Into the Groove!

So now I can say that I have officially settled into my flat at Royal Holloway. Above you can see a picture of the ENORMOUS castle that graces the campus, it's GORGEOUS! For the past week, I've gotten into the student life here on campus. Not only do I love meeting new people, but I was also kind of curious to see if British students are any different from Americans. Well, after visiting various pubs, parties, clubs and dining halls; I've seen that British college students and Americans have a lot more in common than one would think! Learning that was pretty reassuring...letting me know that we're all kind of connected in some way.

One of the only HUGE differences I've seen is the vocabulary and presentation of food. When I talk to some of my friends at Uni (slang for University) I find my self repetitively asking...wait what was that? What does that mean? It's as if I need a small translator book sometimes! So far I've learned several slang words. Some of which are: biscuit=cookie, 20 quids=20 pounds (the world "quid" is equivalent to buck), if someone is standing in a "queue" they are standing in a line, "chips" are fries (which they eat A LOT of) and "crisps" are chips. When you board a train you may find a notice that says "mind the gap," which means watch out for the gap. There are various other funny phrases which haven't come to mind, but I'll use them for future posts :-)

In terms of foods...they pretty much have everything that Americans have, but less variety. They eat a lot of patatoes and such, but living here there has been a variety of meals that are pretty similar to the U.S. I think the big difference is the supermarket! America has it good, but it's nothing to be discouraged about. I would say that Bristish food isn't terrible, (as it is rumored to be) it's just not as creative and well-seasoned. Also, London is pretty diverse as it is so if I want I could get the best Italian or Indian (even though it's not my favorite) food around!

In other news...the other day I went to the neighboring town, Staines, (which is another adorable village) where there was an outdoor market. For some reason Brits love having Markets on Wednesday, which is pretty awesome...it's as if you NEVER stop shopping, which could be a problem in the future. I saw the movie "Fame" with some friends from school in the cinemas. The movie...well if you don't like the same highschool musicalplot I suggest that tyou DON'T SEE IT, but the experience was great!

As for classes...the reason I'm studying abroad. My schedule for classes isn't TOO strenious so it's nice to have the extra time to wind down properly. As of now I only have classes on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Monday I take the class: Hitchcock and A Point of View, a film class that so far is really interesting. (It's pretty cool to learn about Hitchcock in London!) Tuesday's I take my Developmental Psychology class followed by Psychoanalysis and Film. On Thursday I finish off with a beautiful two hour Sensation and Perception class (a requirement for psychology). So far the work consists of reading really interesting documents and texts, which is pretty cool. At home I'm pounded with papers every week, but here I feel like more of an adult as I read and then discuss topics with my proffessors.

On the weekends I like to get into London but during the week I frequent the events on campus. It's good to know that I have a nice place to come back to, get my studies on, meet interesting people & party during the week while I can go into London for weekends. Best of both worlds! Tomorrow night there's this huge Black Tie party on campus that I apparently "NEED" to attend. It's always fun to dress up and dance! Next week there are various parties on campus as well :-) This Sunday I'm popping into London for some sightseeing to visit the British Museum, take a boat trip along the Thames to Greenwich and then a visit to the Royal Observatory (Home of Greenwich Mean Time and the Prime Meridian line).

I have been here for about 3 weeks now, and so far I feel like I've been here for about...two days. Everything goes by so fast! Lately I've been planning trips across Europe to Barcelona, Paris and possibly Switzerland, Italy and Amsterdam. When I look at my calender to plan, I find that I'm not really here for too long. Since I'm in study abroad program, all of October I'm visiting various sites of London. For most of November I'll be traveling around Europe and popping into London with some locals to see the Christmas displays, which are apparently incredible! After November, I'm in London for 2 more weeks and then off to Jersey! It's amazing how time can fly, but for now I'll just live in the moment!

Until next time,
Ari <3