Long Time, No Blog...

Tower Bridge outside the Tower of London

london eye and parliament and big ben in the background...standing on charingcross bridge

me outside buckingham palace gates

pretty skyline

typical london pic!

Captains Log: It is Currently 11:15PM and I am relaxing in the Library alone. Its finals week and some people went to Newcastle tonight for some relief.

A lot has happend and and many things have been experienced since the last entry. We had our week long trip in London, I went to Italy, and this past weekend a group of us went on a Paddywaggon Tour in Ireland!
London:

Sunday: London was amazing. I had a very good time and enjoyed it. It was pretty much everything I expected it to be. A litle dissapointed at how not elegant it was. But a city is a city...

We started out our trip right away after we got into our hotel (St. Giles in Soho). We took a walking tour around the city to get our bearings. We traveled through Leicester Squar up to Trafalgar Square, St. James Park, Buckingham Palace and walked around Parliament and Big Ben and then finally our excursion onto the London Eye. (I was expecting the Eye to be a lot bigger, but it was still impressive). That night we went to Bar Soho, where drinks were really expensive...so we only had one, and walked around Soho a bit.

Monday: We started our day out early wit ha tour of Parliament which was actually really interesting. (Im also counting it as a Professional Event for DSP). We went to the Tower of London and saw the Crown Jewels, which were spectacular, and the scaffold site of many historically famous beheadings. We crossed Tower bridge ( the one that everyone confuses with London Bridge...London Bridge is nothing special). And we ended at teh Britain at War Museum. That night we went to the theater and saw Avenue Q. Avenue Q was hillarious and we ended up getting good seats for cheap with a student discount. It was basically Sesame St. but with aduly humor. After that everyone kinda split up we ended up just hangin out jammin to music in one room.

Tuesday: On Tuesday we walked around the financial district in London...which was something different than we all thought it was going to be. We just walked around buildings outside. We walked past Lloyd's which was the coolest office building Ive ever seen. We all thought we were going to tour the Bank of England, but we just went into the museum...Later that day we had lunch in what part of Diagon Alley (Harry Potter) was filmed in and then a small group went to St. Pauls Cathedral. 540 steps later we were at the observation deck taking in teh skyline of London. Afterwards I went to the Tate Modern with Wade and Laura....wish I would have had more time there, but I didnt want to keep people waiting. I also went to a concert at a small venue with Becky and Laura for only 6 pounds. It was so good. We then went to a place that Erica (sister) had told me about, the Sports Cafe. It happened to be student night there so drinks were cheap.

Wednesday: We started out our long day of Henry VIII by visiting Hampton Court ( one of his favorite palaces). After Hampton Court we went to Kew Gardens and I was let down. I was expecting there to be loads of flowerbeds everywhere but it was just open field grassy stuff. The water lily place was cool, and I was able to take some cool photos. We went to the Globe Theater that night and saw Shakespear's King Henry VII....it was dry and dull, but cool to see a Shakespearean play in the Globe. I was pleasantly able to meet up with a girl who I had met in Prague on a pub crawl that night. She was ending her europe trip in london and it was our last night there and we went out to a club where it was again student night so I was able todrink for cheap again!! which is rare to find in London.

Thursday: We went to Canary Wharf (the second financial district sort of) and we toured Waitrose...its a company similar to our Woodmans, but on a much much MUCH larger scale. After our tour we had a little bit for lunch, and then I was on the metro again on my way to London Gatwick Airport to catch my flight to Venice!

London Bound

Captains Log: It is currently 5:14AM and I have not yet gone to bed.

Today (Sunday July 4th) at 6:00AM we are departing for London. We will be there for 5 days and then on Thursday evening I am heading to Venice, Italy and the surrounding areas. I am going to meet up with a guy I met when I was in Mykonos who is backpacking through Europe for 4 months. I have been bit by the travel bug and cannot wait to see more of the world. I will be traveling to Venice alone...but am more comfortable now because I have done it once already...and I am going to be meeting up and staying with someone I know.

