My Pictures

I added a link to the right hand side of the blog to my online photo albums. You can go in there and look at all of my pictures from the trip! Just click the link that says "My Photo Albums."

My Last day in Plymouth :(

Hi friends and family. This could possibly be my last post because tomorrow I will be in Paris and it is unknown if I will have Internet access there. If I do I will try to post if I can. I am just getting ready to go to the Year 3 Students Graduation. I found out today that because I took a technology course last fall, combined with the 2 courses I took here in Plymouth I have actually completed my first year of my Master's degree. If I come back for the next two summer's to Plymouth I will be done in two more summers. I was excited to find that out because I thought I was going to have to take one more class to be considered a year 2 next summer, but I was the only one in my study abroad program has earned that status so far. I turned in my final project and I received really good feedback from my instructors on it. I made a podcast about what I have been learning. If you have time, please go to my course blog, look at the post titled "Inquiry 3 Podcast" and click on the link below that says "final podcast." So from here... we have to catch a train to London at 5:40 am. Then transfer trains in London to the underwater tunnel that goes to Paris. We should be arriving in Paris around 3 pm. My flight home will be Wednesday and I get into Detroit at 5 pm. Well I should get going... miss you all and see you soon!!!

Winding Down...

Well I finished my final project today and it feels so nice to complete the course! I have really enjoyed this program here, I can't believe tomorrow is our last day in Plymouth. The last couple of days have not been too eventful, just working on our final projects and going to class. I started packing up my dorm room and now I'm getting ready to go out with some girls from my program and some of the other Master's students. Tomorrow we have a shorter morning class then an afternoon break, and then at 4:30 we have the Year 3 Master's Students Graduation. If I decide to continue on with this program, my Master's graduation would be here in Plymouth as well. I am definitely thinking hard about that option, because I am learning a ton and from the work I have seen from the Year 2 and 3 students I would really benefit a lot from sticking with it. Plus I have met a lot of cool people here who teach all around the world, but will be coming back to Plymouth for one month each summer. Well, I will give you all an update before I leave for Paris on Saturday. The pictures below are from our Awesome 80's party last Friday and the scenic picture was taken from the restaurant we had our party at. Miss y'all and see you in less than a week now!!

Another AWESOME Day in London

The changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.

Westminster Abbey

Notting Hill

Big Ben and Parliament

After our Broadway show at WICKED

Well, wew couldn't have asked for better weather this weekend. It hasn't rained one drop our entire trip to London, and I am so thankful because that is pretty much a miracle for England. We started our morning off by going to Buckingham Palace and watching the changing of the guard. We got there early enough so we got right up front. This ceremony was very cool to see but kind of long. I got some good pictures and videos (Dad I think you would appreciate them the most :) Then we hopped over to Westminster Abbey and took some good photos of the outside. We didn't tour the inside though because we didn't have enough time to enjoy it and it cot about 15 pounds (30 dollars). Next, we took the tube over to Notting Hill to get to the market. Yes, this is the place for the Hollywood film Notting Hill with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. It was a quaint little neighborhood, but then the market on Portobella Road was pretty much what you would expect, very diverse and busy with some common bartering going on between marketmen and customers.

After that we went home to get ready for our Broadway dinner. We bought our Broadway tickets to include dinner, so we went to a pretty fancy restaurant, and then went to the show. We saw "Wicked" and the show was AMAZING! I have fallen in love with Broadway... I was getting chills as I sat in my seat and watched. We had really good seats, only about 10-15 rows away from the orchestra, dead center. Our original tickets were a few more rows back and to the side, but when we got to our seats other people were sitting there... they over booked my seat. So the usher hooked Amy and I up with better seats. So although, we were split up from the other three girls it ended up working out even better for us. I really enjoyed the musical and can't wait to go see another one!! (I don't know when but I will).

After the show, we went down to South Bank to walk along the river and see the city lit up at night. It was really pretty and relaxing. There were a lot of couples around at this time and one musician woman who played some pretty good music that really set the tone for our last night in London sitting on a bench watching the river and the city. We bought her CD as a memento to take home and remember the night.

