Pictures!

Here's a link to the album I made of pictures from Chatsworth: picasa web album

Sorry

Sorry about the video overlapping with the side bar. I couldn't figure out how to fix that; I even tried messing with the HTML to no avail. I'm not so good at this blogging thing. :/ If you want to watch it minus overlaying text, you can just click this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHlJODYBLKs&feature=player_embedded 

Had to post this

This has nothing to do with me being in England. It's just awesome. Enjoy:

Chatsworth House

Yesterday (Sunday) was the day Tanya and I had signed up to go to Chatsworth House in the Peak District. We were supposed to be on campus at the meeting point at 10:30, which meant we had to leave our flat by no later than10:10. As some of you have probably expected, we left late, as a result of my being more unable than usual to control my hair. I was worried that we'd miss the bus, but as we turned onto the final road along the way, we saw it waiting for us, which was a HUGE relief. I happily said, "oh, just wait, it'll start pulling away now and we'll have to run after it." Ha. ha. And then it did. And we ran, with me almost falling on my face after tripping on the uneven cobbles. So we had missed the bus, even though we were only about four minutes late. Punctuality is key, apparently. 

I called the number on my ticket for the Give it a Go office, but it's Sunday, and NO ONE in this country works on the weekend, and especially not Sundays. They close the student's union on the weekends. It's annoying. I didn't really know what to do, and I felt really bad that we had missed the bus, seeing as it was sort of (okay, completely) my fault. Tanya then all of a sudden announced, "I am leaving the city today. I will not stay in the city. We will go." Which got my attention, because she's normally pretty quiet and not too opinionated. We decided we needed to figure out how to take a bus to Chatsworth, because if we could just get there, we could find our group and get a ride back. So we went over to the library to find a computer. After jumping through a number of uninteresting administrative hoops to get access to a computer (you have to log in with your MUSE ID, which is something I had never been given or even told about.) we figured out how to take a bus to Chatsworth. The bus ride was listed as being an hour long, and the nearest pick-up point was a good 40 minutes' walk away. But we were determined. So we gathered our stuff an set out for the bus stop, and as a bonus, we actually managed to find it with enough time to spare to get coffee. 

When the bus came we climbed on, paid our fare, and....went upstairs!! Because it was a double-decker bus!! I was really excited about it, which Tanya was weirded out by. It was like riding on the top deck of a ship, so we got thrown around a lot. But it was so fun! The route to Chatsworth goes through the Peak District, which was beautiful, and a couple of little villages. 

After a little more than 40 minutes we arrived at Chatsworth successfully, much to my surprise. I explained our situation to the guy at the gate, and he was really nice and let us in without paying (as we had already paid Give it a Go). We toured through the house and then out into the gardens, where we ran into the Give it a Go leader. We informed him who we were, and made sure that the bus wouldn't leave without us again. I was a bit annoyed with him, as the bus is supposed to wait 10 minutes before leaving and he's supposed to have a list of participants. I tried to be nice, but I think some of the annoyance came through, especially since he was so "oh, well hmm, nice to see you!"

The house was absolutely amazing, but at the same time sad to see what disrepair parts of it had fallen into. The family doesn't really have any choice but to open the house to tourists, but the huge number of people walking through cause quite a bit of wear. I was glad to be able to see it though, especially the things I recognized from Austen movies. Even more incredible was the ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian artifacts they had just kind of arranged in the hallways, like it was no big deal. 

I tried to take lots of pictures, but my camera died about halfway through, even though I had new batteries in it. I think I need to get special camera batteries, but I have no idea where to get something like that here. Or if it would even help. I think my camera's at least 4 years old, so maybe it's broken. Great timing. :/ Anyway, Tanya said she'd email me some of her photos, so I'll have those eventually. 

Today I'm just sticking around my room resting, as yesterday was very eventful. I don't have any class until tomorrow (Tuesday). 

I'm posting pictures separately, as trying to put them in this post will mess up my formatting big time.  