I am excited for London. I plan on visiting the zoo and attending a live music concert for only £6 in our evening times we have for free time. I am also excited to walk throught the financial district and have a couple business tours. I will have my laptop in London with me, but am having someone take my small suitcase and send it back to the castle with a couple girls who are coming back right after our trip to London. I will be an actuall backpacker (as I am only taking a backpack with me to Italy) and am stoked for a new adventure and some great pictures and memories.

Ill keep posted every couple days whilst in London.

Pics from Prague and Greece

sunset in Mykonos through the windmills

sunset on the beach

Paradise Beach

Group of Aussies I met and watched the football game with

entrance to Paradise Beach

Dance Club we ended the first pub crawl i went on in

small canal through Prague

Me and one of the girls from the family I met from Utah at the Peace Wall

Me looking down on the town from the Castles edge

Prague Castle from Charles Bridge

What a week...4 countries in 9 days!

Captains Log: It is currently 11:00AM and I am sitting in classroom B "watching a film for class"

My week journey of self discovery started last Saturday morning when I flew out of Newcastle to London Heathrow. Two girls from our group who were going to catch a cruise in Rome were on that flight with me. We parted ways at Heathrow and before I knew it I was off to Prague.

Prague was beautiful. Such a Bohemic city. The castle was much like anything else we have seen so far on any of our field trips. It was very gothic style architecture. The whole city was dotted by red rooftops and perched atop a hill was the massive castle (one of the top 10 biggest in the world)! The first night I was there, I did the Prague Pub Crawl. It was relatively cheap and I got a shirt along with it. We started off with an hour of unlimited Beer, Vodka shots (watered down...yet still strong), and absinth shots (phew...it was rough). We then got free welcome shots at the following bars we went to. We ended up in one of central Europe's best dance clubs. It was 5 stories tall and the dance floor was all LED lights and were sound enhanced.

I walked all over Prague. I liked traveling alone because I could cover a lot more ground in a shorter amount of time. I didnt have to wait for anyone, or try to accomodate to anyones likes/dislikes...I could do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I ventured through some back alley ways and side streets and finally found the John Lennon Wall (which really has nothing to do with John Lennon). It was really cool to see. It was a large wall that has been repeaditly graffittied over and over again. Almost everything had the basic "peace" message. There were quotes, and inspirational sayings and really cool pictures. I happened to meet a lot of Americans at the wall too. A couple studying abroad in London, a man from North Carolina, and a family from Utah....and an asian photographer from Hong Kong who kept telling us to get space inbetween all of us and then he wanted a jumping photo. It was great fun.

Shopping in Prague was cool. They have major stores like anywhere else, but it was overall pretty cheap. They had signs on lamp posts in the streets that had a big M for McDonalds and an arrow telling you how far away it was from you (such as 50M ahead). The World Cup was going on then and they had a large screen set up in the Old Town Square and a bunch of food stands and a couple beer tents (kind of like a Riverfest set up). Beer was only 40 CZKs...which was like $1.70USD. and their Budweisser was the best ever. I am not sure why, but it is better than the stuff in the states.

My journey came to an end in Prague after three nights. I was sad to leave because I didnt get to venture into the newer/more modern Prague or the business district. But I was excited for the sunny shores of Mykonos at Paradise Beach. Granted I had to make my way to two different airports in Swizterland before I ended up in Greece.

As we landed in Mykonos...I saw the baron countryside and was thinking...what did I get myself into? There is nothing here! We got to my resort and my opinion quickly changed. It was so nice to just sit on the beach for 4 days and not have a care in the world besides seeing old naked people or getting sunburnt. I managed to make friends with several people here. A group from South Africa, and an Aussie from Perth. Walking around in the town of Mykonos, was crazy. Literally every building was white, with similar colored decks/porches. It was pretty, but I felt I was in a labrynth and managed to turn myself around several times. The alleys were filled with shops and cool places to grab some food and such. I watched the sunset in the harbour/port area and managed to capture a few stunning pictures.

