of the ins or outs of a different country. I've saved money on food, but mostly because I don't know what else to eat besides instant dinners, I'm not a very good cook, and I've missed many a meal already because my sleep schedule is so out of whack. As far as alcohol is concerned, I'd say it constitutes a fair portion of my expenses because, much to my amazement and liking, every night is a night when "Uni" (University = American understanding of college) kids go out, including Mondays...and Sundays! That being said, I've been partying it up pretty hard since being over, and classes haven't gotten in the way at all, as I was hoping. My schedule has been totally optimized for the lazy American student: Mondays from 10am to 3pm, then Tuesdays from 9am to noon and that's IT FOR THE WEEK!

As a result of my never-ending party schedule, I've met some pretty amazing people over here. Though I'm staying in York, attending York St. John University, I had a chance to see a little bit of London on my first weekend in the country. I had signed up to take the LSAT in September, and since the test date fell just after I was due in England, I booked a spot to take it in London at a venue called Ironmonger Hall, which I learned was used in at least one of the Harry Potter films! I stayed a few miles away from the test site, which may have been my first mistake, since this required me to depend on my ability to navigate the street/bus/Tube route of London in my first week in the country. Basically, I ended up hopping on the right bus going in the wrong direction, effectively making me late for the test. Thankfully, it started late, and they had waited for stragglers like me for a few minutes, so I did take the test in full the next day. That night, I stayed at a friend's flat in South Croydon who I had played lacrosse with two years ago in college. He graduated when I was a sophomore, and now he is in England coaching and playing lacrosse here - spreading the game to other countries as it were. We went into London for the night out and I had a great time, getting my first real taste of a kebab stand, which I have noticed are the UK equivalent of hot dog vendors in NYC.
I took the train back up to York from London, after snapping a picture of Platform 9 3/4 of course, and since then have been involved in many a shenanigan here at school (nothing against the law, of course).

My flatmates are awesome and have made the transition process much easier on me. My neighbor made me my first real cup of English tea within my first 10 minutes in the house! And it was great! The same can be said for the other students I'm here with from school back in the states, a good number of which I never knew as well before and am sad I didn't meet until this year. Apart from my English flatmates and American classmates, I have met tons of great people, guys and girls alike, who have expressed just as much interest and willingness to learn about American culture as I have to learn theirs. I'm too shy to try it sober, but when I've loosened up a little I find the liquid courage to attempt an English accent, which I have heard sometimes sounds "posh" and at other times "Scottish" - neither of which makes all that much sense or difference to me, since I have trouble distinguishing one from the other! On the flip side, I've tried to help some of my new English friends with their American "accents" (even though, to me, it isn't an 'accent' per-se) as well as teaching them catch phrases and slang.

I think that's about enough for this post, probably even a bit too much, but I had to squeeze it in somewhere (pause). I leave for Amsterdam on Thursday evening for the weekend, which I am really looking forward to and will be sure to write about!

Until then, call me Em.