Now, I've just finished packing to go back to Plymouth, and going to bed because we have to leave on our train at 11:00. I think we are going to try and go to one more site in the morning before we have to be ready to go. i can't believe my weekend in London is already over, it went by way to fast. I didn't get to do everything I wanted, it was pretty much impossible, but I guess now I have an excuse to come back :)

A Packed Day!!

So we headed out to London town this morning at about 10 am. We have pretty much figured out how to use the Tube (the underground railway) here. It's kinda fun and exciting, but it is known for it's pickpockets so we always have to be aware of ourselves and our belongings. I keep my purse across my body and hold onto it right in front of me. I know Grandma's you like to hear what I'm doing to be safe here :) We went and bought tickets to The Original London Bus Tour and took the almost two hour tour around London on top of the double decker bus... it was AWESOME!!! I got some great pictures and video. That was the best way for us to see everything for the first time. Then we walked through a pretty park and grabbed lunch in a little cafe. After lunch, we walked down by the London Eye, bought our tickets, then took a ferry boat down the Thames river. The boat took us right by Parliament and Big Ben, under the Tower Bridge, and down to Greenwich Square. Greenwich is on the Prime Meridian, where time starts! We meant to go to the market here, but realized once we got there the market was closing down. So we walked around a little bit, and found out that this was an extremely diverse part of the city. There were people and restaurants from just about every ethnicity I can think of. The area was also a little more run down and semi-sketchy. We didn't stay long, and found a bus back to the London Eye. Next we took our ride on the London Eye which was really pretty and had an awesome view. Parliament and Big Ben are really amazing sights, it just felt unbelievable that I was actually there. And this might sound kind of cheesy, but when we were on our bus tour going by Buckingham Palace and the palace Green Garden, I almost felt emotional because I was so happy and thankful to be in this amazing place. So that was a touching and memorable moment of myself feeling really lucky I can be here. After the London Eye, we got dinner at a nice restaurant then took the Tube home. Now I'm absolutely exhausted and need to go to bed because we have another jam packed day tomorrow. The plan is to start at Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard, then tour Westminster Abbey, and after that head over to the Notting Hill market. Then tomorrow night we have tickets to go see the Broadway show WICKED! We have seats near the orchestra and will get dinner before the show. It was expensive (60 pounds) but I'm hoping will be well worth it. Okey I'm off to bed. Night***

On top of the double decker bus tour!

Going under Tower Bridge (which is way cooler than London Bridge)

On the walking path over the Thames River. Behind me you can see St. Paul's Cathedral to the right (look for the dome) and in front of me, which you can't see, is facing Big Ben and Parliament.

Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. A little fact: Big Ben is actually the million ton bell inside the clock tower, NOT the clock (a common misconception)

The London Eye which we took our "flight" on right after I took this picture.

I'm in LONDON!

Hi everyone! I'm sorry I haven't posted in a couple days, we have been on the go! Friday night we had an Awesome 80's party in Plymouth at a club called Reflex with the other Master's students who are also in Plymouth with us. Pictures are coming soon-- we looked pretty awesome 80's in our neon outfits :) Then bright and early Saturday morning we took a four hour train into London. We are staying at the University of London in Conaught Hall. After we got settled in we walked around for awhile then got ready to go out to London's nightlife. We got our names on the guest list at the Zoo Bar, one of London's most famous clubs. We had a lot of fun, but trying to get home was a lot harder than we expected. We needed to take a cab but there is only one kind of cab that is safe to take. The black London cab. There are millions of "bike taxi's" and "gypsy cabs" but not so many of the black London cab. We walked for about an hour or more back and forth until we finally got one. We were safe though, don't worry! I have a group of five girls who all stick together when we go out. We made it home safe, and now this morning we are on our way out to see the sights! I think the plan for today is to take a double decker bus tour because its a really nice day and go on the London Eye. (Google it if you don't know what I'm talking about) It's basically an hour long ferris wheel ride that shows you a view of the entire city. We might find some markets or just see where the day takes us. Miss you all!!!!

The reason I'm here....

I just thought that if any of you are interested, check out my Study Abroad course blog (on the right hand links) to see my projects I have been working on. There is a digital story on there that I created about the British language in connection to its culture, and also a practice podcast I posted about our field trip to Stonehenge and Bath. Make sure your volume is on so you can hear :)