One Week Done and Having a Blast!

It's hard to believe that my first week in England is already over. It's more than true when they say that "time flies when you're having fun"! This past weekend has been so much fun that I'm finding it hard to believe that today is Sunday already.

Not wanting to jump into travel plans before getting a chance to settle in, Bill and I decided to spend the weekend in Guildford just to give ourselves a few days to relax. Though I'm ready to start seeing a bit of the world, I was thankful for the chance to organize myself and make new friends at the university. Needless to say, this weekend did not disappoint!

Backing up a little to a point before the weekend festivities began, I must mention that Thursday was also an eventful day to note. Thursdays are our busiest days of the week with classes from 9 a.m. until 4 or 5 p.m. For British students, it is quite common for them to spend an entire day in class... for me, it takes a little bit of adjustment. Not to worry though, the day went quickly, and I actually enjoy the classes that I am taking this semester. You might grimace at names such as enzymology, neuroscience, micronutrients, and pharmacology, but I think that these classes are a refreshing change from engineering projects and labs. After my neuroscience class, Bill and I ran into our academic advisor ("tutor" in British), and I quickly realized that Dr. Sa Bennett is amazing. She invited Bill and I to a reception where we would get the chance to meet other biomedical science students in our class. We arrived at the reception a few minutes late with plans to sneak in the back door. Unfortunately, we accidentally walked through the front door of the lecture theater, and Dr. Sa Bennett immediately pointed to us and announced to the students, "And here are our exchange students from America!" Fighting a tell-tale blush, I waved and was soon surrounded by the friendliest students that I have ever met. Many of them asked questions about the U.S., college in America, and our reasons for coming to Surrey. Several tried to convince us to join their student groups, but only one group really caught my attention -- fencing. Thomas, one of our biomedical science classmates, invited Bill and I to the school gym for a small fencing class in the evening. Thrilled by the prospect of learning something fun and new, I was incredibly excited and quickly agreed. A few hours later, I found myself strapped into a fencing uniform and holding a small sword (a.k.a. "a foil"). The fencing class was tons of fun, and I got a chance to snap a few pictures just to prove to all of my friends back home that I was actually learning to sword fight. In the end, Bill and I paired up against each other, even though he towered six inches above me and has much better hands-eye coordination. Needless to say, my lack of ability fell quickly to his extra height, and I eventually gave in to the sweat that was poring off my skin under the fencing uniform. However, I had an amazing time and will just need a little more practice before conquering the unconquerable William H. Wilson IV in fencing. ;)

On Friday night, Bill and I were invited to a party and dance club by a friend from Surrey who studied for one year in the U.S. at the University of Cincinnati. I quickly noticed that British parties aren't much different from American parties -- large groups of people, drinking, drinking games, and hilarious photo ops. Since I haven't partied much at UC, the chance to let loose and make a few more friends made me thrilled for a night out. For the most part, the drinks were the same as those in the U.S. (rum and coke, wine coolers, beer, whiskey, schnapps), and I was glad that the drinking games were played with schnapps rather than hard liquor. (With schnapps, you can have a few drinks and not get really drunk.) After pre-gaming at the house party, we made our way to the Rubix, which is a dance club on the university campus. When we got there, the club was packed with students. I must say that dance clubs are one thing that differs between the U.S. and Britain, and I prefer the British version. At the Rubix, they played awesome party music (surprisingly, most of it was American), and I was hard-pressed to find any "freak dancing" at all. Even the couples that came with us to the club spent most of their time jumping up and down to the music, snapping pictures, and mingling around the crowd to catch friends. It was really great to dance at a club and not worry about random strangers trying to hit on me and put their hands where they don't belong. Kudos to the British, who know how to run a classy dance club!

On Saturday, I walked to Bill's new house for a dinner party and the chance to tour downtown Guildford. I must say that Bill's house is gorgeous, and I found myself a tiny bit envious of the beauty of it all. Bill's landlord is an amateur artist, who decided to paint nearly every wall, ceiling, and doorway with a spectacular mural. The kitchen ceiling has a beautiful picture of the sun, Bill's room boasts an impressionist version of Guildford's High Street, and the dining room has murals that somewhat reminded me of Van Gogh. After gawking at the awesomeness of his living space, Bill and I headed downtown for a small shopping trip to buy a few "life necessities". Downtown Guildford is quite charming with it's historical landmarks and small shops. We first stopped at a store called Argos, which sells many of the same products found in Kohls or Target. However, Argos is unique in that there are no displays and only a few products located in the main storeroom. Instead, there are several catalogs with thousands of pages of products. You simply flip through the catalog, pick your item, and bring the catalog number to the register. After paying for your item, they grab it from their warehouse in the back, and you leave with your purchases. It's really a great idea because the store saves money by not spending quid (a.k.a "dollars") on useless advertising displays. It didn't take me long to buy a cheap hair dryer and straightener, and then head off on our way. We stopped at a cell phone store, bought cheap pay-as-you-go cell phones in order to call each other, and spent a few more hours touring the downtown area. Eventually, we made our way back to Bill's house where his house mates (two engaged Italians) made us an absolute amazing dinner. After tasting authentic Italian food, I became even more excited about our upcoming trip to Rome. (Bill and I found cheap airline tickets from London to Rome and are taking advantage of a light class schedule in order to see Vatican City, the Colosseum, and Rome's piazza.)

So now it is Sunday evening, I have a ton of studying to catch up on and can hardly believe that tomorrow brings another day of class. Overall, my first week in England has been a little overwhelming, extremely busy, and loads of fun. I absolutely love Europe and am so thankful for the opportunity to study abroad. This trip is fantastic!

Only four more days, and I'll find myself on a train to London for a long weekend of seeing the sites and having an awesome time. Isn't life exciting?!