Overall I had an absolutely fabulous time traveling. Even though I was alone, it forced me to meet people and that is what I wanted to do the most was meet people from all over and establish a connection with them (in hopes that I could go visit them someday). It was scary at first traveling alone, but I got over that and went into it with a clear head and was ready for anything. I have nothing but good stories and memories to take away from this experience, and I would undoubtably travel alone again someday, but its always nice to have a travel buddie...It was nice to finally see people I knew again when I got back to the castle.

Next post...various pictures from my trip!

Oh...Hey Switzerland.

Captains Log: It is currently 3:05 PM and I am in my third country in 5 days waiting in the Geneva, Switzerland Airport.

Prague was spectacular! I would love to go back already. A chicken skewer in a bagguette and a beer (best Budweisser EVER!) for only 140 CZK...which is roughly $6.50, all while people watching in the square watching a little World Cup Action.

Last night I met 6 guys who were in Med School, and the day after they took their boards they started their two week travel throughout Europe. We went to "Prague's Only Australian Pub"...not sure what makes an australian pub australian or an irish pub irish, but it was pretty laid back. I met a guy from Melbourne (go figure that I would meet an Aussie in the Australian Bar; and a girl from chicago, and other guy from England.

Overall, Prague is very fun, and there are a ton of little shops along most streets. My travels have been exciting, and I have not run into any troubles at all. The only down side to traveling alone is when you are eating alone, and I am starting to forget what i sound like: until someone says something to me in whatever language they speak, and i respond in english and then they either walk away for keep talking to me in that language like i understand. or they start english.

Just killing time now. Up next is a quick flight across the Alps to Zurich, and then around 6:20 AM tomorrow my time, I will be off to Sunny Paradise Beach!

a view from one side of Charles Bridge

the magnificent Castle

me at the wall

an evening on the street

me up by the castle looking down onto the city

Czech'n out Prague!

Captains Log: It is currently 4:00PM here in Prague, and Im sitting in the lobby of my hostel trying to upload some pics after a long day of getting lost in the city.

Prague is amazing. It is very bohemian and gothic (style). The castle is completely different than the castles I am used to seeing in England...and its nice to not here every little bit of history about every little monument or building or clump of rocks for once.

My flight into Prague was about a half hour late from london, but I arrived safely and in one piece! I set up camp in my room, took a shower and walked around a bit. I then went on one of the biggest Pub Crawls EVER! It was soo much fun, but Absinth = NOT GOOD. It was free absinth shots and vodka shots and crappy beer for the first hour. Then we went to about 4 other places and got welcome shots there. We then ended in one of Europes biggest dance club. (It was 5 stories, but I only remember seeing 3....)

I started my expedition this morning by heading out towards the castle, over Charles bridge. I think hiked for what seemed forever until i reached the castle. When I got there, they were in the process of their changing of the guards so that was cool to see.

Then I had a traditional Czech meal...goulash. it was basically beef stew in a bread bowl. It was realy good.

I ventured on somemore and finally stumbled upon the John Lennon Wall. I thought it was really neat. Its obviously changed a lot over years because people keep adding onto things and going over others, but I had a good time. I met a photographer from Hong Kong, a family from Ohio, and a couple from Australia. Came back to upload some pics and let everyone know what I have been up to. Gotta find something to eat again in a bit I suppose and then seeing what the night has in store for me!

me hugging a rock in the prehistoric henge....gotta make a circle of rocks fun somehow!

Me ontop of Helm Craig in the Lake District.

Me along Hadrians Wall.

Housestadts fort along Hadrians Wall (where we started our walk)

laying in what could have been a number of things back in the Roman Empire....

Lots-o-Rocks!

Captains Log: Its almost 1pm and yes... I am still alive. Killing time before our field trip orientation.

I know its been a while since I last wrote, but we have been extremely busy with a lot of things. I was trying to finalize my week break, and stay ontop of school stuff.

