Finally getting adjusted

Well readers, I hope to educate you in this next post, make you laugh, share some knowledge I have learned about the English this past week, and not just show you all the lovely pictures I have taken (I even took notes during some of the tours so I could pass some knowledge along to you). 

So let the learning and chuckles begin!

September 19, 2014:
This was another day full of sight-seeing. We bought tickets for the Big Bus Tours (highly would recommend) where we were shown some of the big sights and some smaller sights (like where Princess Diana liked to eat). What's great about these tours is that you can get on and off the bus whenever you want to look around and then hop on the next bus and continue your journey. We got off by the Tower of London and bought tickets to go in. 

So you can either walk around the Tower of London by yourself, get an audio guide, or wait a couple of minutes to get a guided tour from a Beefeater. We chose the guided tour with the Beefeater (yes, that's what they are called). So there are 20 towers in all at the Tower of the London with 13 of them being on the inner wall. The Tower of London was not always a place of execution as it is so famously known for. It was also an armory, garrison, a zoo, a prison, and now a tourist sight and holds the crown jewels. The Tower of London is also home to the Beefeaters and their families (that would be a cool yet creepy place to live). 

Asked this Beefeater how many pictures he had taken that day and he responded with "too many".

So the crown jewels are everything they are hopped up to be and more. Absolutely gorgeous and truly is every girls dream come true (seriously, Cinderella has nothing on these jewels). 

So we walked around there for a few hours, saw the torture chamber, and all the different kinds of suits of armor and by the time we hopped back on the Big Bus Tour, we were exhausted (and our feet were sore).

The next day we got up early and got on the closest Big Bus Tour stop (since our tickets lasted 48 hours). While we were on the bus, we came across a huge group of runners in gorilla costumes. We have no idea why they were dressed up as gorillas or what it was for, but it was hilarious! 

We then hopped on a City Cruise boat (also included with the Big Bus Tour ticket) and headed to Greenwich for their supermarket day. It was absolutely beautiful and not as loud as London. It was really cool to just walk around and look at what everyone was selling or cooking. 

So we walked around there for awhile and had some lunch and then we walked to Greenwich College which if you didn't know this but part of Thor 2 is shot there. I totally forgot about that until I came back home and it hit me. Luckily, I took some photos and now every time I watch that movie, I can say that I was there (heads up for those I will watch this movie with)! 

Scene from Thor 2. I was there!!!

While we were about to leave, we saw an old candle arrangement saying "will u marry me?" We thought it was cute and were about to get a photo of it, but a street cleaner started wiping it up...what a kill joy.

September 21, 2014: 
POLO DAY! I got to go to my first (and probably last) polo match! API brought us as a group activity to the Ham Polo Club. It was cool to watch but none of us really knew what was going on because no one told us the rules. One rule I did know is that they are not called horses in polo, they are called ponies (whatever). 

Stomping the grounds! I was told right after this moment by the gentleman behind me that I did not have the proper shoes for stomping. Thanks, already knew that.

September 22, 2014 (AKA- First day of school):

Holy crap the first day of school finally came for us! It was my LAST First Day of School and I will admit, I did take a moment to just soak it up and accept that I am growing older and that sooner or later, I would be entering the real world. It was scary. It was neat to say that my last first day of school happened in London and that not a lot of people can say that! So we got to our campus and after a little trouble and a few wrong turns, I found my first class. It was a huge lecture hall with 200+ students in it. Coming from a private college, this was defiantly different for me. 

So I only have 4 classes that meet once a week. Here, credits go from 4,5,6 not the usual 3,4,5,6 credits in the U.S. I am taking three 6 credit classes (International Economics, Retailing, and Managing Services) that are more advanced since they are for final year students. I am also taking one 4 credit class called Principles of Marketing, (I already took this course in the US, but I needed another class on my roster to be considered a full time student at Westminster) and it is full of freshman (Huzzah...).

What's different about education here is that you go to a Lecture first where the professor talks about the topic for about an hour and a half. Questions usually aren't asked during this time. You then go to a Seminar session, which is a smaller class size and where you are able to ask questions and talk more about what you learned in the lecture. It's a lot of self studying and self reading here, and since you only meet once a week, you are responsible of reviewing the material throughout the week. You also aren't given small assignments to turn in and receive grades for. There is usually one final project/paper that is due at the end of the semester which your whole grade is weighed on (this is quite scary). 

So, some things I am still trying to figure out/learning here:

-I still have no idea what side of the sidewalk I'm supposed to walk on. I think at some points that i'm supposed to walk on the left (since they drive on the left) but then there are times where I end up walking on the right and then other times, people are just doing there own thing and everyone ends up dodging and weaving everywhere. It is quite frustrating. the plus to this is that my dodging and weaving skills are improving immensely. 

- The English here don't throw away their trash when they are leaving a fast food/cafe place. They just leave their garbage on the tables (even though there is a trash can right next to them) for the workers to clean up. I will not be taking on this habit because I don't find it too strenuous to walk 5 steps to the trash can. Plus, I think it's rude.

- No one packs their lunches to bring to work. It seems like everyone goes out to the local food places to grab a pre made sandwich (there are so many sandwich places here, no joke). This is a very expensive approach and since I am a poor college student, I am not able to do this every day. 

- They don't have tupperware here! I can not find tupperware anywhere and I'm just wondering, "what do you do with your leftovers? Do you not have leftovers? Do you go out every night and if so, you must make a lot of money because it is expensive here!? How do you not have tupperware!?" They also don't have crockpots here. It's sad, but true.

So, I'm starting to feel less like a tourist and more like a citizen which is great. The downside is that I recently got sick. Now something you need to know about me and sickness: 
- I always get sick at least once a year during school and even though I'm around my roommates back home, they will not get sick. They never get sick! It is always me that gets sick!
- When I get a cold, I get a cold. The whole stuffed nose and then runny nose thing happens and I feel like a walking, leaking germ. It's disgusting and I feel bad for my current roommates. I try to cover up every sneeze and cough but I don't know if that will be enough. 
- My voice goes down a few octaves and I sound like a dude for a few days. 
- Nyquil and Dayquil are my best friends during this time along with puffs plus with lotion (the best invention ever)! If i ever give you any of these items, it means I care about you (it's a weird way I show my affection/friendship, but it's true). I honestly don't know how people who don't believe in medicine do it because when I start getting sick, I'm just like "Give me the drugs now!" I don't want to live in misery for a few days, I want to be able to go out feeling a little bit like my self and not feel so icky if it only is for a few hours. I can't do that whole mind over matter stuff. It just doesn't work for me and I applaud anyone who can do it. 

So that basically wraps up everything that has been going on. Hope you enjoyed the pictures and some of my rantings!

Sincerely, the ever so sick yet still witty, Claire Utech