Hello all,

This week has been a bit less exciting, but still wonderful. At the beginning of last week I spent some time in Central exploring Buckingham Palace and the stuff nearby and then met up with a friend for dinner. (Note: the guards/police here look really scary but are actually incredibly friendly and are always happy to take a selfie with you.) Most of the rest of the week was spent with school and partying. We had an international students dinner Friday and then went to a bar afterward. Saturday was social programme. Sunday was spent with one of my flat mates exploring Hyde Park and then grabbing some dinner in Central.

As I said, Saturday I had social programme and this week we went to Cambridge! It was stunning. In England each individual university is made up of some number of colleges. The one I am studying at has four, while Cambridge has 31! Most of the colleges were closed but we were able to tour one. I felt like I was in Harry Potter. All the walks were cobblestone, the buildings were all brick, and there was an adorable canal running right through the middle. Many of the students at the uni spend the weekend punting to make extra money. This is a way of pushing a boat in which you dig a large pole/stick into the ground over and over again to make your way along the canal. Tourists pay to be pushed around in these little boats and that’s how they make their money. Although I did not ride in one of the boats, I did spend quite some time watching.

My sleep schedule is a complete mess. I usually go to bed around 2-3am and then don’t wake up until mid afternoon. I keep telling myself that I need to get this under control but it is so hard. Everyone here stays up late and a lot goes on at night. I think it is part of the culture as no matter where you go, public transportation is always busy late at night no matter the day of the week. A friend and I were joking that we will be on fairly normal sleep schedules when we return home, except me a day behind and him a day ahead (he is from Australia).

This upcoming weekend is my first trip out of the UK and I am SO nervous as I will be spending half of the trip traveling solo. Next week is reading week which means we do not have any classes, so I figured it was the perfect time to do my first trip. I am going to Brussels, Bruges, Amsterdam and Berlin. I will be gone for six nights. I am really looking forward to seeing more of Europe and experiencing life outside of London. I hope that everything goes smoothly and that traveling alone ends up being not as scary as I am imagining. Wish me luck!

Cheers, Mackenzie

Buckingham Palace

China Town- where we had our international students dinner

Cambridge. The people standing on the back of the boat are doing the punting.

I’ve only been here two weeks now but it feels like I’ve been here forever. I’ve made so many friends from all around the world and have been having so much fun getting to know them. I don’t even know where to begin when describing the differences between England and America. I think the first major dose of culture shock I experienced was walking into the local grocery store on the first day. I was expecting to see similar brands and ways of storing food but everything is SO different here. It takes me forever to pick out a few groceries because I have to read every little description. They don’t have Alfredo sauce here and they don’t refrigerate their eggs in the store. Their sweets selection is HUGE and I have found that I have an indescribable love for gummy candy (which I know is bad for me but they taste so good here!) Cost has been a big shocker as well. Everything is very expensive compared to back home but I am learning to live on pasta and sharing meals with other people.

A huge difference between the city of London and the town of Monmouth is not only the size but that there is literally always something to do here. There is so much to see that I know I won’t even get to experience a slice of it by the time I leave in December, which I’m not sure I even want to do (leave, I mean.) I really love it here.

I haven’t done much “touristy” things yet aside from the photo scavenger hunt during our orientation week. I’ve been so busy getting to know people and getting absorbed in the London culture that seeing all the touristy sights as rarely crossed my mind. I don’t have classes Tuesdays-Thursdays which is the exact opposite of most of the friends I’ve made here so maybe I can start to explore the town on my free days. I haven’t went into Central London since the photo scavenger hunt during week one but I’ve spent a lot of time getting to know the area around Roehampton and visiting some of the more local spots.