Last weekend we went to Hadrians Wall and walked along a portion of it. It was moreso a hike than anything because when it was built, they followed the lay of the land and some hills were quite steep. We passed "The Robin Hood" tree....apparently in Prince of Theives, there is a scene where Robin Hood rescues a man out of a tree, and we passed that, so that was kinda cool i guess. We made the hike in just under an hour, and a couple of us raced to the finish, becuase it made it more fun for some reason.

We couldnt have asked for a better weekend for our field trip. We have lucked out with some gorgeous days so I hope that keeps up. After Hadrians Wall, we went to the notorious Lake District in eastern England. It was stunning. This region is surrounded by craigs (bigger than a bluff--yet smaller than a mountain) and it makes this area unique. I went on a motor boat tour around a lake in Keswick for an hour and just enjoyed the scenery. We also went to the school house where Woodrow Wilson went to school, and some went to the Beautrix Potter Gallery. The Lake District was extremely quaint and a typical little village. We also visited a Prehistoric henge of stones ( a circle of rocks....much littler than Stone Henge). In Keswick we also climbed a craig which was a lot tougher than a lot of us originally thought. The climb took us about 45 minutes, but some points in it seemed straight up. We met a little English boy named Michael on the way up, and he was about 9. He was really funny, and just climbing and jumping around the whole way. He was fascinated that there were so many Americans around him.

A couple nights ago we had a fire in the pasture again. We had almost 25-30 people there. It was awesome. we had about 5 locals hang out with us for the night and a couple of the interns here at the castle who eat with us came down. Another group of students from Ole Miss have arrived and are here for about 2 weeks. We wont see much of them though becuase our break week starts Saturday!

Last night Bri and I had the opportunity to go to the beach again with my local friend Chaz. Its EXTREMELY weird riding in a car on the left side, without having a wheel or pedals in front of you, and looking up and noticing the rear view mirror is facing the wrong direction, so you cant see out. It was a fun experience though. Chaz has a little 2 door toyota yaris (? not sure on model) and we went to Loughonton Beach. We climbed around on some rocks there and just relaxed for a while.

Last Saturday we all went to the Lemon (a local pub) to watch the USA vs. England World Cup game. It was crazy! We thought we were going to get assaulted just being American. I had a wager going on with two local friends I met, and Im glad we tied, because I saved on two pints =^]. Tomorrow I plan on going out again to watch the England vs. Algeria game. I think I can actually wear my English football jersey to that game, and not have any problems.

We are off to Holy Island tomorrow, and then Saturday I am leaving Alnwick at 8:30AM for Newcastle to catch my flight to Prague. Ill be in Prague for three nights, and then I am off to Mykonos, Greece for 4 nights. I cannot wait to lay on the beach and just relax and have "Zac time". I will try to post more frequent over break week because my rooms should have wifi access, if not, the lobby will have internet I can use. I will post pics up from Hadrians Wall and the Lake District after our field trip orientation.

Cheers!

Coastal Castles week Pics.

a view of the coast from inside the castle grounds.

Bamburgh Castle...Right off the coast of the North Sea!

Kelly, Hannah, Bob, Jamie and I inside a room at Warkworth Castle.

Me at Warkworth Castle...The "keep" or state rooms in the background

Me and my local mate, Chaz (Charles)...hes one of the locals that we have tended to hang out with more since weve been here

WOAH! LOOOOONG Week!

Captains Log: Its currently 5:32 and am finally laying down on my bed after an incredibly long week.

Started out with classes on Monday. We had our first session at Lion Heart Radio on Monday as well. We learned how to use the equipment and how to play songs on air. We will be sitting in on Boydy's (the head guy) show ths monday and then next week we start our own shows!

Nothing too exciting has happend during the week...mostly the reason I havent posted in a bit. But reassuringly I am still alive, have all my limbs and am functioning.

I had a pleasant surprise on Sunday evening. My friend from high school, and St. Cloud (Katie Champion) stopped by the castle for a couple days with her family. We celebrated Bank Holiday on Sunday night and met some more locals.

Wednesday night we had a campfire in the pasture and had a blast. We got yelled at for being too loud. Many of the people here with me seem to not observe their surroundings before acting or thinking about something before they do something....its just their way all the time, and they are used to everything just handed to them or available whenever they want it.

