3 Weeks Later....

So I've been here for 3 weeks now and this place is starting to feel like home. The town, the people, and the campus are becoming quite familiar. So far a group of us--Allison, Katie, Emily, and I, have been traveling on the weekends.

One weekend (Jan 17th) we went to Edinburgh, Scotland. It was our first group travel. Our flat neighnor, Daniel, also came along on this trip. Since he came there before, he was very helpful. I must say, this was the most beautiful place of ever!! The architecture was mouthwatering. ...It was so rich with culture and history.

I fear our day trip to Edinburgh didn't really do the city justice. We were so overwhelmed and pushing to do and try everything that we burned ourselves out in the end. I hope I have some more time to visit this place and really delve into the sites and the culture.

The next weekend (Jan 23) we went to Preston and Manchester. Since Preston was on the train route to Manchester, Allison and I decided to do a pit stop there to see what its like. To be very honest, Preston was the most boring place I've visited so far. Sorry to burst anyone's bubble!

We started out our tour by walking the streets and taking pics. As I was taking a picture of this sculpture of Mary next to a Car Park place, this middle aged dude comes out of nowhere and says, "Are ye intrested?". Then he tells us that he had something he wanted to show us and he motions us to come inside the shabby car park building. Of course if anyone was in this situation, they'd probably freak out and unlock their pepper spray. Allison was more curious then I was so she started moving in. When we get inside, this dude was pointing at the cieling. Of course I just smiled and wondered where he was going with this. Then he tells us that this building used to be a church and he was showing us the old material of the building that was peeling on the cieling. At this point I was less creeped out and more polite since he was so fascinated by this and took time out of his day to show it to us. But thats not all......He then insisted on showing us around town!! This guy was either too bored or too nice, but I was very greatful for what he did...even though the museum was more boring than a doorknob and there was nothin much to see....However, the best thing he ever showed us was this little stand that sold very yummy Parched Peas!! (Its really tasted just like spicy Sauce Pwa!---a haitian bean sauce)

Anyways....we move onwards....Onwards to Manchester
Katie and Emily joined us for this portion of our trip. We were very fortunate for Allison's friend Laim, who was kind enough to show us around and let us spend the night.... His mom was sooo awesome by the way! ^_^Liam also had a friend, Will , who was very nice and guided us to some awesome places on Friday night. He took us to a Bar that used to be a public toilet. What made this so kool was that it was setup underground and sooo small. the entrance and exit faced each other and they were not too far apart. The other place Will tooks us was The Jazz Bar. Although the musicians took for ever to start (I saw them writing stuff down last minute), it was pretty awesome places to just sit and vibe. The wine and music was good!

Manchester was a combination of anitiquity and modernity. This theme was portrayed throughout the city. No two building was alike: sometimes you would see heavily ornate buildings with sculptures and extravagant edge work. Right next to it could be a glass building with silver edging. I thought this city catered to both adults and young blood.

Thats all for now....in the meantime, i'll try to focus on my random homework. Im taking 2 music tech classes---one I really like. the other one, not so much...I get to film score in the first one (Yay!). In the other one, we have to learn about C programming (poopity!)...Im also in the 2 orchestras---one I really like. the other one, not so much...I get to play Beethovens Ist (piece of cake). In the other one, I have to watch a literally drunk student conductor run a rehearsal of Dvorak's New World (her pint o' beer was blantantly placed under the stand!!)......

Anyways, I miss everyone there is to miss back home and enjoying the time spent here so far!!!

Lancaster Week One

Lancaster!!!....week one

OMG!! were do i begin...well Lancaster is pretty freakin cold!!! the flight was nauseating....but they did feed us alot so that was a plus...but we had to stop at boston to drop someone who was really sick, thus we had to to another painful takeofff....we finally get to manchester airport and we bought train tickets for Lancaster. we were soo lucky we came in time cause that was the last train for lancaster----it was leavin in 10 minutes!!.... so we hurried lugging our luggage. thank god we got to the train in time. we met some other people who were also heading there, but they ditched us after we got of the train...any ways...we took a taxi from the train station to Lancaster. Allison has been my traveling buddy for the entire trip. we've been getting along quite nicely and she's been a great friend.

they showed us to our room---we lug our luggage some more. then we unpack, and later we go to a welcome dinner and meet some people. up to this point the weather was sunny and cold. the past two days its been wet-cold. every mornin it drizzlesand every evening it gets dark really fast....

we've been going into town to get groceries and stuff. the town is cosy and old-fashioned and just adorable. the shops are randomly placed and there are multiple alleys and corridors that lead to hidden pubs and shops. they had All Fired Up, KFC, Subway, and numerous pubs....they even turned a church into a pub---drinking is a religion!....we found this really nice restaurant that served awesome food for the cheapskie---and the waiter was adorable...anyways.....i'll keep you all posted on more ventures!

Do have a look at my photos!



First Pub Experience


So.....four of us walk into a bar..........and it was soo akward for the first 15 minutes. It doesn't help that all four of us are non-heavy drinkers because everyone else there were drinking mavericks!! ^_^

15 minutes of akwardness and standing around pretending to be above the influence, Allison, Emily, Katie, and I ordered ourselves a couple Vodka Tropicals......and let me tell ya...it was sooooooooo goood!!

Mission Accomplished!