The Great Starbucks Rebellion

Mmmkay, so I’m getting really behind with posting, and I don’t see myself having more time in the future to keep up any better. So in the interest of not just giving up on updates all together, I’m going to skip a few days. I’m sure you’re all dying to hear about the joys of module signature-garnering and registration, but you’re just going to have to live without knowing the details. My apologies. :) 

I will just say, however, on that subject, that the old joke about the Brits having a special affinity for “queuing” (American: “standing in line”) is oh-so-accurate. During registration, I spent no fewer than 4 and a half hours waiting in lines. I got through one line and was sent to another, then another, then another. They have lines to wait to get into the actual line that gets you somewhere. (Like at H&M today, there was a line to get into the line for the fitting room. No joke.) Multiple times I have been standing in line, *just had a feeling* that I should verify I was in the correct one, and upon asking, discovered the line I wanted was across the room. No one thinks to properly label lines, of course, because this is England, and you jolly well had better fend for yourself. For example, during registration, I happened to notice that all other the American students (yes, you can pick them out. Mostly because the ones here are loud and from New Jersey) were one-by-one being sent to a different line. Upon inquiry, I found that, “All US students must have their passports and visas scanned. You need to be in that queue over there.” This is after I had obviously been standing in line for a good hour. No apology, no help offered, no “sorry-you’ve-been-standing-in-the-wrong-line-for-an-hour-gee-maybe-there’s-a-communication-problem,” only a “go stand in that queue” like it’s no big deal. But I got off easy; I hear that some students had to wait for 9 hours because the server crashed. So I’m glad I got there early! 

Anyway, I’m now registered for two 300-level archaeology classes (Funerary archaeology and Neolithic and bronze age Britain) and one 200-level literature class, Renaissance Literature. I’m hoping spaces will open up in a 300-level literature class on Christopher Marlowe, a contemporary of Shakespeare, but I won’t find out about that until Wednesday. Hopefully I can switch out of the Ren Lit class, because it’s probably too basic for me. But we shall see. 

Today Tanya and I gathered our courage together and found our way over to Meadowhall Mall, one of the biggest malls in England. I wanted to see if I could get a messenger bag, and Tanya wanted some slippers. Also, there’s an H&M (just a small incentive). We took the “supertram” over and back, as the mall's very far away. This was rather unremarkable, so I won’t take the time to describe it. It’s just your average metro/light rail/etc. 


There were no fewer than three Starbucks in the mall, and I caved and got a caramel macchiato. It was soooo good. There was, of course, a long line to order, which I unhesitatingly stood in, in the name of combatting homesickness. Once I got through the ordering line, however, I was amused to see that the Brits had dutifully formed a pick up line, also. I then noticed that the counter behind which they make the drinks was actually designed in a shape to allow people to queue along it. I was suddenly no longer amused. I had spent the last two days spending four or more hours standing in line. I officially had enough of the incessant queuing. “I come from the PNW, the home of Starbucks,” I thought. “I know the right way to wait for a drink. And that way is to loiter around aimlessly in a random mass of people while taking care to not acknowledge or touch a fellow customer. Or maybe if you’re adventurous you go browse the mugs and overpriced syrups without any intention of buying them. The ONE THING you don’t do is form another frickin’ line!” There’s NO REASON to stand in line once you’ve ordered. Seriously. I just snapped. So, I straightened my shoulders, strode past the queue, and determinedly placed myself in correct Starbucks-drink-waiting position: directly in front (but not too close to as to appear overly eager) of the pick-up counter. I felt the angry stares, but I didn’t care. I heard the incomprehensible grumbling, but I held my ground. "I'm not going to steal your special coffee just because I'm not standing behind you, people," I thought. "I have my own special drink. It has extra foam and extra caramel, and I promise I will only take mine. Honestly." I was being a little ethnocentric, I suppose. I think I’m acculturating really well, huh? ☺

While we're using anthropology jargon, though, it was actually really interesting to see the people in the line attempt to re-integrate me into their precious queue by slowly shifting towards me. I made some people visibly uncomfortable (and my day was therefore complete) by breaking their unspoken cultural mores. You all should try it sometime; it's fun! I do it here all the time whether I want to or not. Every day, I'm reminded of how American I am. For example, generally I'm waaaay more assertive (they probably call it pushy) than the British people here, and I have a strong tendency to be much more proactive than natives.

Anyway, after this small rebellion, I felt much better, and Tanya and I finished our shopping. I still haven’t found a messenger bag (apparently they’re not very popular here), but I’m hoping mom can send me my Asana one. 

We didn’t get back to the city until around 4pm, so by that time Tanya and I were really hungry. The only place we could find was a Pizza Hut, which I was not pleased about. But when we went in, it turned out to be a pretty nice sit-down restaurant. Like similar to an Olive Garden. The menu had fancy gourmet pizzas, pasta, and drinks. I started walking up to what I thought was the ordering counter, and the hostess had to ask me to wait to be seated. I think I gave her a really confused look. I felt like I was in that corny Sylvester Stallone movie, “Demolition Man,” where Taco Bell is the only restaurant that survives the destruction of society, so it has a monopoly and gets super fancy. Look it up. It’s a (unintentionally) hilarious movie.  