Our field trip yesterday was to the Coastal Castles. We had a marine biologist with us too and we went rockpooling. I stole/borrowed old boots I found that someone had left in the basement from a previous semester, and looked ridiculous but i had a blast! We walked for what seemed like an eternity yesterday along the coast. For once, it didnt rain; and it ended up being a gorgeous day. My camera battery died in the middle of the second castle we saw. It was dissapointing but i just soaked in as much as I could.

After we got back, several of us went to New Castle for the evening and most of today. We just got back not too long before I started this post. We went out and enjoyed not being cooped up in the castle. We had no intentions of partying until 6 am (when this club we heard of was open until)...but a couple of us made it to 4 am. The sun rises here at about 3, and we were astonished at how bright it was soo early. I had the most phenominal pizza last night from a small little pizza place on the way back to our hostel.

We spent most of today walking around and shopping. I got a football jersey! (yay england) and a couple shirts. We are going to grill out tonight, but we all want naps because we are just dead beat right now.

I will be posting pics soon! It takes a while, but they will come soon.

A Scottish Weekend

The Palace of Holyrood (The Queens official residence in Scotland)

me with a random street performer person

our side of our hostel room!

Me and Alie (friend from Onalaska) with the Tower of Edinburgh behind us

View of the old town from Calton Hill with the castle in the background

Captains Log: Its currently 6:14 PM and am sitting in my room again after dinner...Having hopes to get a few more things done before we celebrate Bank Holiday tonight!

WOW. What a weekend it was. I had started to plan out what time I was going to jump in the shower on Friday morning by telling people that I was going to get in at 6, and they had to plan accordingly around me. I woke up at about 5 30 to people screaming and running through the hallways...I soon found out why they were screaming. Our hot water in the showers had dissapeared and everyone who wanted to take a shower before we left for Scotland was extremely dissapointed.

We left the castle in Alniwck around 7AM and arrived in Edinburgh around 9:30 ish. We first hiked up Calton Hill; where we were able to get a 360 degree view of the magnificent city of Edinburgh. We then trekked back down the hill and got back on the bus for a tour through new town and then was dropped off at the Edinburgh castle (the start of the Royale Mile). We had about an hour and a half to make our way down the Royal Mile and meet at the New Scottish Parliment building. The Royale Mile reminded me a lot of State Street in Madison.

We were able to see the Palace of Holyrood (The Queens offical residence in Scotland)...but we couldnt go in because it was closed for some religous event being held there. We toured the New Scottish Parliment building. It was one of the most modern buildings in the city, and the architecture was very visually appealing. There is a lot of history in this part of the world and many exchanges of territory and deaths of kings and such.

After the Scottish Parliment we got back on the bus and headed back up to the castle. The castle was immense! Significantly a lot more stunning than the one I can call home for 2 months. It was perched high on the hill (bluff) and was definitely a castle used for defense. We were able to walk around and see the castle for about 2 hours. I saw the Crown Jewels of Scotland, and many more unique things historical in Scotland.

Then our day started to get interesting. ... We walked from the castle to our hostel. It was a solid 15 minute walk and we had a map so it wasnt bad. None of us knew what to expect out of our hostel, but the pictures online seemed to portray a reassuring feeling that it was an alright place to stay. There were 3 different groups of us students who stayed in 3 different hostels. Ours was the furthest away, but was only 15pounds for one night. We were worried because we booked 9 beds in an 18 bed room...and when we checked in the front desk man said it was a busy night. We ended up only having two other roommates in our room for the evening (2 brothers our age from New Zealand). After having a couple drinks with them at the bar in the lobby of our hostel, we took a cab to the Grass Market to begin the night. We went to about 4 or 5 different pubs and had a great experience talking with the people of Edinburgh and seeing what the nightlife there was like. I tried a Scottish beer, and probably will never have it again...it was a creamy beer, and was not appealing to me.