London is so huge but there are always friendly people you can stop and ask for directions from. I haven’t gotten used to the backwards roads and I doubt I ever will. Traffic here is disgusting and I am still learning to allow enough time to get to my destination. Taking a four mile bus ride takes around a half hour at the least. Everyone drives so close to the car in front of them that riding the bus gives me such anxiety wondering if the driver is going to stop in time. Honking always makes me jump but people honk at everyone here. There are a lot more motorcycles here than back home and many of the riders seem to make up their own laws on the road. People run red-lights like no big deal and J-walking is completely legal. Texting and calling while driving is illegal here but just like home I always see drivers on their phones. I usually walk to the crosswalk just to be sure I’m not going to get hit by a bus. There is painted words on the ground by each main crosswalk that tell you which way to look down the road which is super helpful. Buses are everywhere you look but around campus double-decker buses are more rare. I was so excited the first time I rode on a double-decker but the excitement soon faded–they really aren’t as cool as they look on TV and in One Direction music videos. It is hard to get up and down the stairs while the bus is moving so I usually opt for a seat downstairs if I can find one.

I feel like I fit in so much better here than at home and even when walking alone at night (my accommodation building is a good 20+ minute walk from main campus which is annoying but my en-suite room is way nicer than some of the rooms on main campus) I feel safe. I know London has crime just like any other place in the world but I haven’t felt like my safety was threatened one time since I got here. A group of English students (a lot of the English people I have met have told me they like to be called “English” rather than “British” because “British” is all of the UK, not just England,) basically adopted me into their group as the “favorite American” right when they arrived on campus. I spend a lot of time with them and they never cease to put a smile on my face and make me feel at-home. A lot of the English people question me about the use of guns in America and I have to assure them that not everyone owns a gun back home and it is rare that someone carries a gun with them out in the open.

I’ve found that having to describe Oregon as “the state right above California” has quickly gotten old. And telling people that my home town of Salem, Oregon, isn’t where the witch trails were held has also been kind of annoying. When introducing myself here I always have to repeat my name multiple times but that is just like how it is at home so I am used to it. It amazes me how the English people I have met here don’t really know anything about the Hawaiian islands when the Hawaiian’s have such a strong history with England. The last Hawaiian princess was sent to school here in England near the end of the 1800’s and the Hawaiian state flag is the only US flag to have another countries flag inside it (the English flag, the Union Jack.) I feel so inspired that I can sort of follow in the footsteps of Princess Kaiulani and study abroad in England. We actually passed a restaurant while on the bus last week called “Leilani’s Restaurant.” My friend noticed it before I did and right away we decided we have to stop there for dinner some time soon. Seeing my name like that was such a shock to me I can’t even explain it.

Here are some things I have learned since I arrived here:

• “kip” is another word for nap
• English people do drink tea, that is a true stereotype
• alcohol is a huge part of the English culture but they drink it socially more than anything
• a “hoover” is a vacuum
• English people greet one another by asking, “are you alright” instead of “how are you.” (The first time I was asked this was on my first day here when I was walking into a restaurant. I was so confused by the waiters question that I think I responded rudely by saying, “yeah?” in response…)
• I haven’t met one English student who said they didn’t like America, they all want to visit America and a lot of them have already been to New York and are shocked that I haven’t traveled there myself (then I have to remind them how humongous America is compared to England and that New York is on the complete other side of the country from Oregon.)
• McDonald’s are so rare here and tastes a lot different than back home but have queues all the way out the door (no one says the word “line” here, it’s always “queue.) Most McDonald’s are two stories and are way nicer inside than the McDonald’s at home.

I was worried that I would struggle with homesickness being away from my parents for the first time in my life but I think I am doing well. Sometimes the evenings are difficult when I’m alone but I know that my new friends here are only a Whatsapp message away. (Whatsapp is a free texting app you can use when you have access to wifi.) I greatly appreciate the skills my mom has showed me when it comes to making friends with strangers. If I was an introvert like I was when I was younger, I can honestly say my time here would have sucked.

PS– Nana, I cannot thank you enough for the selfie stick you gave me for my birthday. I used to think they were silly but after using one they are actually pretty awesome. It has really come in handy here. 

Hello!

I am already a terrible blogger because I have been in England for almost three months and am writing my first post.

Classes at the University of Roehampton started this week and I am feeling pretty rough with Freshers Flu from last week which was Freshers Week. It was so much fun though, partying, making  new friends and getting close with my flat mates, I am having a lot of difficulty sorting out my modules, whoever does that is doing a poor job of making sure everything works.

