Differences

This has been a really interesting week for me. I took a lot of time to myself the beginning of this week and I explored a lot of the local shops here in Brighton. We have this lovely little town (okay so its not actually all that little) that is right on the coast. I spent a lot of time on my own at first, I was kind of homesick for awhile, but I've started to make good friendships here and it makes being away from home a bit easier. I became friends with a girl named Allie and she introduced me to her friend Jerry. Turns out she goes to UC Merced as well! Completely random that in a large room full of people I happened to talk to her, and out of everyone there what are the odds that shes a fellow bobcat?

Allie and I ended up playing pool.. but its not really pool here. I have listed out a few things below that are different here.. billiards being one of them.




Pool.. is called Snooker.. (Snookah if you say it with the English accent, the guy teaching me said I couldn't say it right). Its played with red and yellow balls instead of stripes and solids. Its similar to billiards in that the first one you hit is your ball that you have to try to make in the rest of the game... but its different because if I accidentally hit their ball or if you bounce off of theirs to hit yours then they get two extra shots. There is a whole bunch of other rules to it, but its hard to tell what is the local version and what is the real version of Snooker. But it was definitely a lot of fun, and Allie and I won!

 Bacon.. Bacon is different here too. The whole breakfast really. Its so much meat! - Okay I guess that's not really that different. The bacon is actually big slices of ham that are crispy like bacon, its really really delicious. And if you ask for a coffee they automatically give you an Americano (espresso and water) Their portions for drinks here are much smaller but really concentrated and their large is usually smaller than our medium drinks!

And then there are the beaches... The beautiful pebbly beaches of the UK. The way that people regard the beaches here is far different than at home. When in California I think of laying out on the sand, going swimming and playing in the waves. Here its a completely different atmosphere. People go hang out in large groups on the beach and sit and have barbecues.  There really aren't any waves at all either. And people don't really take off their shoes because its rocks. But its full of music and groups of people out until late just sitting and talking.

Okay, I know there are places in the US like this too.. but for me it was completely different, I grew up hanging out in SoCal beaches and it wasn't anything I had experienced before!

So thats it for my list of differences until I add more later. :)

There is this really beautiful and fun pier really close too. It is full of arcades and junk food and amusement park rides. So of course when tempted... 

                                                         
                                                       A waffle on a stick is a must!

It has definitely been a great week, and I made a couple of new friends. 

We went out to a restaurant the other night and on our way in the host grabbed me and started salsa dancing with me right in the entry way to the patio. He ended up hanging out at our table with us later and told us he was actually a part owner of the business. The people here are so friendly and they have a really witty sense of humor. The people I have met and befriended have made this trip such a great experience.

My First Week

So much has happened in such a short amount of time. I started class this week, Introduction to Marketing. The schooling is so different here compared to back at home. The professor I have explained on the first day that he isn't an academic, not someone with a PhD, only someone with 15 years of experience in the industry. Which to me is the best way to learn about something, directly from someone that has applied it for years.

After classes for the first week, with small trips into town here and there, I began the big beautiful trip to Amsterdam in the Netherlands for the weekend. It was the most beautiful place I have ever been with its old architecture and marshlands.



The first day that we arrived there we took a bus and went to see the Van Gogh museum, photos do not do his art justice. From there we walked for awhile and arrived at the Anne Frank house. This house was really a special experience. It was really like a trip through time walking through that house with Anne's quotes from her diary up on the walls. After that we saw the red light district... all I can say is that I am pretty sure this is the Las Vegas of Europe, but with less casinos and a lot more obscenities.

 The second day in Amsterdam we went on a countryside bus tour and rode bicycles through a town with a few of the last remaining old windmills. The windmills used to be used to pump water out of the land so that it could be fertile enough for the farmers to plant their crops. 

Wooden clogs with flowers, right outside of the clog factory

The tour then took us to see an old dutch cheese factory and a clog factory where the farmers shoes are made. They still wear them today too!

 It ended up being a very long day after all of that. We went out to see the famous club scene and stayed out late enough that we had to catch a cab to the airport afterwards without any sleep. We finally arrived back in Brighton to go back to school for the week!

Made it!

I finally landed in the UK at 10:30am (UTC) yesterday and took a bus from the airport to arrive at the school, by the time I got everything settled and my keys it was pretty late into the day but I still took the opportunity to hike to the top of a grassy hill overlooking the entire campus:

The next day I took a trip down into Sussex with a couple of the girls I live with in the flat. We took the wrong bus (we thought we were going to the pier) and we ended up taking a very long drive through some gorgeous neighborhoods and we arrived at a grocery store and went shopping, which was entirely different too. We had to put a coin in the shopping cart in order to use it..

And then I got to order England's famous Fish and Chips! They actually deep fry a whole fish, not just strips like you see in America. It was so delicious.

I got to Skype Katie today too! She has no idea I took this so neither of us we really ready for the photo..

So far this trip has been nothing short of amazing, I can't wait for the rest of it!

Vegas!

Checking out the mini Eiffel Tower before I get to see the real one! I had an 8 hour lay over in Las Vegas until the next flight to London-Gatwick so I took the opportunity to explore the strip. Next stop - the UK!

On my way!

Made it to SoCal, off to Vegas first thing in the morning with only 3 hours to sleep!