I am now onto my second week of class over here. Still getting use to the structure and all the free time I have along with calling the lecturers by their first names. The first week went good and I didn't have any problems.  This last weekend I traveled into London to visit the Natural Science Museum. There were so many things to look at in there. It was pretty cool!

Outside the museum

Outside the front of the museum

Entry way when we walked in

That was the only big thing I did all weekend. The rest of the weekend we just hung out. Today me and Deanna and Sam traveled to Camden. It was a town filled with various shops and street vendors. When grandma and brooke come to visit I am definitely going to take them here! We spent all day here exploring and taking pictures.

There are so many places here to explore, I love it! This weekend we have a scheduled boat tour in London which I can't wait for, so I will post pictures after the tour!

Beginning Of A Great Semester!

Cant believe its been just about a week since I have arrived! A lot has happened in such a short amount of time. I have become more familiar with the area and can get around a little better on the trains and busses. Thursday night some friends and I went to the pub and played quiz night. Surprisingly we won twice. First we got a free pitcher of beer and then later a bottle of wine which we saved for a different night.

This is the group that I hang out with 

We also received our timetables, which is a schedule of when we have class and where. This semester is definitely going to be a big change for me. I will only have around 8 hours of class a week which is a big change from home. Also here they only get graded on two essays, unlike at home where your final grade is a combination of test, quizzes homework, attendance, etc. This is kind of frightening to some of us because there is no room for error if we want to do well. Luckily everyone here is nice and willing to help us figure out how to write these essays. 

Saturday was the most exciting day because we finally got to travel into central London! This was our chance to be tourist before having to act like we live here. We had a tour guide who showed us the London eye, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and other places. The places were cool to see, but we didn't actually get to go inside anything which was kind of a let down, but there is plenty of time to go back and explore ourselves. After the guided tour we could do whatever we wanted, so me and the group of girls in the picture above went into and art museum for a little while, and then we decided to pick a direction to walk and look at things. We realized that without having a plan of what we wanted to actually do it was difficult to figure out where to go. So next time we go into London we will have a plan of what to do and where to go. 

River Thames

London Eye

Elizabeth Tower also known as Big Ben

House of Parliament

Westminster Abbey

Sunday we decided to go into Kingston, which is a nearby town. We just wanted to see what it was like and check out a few stores we have been told about. We thought taking the train was the best thing to do so we went to the station and payed before realizing the route we needed doesn't happen on Sundays, so to the bus station we went. We got on the first bus that took us to Teddington and then got on a second one. This is where we went wrong. We got on the wrong bus and ended up 45 minutes from where we needed to be. So we got off and got on a different one which eventually got us to where we needed to be. We now realize that without getting lost on public transportation you would never really figure it out. When we came home we had no problem at all.

Fallen over Telephone booths in Kingston

Last night, the rest of my floor moved back in. Now everyone is here I think it will be a good semester. Today (Monday) classes started. I only had one child psychology class this morning for an hour and a half and it wasn't bad. The lecture seemed similar to what I am use to but it is kind of hard to tell because it has only been one day. So far everything is going good and I can't wait to travel around more!

First Days in London

Made it over to London safely! Yesterday was a long day of travel. Arrived at 7:30 and had to sit in the airport until 1:30, and then arrived to campus around 2.  Today was the first full day of orientation, which was very long. We were given so much information about how things on campus work. Then we were given tours of the campus, Twickenham, and Teddington. They were very helpful because on the tours of the town they pointed out where to go shopping and which places were cheapest. The campus tour was helpful since everything here is new to me. We then had a tea party and had a chance to meet some other students. Tomorrow is another full day of orientation where we find out our courses we will take, and meet the teachers that we will have. Saturday will be the best day because we have a day tour of London! I am quickly learning that you really have to listen to what people say because they speak very quietly compared to Americans. The food here is also not the best, edible but not as good as food from home!

Here are two pictures from today

This is a room where some classes are held, it is part of the Strawberry Hill House

Thames River in Teddington