We then got up early...what we thought was early to leave the hostel at 11AM. We proceeded to walk towards Princes Street, where all the main shopping was. I was able to meet my friend from Onalaska who had been studying in Steerlings, Scotland for a semester (she was leaving next week). She took us around Edinburgh and showed us the Elephant House Cafe (the birthplace of Harry Potter). Alie and I also grabbed a snack at a small cafe called Chocolate Soup. We then hit us H&M where a bunch of us picked up some pretty sweet deals.

We sat around outside a lot yesterday just enjoying the sunny day, and then I went with Alie to go last minute Souviniour (sp?) shopping. There was one alley way that had 129 steps up it, to get to the Royal Mile, and I had walked them 3 times....I must say if I dont have rockin calf muscules by the end of this trip I might go crazy.

Today my other friend from high school, who was a year ahead of me and actually goes to St. Cloud as well and had been on the same program I am on now, got back into town with her family. She is on a two week European trip with her family and stopped in Alnwick. She is going out with a bunch of us to celebrate Bank Holiday.

Overall my first trip to Scotland was very tiring but we took it all in and I took a ton of pictures.

Around Alnwick

a look down a street in a residential area of Alnwick

Club Soccer game taking place

Another residential area

Me in an archway to an alley in town.

Local Ice Cream Truck!

Some houses we passed on our walk.

Alnwick Police Station

Cool vines we passed on our walk

Captains Log: Its currently 11:50, I am currently sitting in my room waiting for lectures to download.

Today I was actually able to sleep in! It felt so good, even though our beds suck and I can feel every spring.

Yesterday was a terribly long day...along with every Wednesday to come. I have our British History class from 10-12:15. then my Information Systems class from 1:30-5:30. (we got two breaks but it is still a very long time to sit)**not to mention in that classroom we dont even have desks or tables to sit at, everyone has a chair and holds their notebook in their lap and takes notes....one would think that a castle of this sort, or anysort would have an adequate classroom.

After dinner last night Bri and I decided to walk around town. We wanted to go further than what our Bus Tour did and our small walking tours the first couple of days. We were both intreigued about the housing here. We started to go in one direction and ended up walking about 3-4 miles. I had a blast. I was able to take some pictures along the way too. The housing here is so different. almost no one has a yard, and if they do its maybe 5' x 5' square in front of their house or a little bit bigger backyard.

We walked past a park where several people had their dogs out...the dogs here are so well behaved. We walked past the Dukes Middle School, and found an Ice Cream Truck on our way towards the local Futball Club. (we would have watched a game, but there was a small fee to get in so we passed)

On our way back into town and to the castle, we decided to stop and have a drink at a local pub called Penny Black. (seemingly the only one that we had not been to yet) We started talking with the bartender, an older gentleman, and a couple local men at the bar. We were anticipating to only have one beer and then head out....maybe a 30 min ordeal. We started talking it up and an hour and a 40 minutes later we finally left. The locals are extremely welcoming and are very friendly and are happy to talk with us. They are used to having students there all the time. They started asking us about US History and Politcal things that happened before we were born so we probably gave way to the stereotype that most of the world has of us "stupid american"

It seems like everyone in different parts of the world knows exactly what is going on all over the world. We tend to only know what is happening in our country and tend to not care about the rest of the world because we are so focused on ourselves. It was interesting to hear how much they actually knew. They talked about Obama and Hillarys biographys, The Nixon scandal, and the Kennedys.

Every pub and local place that has a television keeps advertising about the World Cup. I cant wait to go out and watch a game with people who are hardcore soccer fans. The food is hit or miss at the castle, but there are many local delicious spots to hit. Everyone has found the pizza joint and i think about 4 different groups of people have ordered pizza in the last two nights.

Today we have our orientation for our first field trip to Edinburgh, Scotland this weekend and then we have our Contemporary Britain class after dinner this evening. Almost everyone is staying the night in Edinburgh and many of us are on the same bus back to Alnwick Saturday evening. One of my friends from Onalaska is about 40 mins from Edinburgh right now and she said she might make it into town this weekend, so I might meet her while we are there.