Tomorrow Tanya and I are going to Chatsworth, as I mentioned before. I’m taking my camera and remembering to put the memory card in it (unlike my genius move today of leaving it in my room), so I should have awesome pictures of the Peak District and English mansions soon. 

Love you all!! 

~Anna 

Pictures of the City and a Yummy Treat

Hi everyone! I thought I'd throw some pictures up that I took today. I had to walk over to the English building to try to switch around one of my classes, and I saw this great example of typical Sheffield city planning.

This was taken from a window in the English building, which is a new, very modern-looking structure. Right beside it they have this beautiful historic red brick building that is falling into ruins. 

A better view. Hopefully you can see how entire walls and sections of this building have just fallen off. 

Here's a larger view towards city centre. The building from the above photos is on the left. I don't know what year it's from, but it seems to me that Sheffield would do better to conserve its beautiful architectural and historical integrity than build new modern monstrosities beside buildings as picturesque as this.  

An example of the architectural hideousness that goes on in Sheffield, right beside valuable historic structures. This is a music building.

This is the English building, from which the above photos were taken. So...yeah...  

And to wrap things up, here's a picture of some tasty goodies in the grocery store 

The ingredients include "reconstituted pig's blood." It's right there on the label. I tried to get a picture of that, but my camera wouldn't focus right, and I was starting to get annoyed looks.

Thanks for reading, everybody! 

My room from the door

My new lovely bedding. They had this and pink polka-dots. This one looks strangely similar to my bedding at home. Liz, I've been using the airplane blanket you gave me so much!

My desk

My lovely sink

My shower. It's part of the rest of the bathroom, so when you shower the whole bathroom gets wet. 

Adventures into the heart of the city

Hi everyone!

So here's an update for you all, in case you're wondering what I've been up to. :) 

I can't remember exactly how much I've said in previous emails, so forgive me if I'm repeating things. Monday night I didn't go out, big surprise. I just kind of repeated over and over that I didn't really care to go out, and tried to explain why to Charlotte. In the end she just did the "meh" French shoulder shrug and said it was my choice. This all took place as we were walking from our flat across this big lawn/field area to "The Edge" (so hip, right?) to go to a residence hall meeting. When we got there they had juice boxes and cookies ("biscuits") for us — no joke. Then we had to sit on the floor like we were at an elementary school assembly. It was hilarious. Here's all these 22 year old and up international students sitting on the floor in a room full of 17-year old British freshmen sipping on juice boxes. We were not pleased. They went over some rules and then had to take part in "forced fun" *haha* Because admitting no one in the room wants to do something apparently makes it better? I suggested we leave, in true American rebel style, and received only noncommittal shrugs. I'm learning slowly that my tendency to look at rules as inspirational guidelines for my own agenda is not too popular here. After the meeting we left and went back to the flat. I went to my room and did uninteresting school-related things and then went to bed. So that was monday. 

On Tuesday my big goal for the day was to get downtown somehow and get bedding, as I was really tired of sleeping on a bare mattress with a backpack-constructed pillow. Tuesday morning I had to go to this information fair and get something they call an "academic diary." It's pretty much a glorified planner, which is a lame reason to have to walk 15 min to campus, but hey, free planner! So Tanya (German) and I walked over to the fair. Afterwards we had some extra time so we went next door to the Union and had coffee. We're both nursing mild cases of caffeine withdrawal, so were very eager to have coffee. I ordered a mocha (comfort food, you know) and they served it to me with 2 packets of sugar on the side. Who would ever want more sugar in their mocha than is already there is beyond me. Especially since the mocha was like a 12oz mocha concentrated into a 8oz cup. 

While we had our coffee Tanya and I looked through the different activities offered by this student-run "scheme" called Give it a Go. They organize trips, classes, all kinds of things for students to sign up for. They get really good deals on stuff, so you have to buy tickets early for the good ones. Tanya and I decided on getting tickets for two events. One is a "Ghost Walk" around downtown Sheffield next Tuesday night. Dad, I think this will be similar to the Jack the Ripper walk you took around London. But not so awesome. Haha. Hopefully it will be spooky though. And even if it's not, I'll enjoy it because of the history that we'll no doubt hear about. We also signed up to go see Chatsworth House and Gardens this Sunday. (http://www.chatsworth.org/) It's this massive house in the Peak District that's been featured in a bunch of Austen movies. Tanya likes Jane Austen a ton too, it turns out. But she reads the books in German! She also has read Harry Potter and Twilight. I guess not that surprising. Anyway, we stood in line forever (there's a "queue" for EVERYTHING here) and got our tickets. 