When it comes to living in London, it is amazing. Being English and having been here so many times, I did not experience any culture shock and I love having half my family so close. London is my favourite city in the world and so far I am absolutely loving living here.

More to come!

From Left to Right and Top to Bottom: (1) The Docks at Gloucester (2) The London Eye at Night (3) The Coast at Brighton (4) The Thames at Night (5) The Docks at Gloucester, Without my Face (6) The Crypt at Gloucester Cathedral (7) Afternoon Tea at the Cambridge Pub

My last week in London was interesting, to say the least. I felt like I did more in London this week than I had done the entire time, though in reality I did less. I went to Gloucester, went on a Jack the Ripper tour, went on a small pub crawl, completed finals, wandered the city at night, and had afternoon tea. But through all of this, I was fighting mixed emotions. I felt extremely homesick, but I also felt sad that I was leaving; I wanted to experience even more than I already had. These mixed feelings were pretty exhausting. As I was having fun on my new adventures, I could not help but to count down the days until I would return home. However, although this was exhausting, it was good for me to experience. I have never really felt like this before; it was a new adventure.

I believe that the reason that I felt like I did so much more in the last week, even though I probably did less in reality, is because  I got to experience some of the cultural activities. I finally went to afternoon tea! I also wandered the city at night, rather than just walking through town to get home. And I rode on one of the famous public bikes.

Afternoon Tea was one of my favorite experiences in London. I went to the Cambridge Pub with Jenna, and we were served two little teapots (which contained three teacups of tea, each). We were also served a bowl of sugar cubes, both brown and white (how much more fun that loose sugar!). Then we were given a three-tiered food platter. The general rule is that you eat from the top down, so you eat the sweet scones, with clotted cream and jam, and then the savory finger sandwiches, and finally, the sweet desserts. All of the food was delicious, and the tea was some of the best I have ever had. During this little adventure, we also learned that Afternoon Tea was started by one of the Queens, who felt like there was too much time between lunch and dinner, and wanted something to snack on.

Taking a little stroll at night was so much fun. Jenna, Jenny and I walked down and back up the other. We saw so much on this little trip; it was unbelievable. All of the city lights were gorgeous, and there were buskers, (people playing the guitar, the oboe, the bass and the violin), filling the night air with beautiful music. We also saw many, different-themed party boats. There was an Indian wedding, a dance boat, and even a fetish boat (we don’t know what was going on there, but there were lots of people in leather costumes walking to it). As we were walking down the Thames, looking at all of the boats, we decided that we would finally ride the famous Santander bikes. These are bikes that are stationed all around the city. You take a bike, use it, and return it at any station. The first 30 minutes is free, and after that it is just two pounds for 24 hours. As fun as the bikes were, my favorite part of this whole night was standing on the bridge, looking out and London, and listening to beautiful guitar music. It made for the perfect last night and London.

I will definitely be traveling out of the country in the future, hopefully at least once every other year. And so I leave this post with a quote by Jack Kerouac:

“There was nowhere to go but everywhere, so just keep on rolling under the stars.” -Jack Kerouac

I’m getting ready for Study Abroad Round II in London, UK. After a fun-filled week at my sister’s home in NYC, I am getting ready for another round of goodbyes as I embark on the second leg of a year-long journey.

Although for weeks I’ve joyfully anticipated this trip, now, right before leaving, I’m beginning to feel nervous: what if I get lost? what if I don’t get along in my homestay? what if arrangements with my daughter fall through? The list of worries and uncertainties are never-ending. However, if I learned anything in México, it’s that it’s okay to not know everything and fall on your face a little. It really isn’t the worst thing in the world to fumble around, even when other people can see you! I know that no matter what this trip throws at me, I am up for the challenge (no matter how clumsily I do it).

I don’t know what to expect upon my arrival in England. I suppose I am a little nervous of being judged because I am an American and I’ve heard that many people in Europe judge us and feel superior to us. I’ve also heard terrible rumors about the food, which is a shame because I love me some yummies! Thankfully, I’ve also heard that the people of London are wonderful conversationalists and that many of them are very well-informed. I’m looking forward to wonderful conversations!