Travel break plans are still up in the air right now. Im tentatively thinking Prague for a couple days, then Mykonos (a Greek island) and then possibly Egypt! Many people want to go to Spain and such. But we have 90% of our Ireland weekend planned out for the weekend of July 16th.

Lunch Time...hope its good, if not...im going to get a panini. Next post will probably be once I return from Edinburgh.

The castle from afar! (made the effect to be black and white with just the green to stick out)

looking out into the courtyard from the wall of the castle. (the main part of the castle shown is the living quarters of the Duke and Duchess and family)

The Dukes Private Tennis Courts.

Back of the castle (window to my room is the third from the first black gutter in the middle row.)

place of my first legal drink! (Skittles)

inside the castle walls. looking out onto the grounds right outside our SCSU designated area.

** having issues saving and pulling pics back up onto my computer more to come

Starting Class

Captains Log: Its currently 1:20 and Im sitting in Calssroom B waiting for my first session of MGMT 301 with Jim Weber.

Yesterday we went on a coach tour of the city. It was cold and sprinkled a little bit. We sat on the top of a double decker bus. I took lots of pictures of the town. Its very quaint and the housing is remarkably close to one another.

We had our first meeting with our contemporary british teacher. He is very nice and I can tell it is going to be a good time. He is able to relate the material to us well, and he is easy to understand.

This morning Bri and I got up and attemped to run through the pasture. It was interesting and the hill back up to the castle is quite intense. We left the castle at a time when the local high school (The Duchesses High School) was just about to start.

I had my first local treat (A sausage roll: a biscuit type pastery with a sausage middle). It was good. We then went to the local radio station (Lionheart Radio) to set up our community service hours. We potentially have our own little radio show. There are six of us who are going to be volunteering there.

Class is about to start and I need to get going. Pictures are up on facebook, but i will try to send a file with them to whoever would like to view.

First Couple Days

Captains Log: Its currently 5:10PM and am utilizing free time in my room before dinner.

After a long day of traveling we finally arrived in Glasgow. We exchanged some currency and hopped onto the bus for a seemingly an extremely long two and a half hour bus ride to Alnwick. We unloaded our stuff into our rooms and went straight to dinner. Dinner wasnt good. Chili and rice. The best part was the brownie =^]. After dinner we went on a short tour around the town. It literally starts from right outside the castle. We have been constantly reminded to make sure we look left first before crossing the road (due to the fact they drive on the opposite side of the road then the states). After a long time of being talked to back at the castle we were let go for the rest of the evening. Most people went to bed, but several of us were itching to see what a Saturday night was like in Alnwick. We went to the Hairy Lemon, Oscars, and The Squash Club. We tried to ask the locals what was good, and it was recommended that we try a 'skittles'...so that was ou first drink. It was delicious. We then proceeded to try an Alnwick Bull (Anlwick rum and Redbull)...it was decent. We left one place and headed to a "younger crowd bar". We tried some fruity drink that wasnt good, and the place seemed a little dead so we followed some people we met on the streets to the Squash Club. I then tried a Stongbrew....and to my surprise it was really good. (its like a cider beer kind of) Met some local gals and learned a couple words such as "minging" "muckle" and "barry"

We were up early for breakfast and then had a tour of the town again by some older gentlemen. The town is setup like how you feel england would look. very homey, rustic, and full of character. We have had a lot of talking to with our orientation stuff. Many visitors were at the castle today and there were several childrens activities such as dressing up like a princess or a knight, archery, and a falconing show. we have been in and outside all day. and mostly just getting last minute info about classes, the castle, and other sorts. We have dinner in a couple minutes and Im hoping its a lot better than lunch today and dinner last night. (we had lamb stew and potatoes for lunch...lamb stew tasted like chili...more so lamb chunks in the same sauce as the chili was which equals...NOT GOOD!) Tonight more students want to experience night life, and then tomorrow is more orientation stuff with the town and going to get last minute things we may need. Im Trying to write every day to every two days. Plenty of pictures to come!