By the time we were done with that it was time to go over one more building to a mentor/mentee lunch for mature students (all it takes to be mature is to be over 21. I'm pretty sure that's an accurate reflection of actual maturity levels. For sure.) Neither one of our mentors showed up for the lunch, though, so we were instructed to get a sandwich and find a table with some random people. Picking a sandwich was quite a bit more challenging than I anticipated (the general rule here, it seems), as none of the plates were labeled, and the stuffing in the choices was far from identifiable. The British seem to have some sort of private vendetta against placing labels on anything here — streets, houses, rooms, store aisles, everything. And if they do label something, you can be sure it's either wrong or lovingly situated behind a bush. Anyway, upon asking, I was informed that the sandwiches were tuna and sweet corn, brie and cranberry, creamy cheese salad, and creamy crab. One remained a mystery, because not even the host could say what the reddish paste with spinach was. I played it safe and took a brie/cran one. We sat at a table with a really nice, very gregarious woman who gave us lots of info on general living in Sheffield. When I mentioned that I like climbing, she joyfully announced that she knows a guy named Adam who's super into climbing. She took down my email and said she'll have him contact me. This all happened before I even knew it, so I hope that's not weird... But I guess if it is, he just won't email me, so problem solved! 

Okay, so after lunch, Tanya and I had planned to go downtown to get her a phone and me bedding and things. In order to do that we either had to use the bus system, the routes and workings of which is one of Sheffield's best-kept secrets, or get a taxi, a thing which I have never, ever done. My entire knowledge base for getting a taxi comes from watching movies set in New York. This led me to believe that the best course of action would be to call and order a taxi (people do that, right??), as I try not to rely on romantic comedies for life skills. However, as I was standing on the curb in front of Firth Hall, which is on a really big road, I saw a taxi -or what resembled a taxi- coming. I was somehow brave enough to perch on the curb and flag it down. I was so shocked at my unlikely success that when it pulled over it took me a second to get in. But in we got, and I announced confidently that we'd like to go to the City Hall in city center. I don't know what possessed me. :) The driver took off, and it only took £4 to get downtown. Once we were there, we walked around and hunted for the shops we needed. I had spent like 2 hours studying my various maps of Sheffield the night before, so I was able to stay mildly oriented with minimal touristy map references. I managed to get us to a store that was like a super cheap-quality JC Penny's (but much smaller) where I got stuff I needed. We went to Poundland; I'm sure you all can figure out what that is. We got kitchen stuff there, and I got some shampoo. Then we walked a couple of blocks with me awkwardly carrying a pillow, two towels, and a duvet and arrived at the phone store. It was super busy, but I found the salesguy who helped me before, and smiled real big and asked if he was too busy to help us. My attempts at flirting apparently worked, because he helped us right away. I'm learning so many new skills! Haha...  

Once Tanya got her phone we walked back up the street to a main roundabout. I then proceeded to get my three maps out in order to find our way back home or to a taxi stand. Tanya waited for me patiently as I stood there grumbling over street names and routes, and when I had finished, she quietly pointed across the street with a look of confusion. It turned out she had seen the 6 taxis parked along the road before I ever got out my maps and she had not wanted to be rude by interrupting my musings. It was hilarious. We ran over and grabbed one, and rode back to our flat. 

Later that evening Tanya and I tried to go out to have a quiet drink, i.e., go somewhere we could hear each other speak. We went over to the Edge bar, but they were having "disco night" so we couldn't go in. We asked in the lobby where we could go, and the girl was like, "well...umm...you might be best just gettin' some alcohol and going back to your room." So apparently there's literally no where to go in Sheffield during intro week that's not packed and crazy. So we went back home and had tea together, which I didn't really mind. 

So that was my Tuesday. I'll post soon about my Wednesday, which was also eventful. 

I love you all and miss you so much!!! Looking forward to hearing from you! 

First Post

Hi all!
I thought I'd start this blog so you could read about my going-ons here instead of in separate emails. It'll take me awhile to get this all designed and nice, since I'm pretty busy and I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm working on a really long update about the past few days right now, so I'll try to alert everyone when I post that. Cheers from rainy Sheffield!