So I know it has been quite a while since I have posted, but I have been very busy! Mostly with school. At least 4 days a week I leave for school at 9 am and get home sometime between 9 pm and 11pm. But keeping on top of my school work allows me to have somewhat of a social life....
Oxford
Saturday (1 month ago...) we (My roomates, their classmates at RVC and I) spent the day in Oxford! We really had nothing in mind, so we wandered around the campus (SO pretty and, well, English), had a nice lunch at an English pub, and than walked through Christ Church College (AKA where parts of Harry Potter where filmed like the entrance to the Great Hall etc.). We then when punting on the canal before heading for a burrito dinner (It is hard to find Mexican food in England, so when we see Mexican us Americans get a bit too excited) and then home!
Bear Down, Chicago Bears
Alas, there is no rest for the weary as the next day we had tickets to see the Chicago Bears vs. Tampa Bay Bucaneers at Wembley stadium! It was quite a breezy day, but that didn't stop us from enjoying the "American" tailgate party where they only served Bud Light (yes. you heard me right. But lets be real, what is American Football without Bud Light?). We got to meet up with my cousin and some of his friend there as well! The game was amazing! Although I think all the English people sitting around us were really confused when my friend and I stood up to cheer and when we yelled at the refs. It was an AMAZING day.... although 6 hours of school the next day was a bit tough.
Halloween
So Halloween in the UK is a bit different than America. I was pretty excited at first because the Brits seemed so excited for the day! But Halloween came and all the British dressed exactly the same: as a bloody zombie. I guess they didn't get the Halloween creativity memo. Nevertheless, my roommates and I had a blast preparing for Halloween. Anna made pumpkin pie while we carved pumpkins and roasted pumpkin seeds. We spent Halloween night at an RVC event. I was Belle from Beauty and Beast! I hope everyone back in the states had a fun Halloween too!
Pedi-Bike and Borough Market
Last Saturday Emily and I met up with some friends to go pedi-biking. Now if you look at the photo, you will see a contraption of sorts with 8 seats with pedals and a counter around the inside. Basically how it works is:
- you find 8 friends
- you sit on the seats facing each other
- You pedal through the London streets while consuming beer and wine (The owner of the company is the sober driver)
It was such fun! We were pedaling through the streets of London next to the big red buses in the middle of the street. While I am sure this is probably incredibly dangerous, none of of got hurt so no harm no foul! We did get a TON of strangers taking pictures of us though.
After "biking" we went around the corner to the Borough Market, which is one of the most amazing places I have ever been. It is a HUGE market that has everything you would ever want (microbrews, mulled wine, CHEESE, homemade sweets, Halloumi veggie burgers (well not everyone wants that... but I assure you it was delicious). I fell in love and Emily and I are DEFINITELY going back this weekend to explore further!
Everyday Life/ Misc
On the whole, everything is going great! I hang out with a great group of people at school (Mostly French people, who would have guessed-> Lets just say I now drink a lot of red wine and eat a lot of cheese). My class goes out to dinner every other Friday night at a different nationality restaurant, this week it is Greek food!.
My roommates and I explore a little bit every weekend. A couple Saturdays ago we spent the day at Harrods looking around and eating. That took us about 4 hours we only hit up 2 of the 6 floors. We also explored Convent Garden this weekend and ate at this delicious (and affordable!) Tapas place.
I guess I should also explain the title of this post. The weather has been AMAZING (well, for England at least) It really hasn't fallen below 55-60 degrees F (we have not even turned our heat on in our apartment and its the end of November!) It only rains when I am in my apartment or class which has been VERY convenient thus far.
The next few weeks are also very exciting! Wednesday, my friend Katy from U of I is coming to visit for a week! I can't wait to show her around and do all the touristy stuff. We are having Thanksgiving dinner at my cousins Thursday as well! I am a bit sad I will not be at home, but I am happy to at least still spend Thanksgiving with family and friends! Then the weekend after next, Amber comes for the weekend! THEN just 2 weeks until I leave for Australia!! December is going to be an exciting month :)
