Wanderlust.

So I've been here for a little less than a month and it has been positively magical. I think I'm still in the honeymoon phase of being in a new country. I'm not complaining though. (:

Classes are in full blast, last week I only had one day of class due to course being rescheduled/cancelled. It's been somewhat of a challenge staying on top of the course load due to the fact that they do not assign much work. It is expected of you to find readings on assigned topics and come back prepared. They don't have many assessments either. So it would be quite easy to slack off and not stay engaged. It helps that I have friends who spend a good amount of time in the library, so I am able stay on top of my schooling.

I went to Oxford this past weekend, it was so gorgeous. It was a school sponsored trip that went for a day. They dropped us off and let us roam the city freely. There was a free walking tour that lasted about 2 hours, we saw most of Oxford this way. The sun was out and it was a beautiful day. (: We even saw places where Harry Potter was filmed!

The basement of this bookstore was massive, it continued under pieces of Oxford University! 

Anne, Camille and I! These two lovely ladies are from France (:

The four of us (Anne, Camille, Ina, and I) outside this amazing cafe. Their food and drinks were amazing. It's the oldest coffeehouse in England, they were established in 1650! 

In front of a library that was donated by a doctor who avoiding reading at all cost. (: 

                       In front of the Bridge of Sighs.                              Found a phone booth! (:

The infirmary and library scenes in the first Harry Potter film were shot here! 

Behind this gate was the highest, most esteemed, college in Oxford University. Being accepted was immensely hard, but once you're accepted you get to do what you wish. Apparently they give you money to do whatever research you want, attendance isn't required, and you can come and go as you please. I'm so jealous!  

The rest of these pictures are gorgeous buildings throughout the city. Some are churches, shops, and libraries. 

After venturing to this amazing city, I'm ready to go on the next trip! I'm spending a weekend in Dublin in March, so I'm excited for that. (: I've joined the volleyball club on campus, so I spend a few nights a week training with them! I've discovered a yummy coffeehouse in the city center, I'm in love. They brew their coffee with Italian Espresso! I finally went to see Frozen with a hallmate in this vintage-y cinema. It was so good! I can't believe I waited so long to watch it.

Well I've been procrastinating, trying to put off researching for a paper. I best get to it, I hope everything is going well on your side of the ocean. (: 

Until next time, (: 

♥always,

e

'And then I realized adventures are the best way to learn...'

Hello from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean (:

It's been a week since I've settled in here at the University of Nottingham. It's been the longest and shortest week of my life.

I'm not going to bore y'all with the nitty-gritty details of my travels. Other than the one hour delay due to maintenance in Chicago, everything was smooth sailing and successful. The flight to London Heathrow was practically empty so I had the whole row to myself to spread out and sleep. They fed me dinner, I took some Benadryl and slept the whole plane ride. Woke up once due to turbulence, then it actually put me back to sleep, haha. Oh, a farewell picture with my moms:

I landed, got my luggage, and went through customs in record timing y'all. I was at the bus station not even 30 minutes after I landed. They were really sweet and let me catch an earlier coach instead of making me wait 3 hours for the ticket I initially purchased. So I got to the bus station in Nottingham, split a taxi with a girl who was headed my way as well! I checked in and got to my room without any issues. I'm not sure if this pertains to my hall or halls all over campus, but there aren't many outlets in the room. So you have to figure out a system with that. It's not that big of a deal especially since you probably consolidated before you came! Here's my desk, I have it decorated with pictures from home!

Throughout the week, I've attended orientation, gone to re-fresher's* sessions, hit up the city centre, and survived my first week of class. (:

Wednesday night, a couple of exchange students and I went out to the city centre, what we call downtown, and ate at a fun restaurant, delilah's, found a Primark store (British verion of Target), and hit up the movies! I didn't get many pictures because it was raining, but here's one!

My meal and first U.K. pint, (:

The campus here is massive and hilly. I've been sore every day this week, I kid you not. It is also very pretty!

The first picture is the view from my room, the second is my dining hall. It is set up very similarly to the great hall in Harry Potter. So I was very excited about that! The third & fourth picture are views around campus!

Oh, and proof that the sun comes out once or twice a week..

I've joined a few societies: The Travel Society, Exchange Student Society, and I might be joining the Volleyball Club as well (: There are a few volunteer opportunities I'm interested in as well!

My module schedule is quite nice and interesting. I don't have modules on Wednesdays, and some Mondays. They meet once or twice a week for lectures; these are typically very large classes. Mine have up to 200 students. Then you meet weekly or fortnightly for seminars, this is where you break up into groups of 15 or less and discuss with your classmates and lecturers about the readings for that week. I'm taking a British Party Politics module! We had a guest speaker on Friday who was a member of Parliament, it was really cool. (: I'm also taking a Political Ideas in Conflict module, I'm not sure what's going on here. When I know, I'll let y'all know. Lastly, I'm taking an Art History class, The City Beautiful. It studies architecture in London and compares it to New York City. I'm pretty excited about this one. We're actually taking a field trip to London in March! That should be fun!

The meal plan here is amazing. They give you a 5 pound budget everyday to eat whatever you want for lunch. We have a couple of Starbucks around campus, and they're included in the plan. It's #whitegirlparadise

For the future travelers and exchange students out there...

Tip #1. Take some sort of sleep aid if you are flying at night. It will help a lot with your jet leg and keep you alert once you land. Trust me. You need to be as on your toes as possible. 

Tip #2. If you are travelling for an extended amount of time and you have people that you keep in touch with in the States. Get an international SIM card. They often have data attached to it and you can use that to Facebook message your friends. If they do not have Facebook, 'WhatsApp' is a really awesome text app you can download. It doesn't rack up your bill or theirs. My experience with Verizon has shown me that the global plan isn't all that great. You can't get data through it, you have to monitor your texts, and minutes. Plus you're always looking for wifi. It's annoying to be spending your time trying to connect to the internet when you could be interacting with others. So, now I know that if any one tries to contact me, they can. Plus I can set my phone down and meet new people! (: Be aware that you cannot text people in the states, you can message them on Facebook or through WhatsApp. I haven't tried calling, I just use Skype or facetime. With the 5 hour time difference, you have to schedule times to talk anyways. 

Tip #3. GET CURRENCY AHEAD OF TIME. I cannot tell you how much this has saved me. At my study abroad orientation, they didn't heavily recommend it. If my bank hadn't suggested it, I would have been really stressed to find an ATM. Plus ATM and currency fee's are crazy expensive in the airport. So yeah. Hit up your bank and order some money to get you started. Once you're settled in and such, you can withdraw more from a local ATM. 

Tip #4. Go to everything. This applies more towards exchange students, if there are optional sessions. Go to them. If there are little coffee hours. Go to them. If there are walking trips and you hate walking. GO TO THEM. The purpose of going abroad is to go abroad. What you might ignore when you are at your home university, don't ignore here. Every little event is a chance to meet new people, explore new sights, and travel. Now, with that being said. Don't forget about your studies. 

Tip #5. Warmth and Dryness is more important than looking cute. If you are coming to the England area, bring shoes and clothes that will stand against wind and rain. Cause that's all it does here. Rain. And lots of heavy wind. I made the mistake of wearing my Toms one day this week because the forecast wasn't calling for rain. Ha. My shoes were soaked and my feet were frozen by noon. So don't trust the forecast. Just dress prepared for anything when you're here. 


*re-fresher's are like new students such as First Years or International Students

I'm headed to check out the campus pub, Mooch, with a friend. (: I'll try to update weekly! If you have an instagram, check out my hashtag #elenatakesoneurope I post pictures pretty often!

♥always,

Stay Beautiful

-E