Abbeys Are Our Favorite. Period.

   We were supposed to go to a market in Knaresborough today but it required catching a train at 8 am. With the train station a 3.5 mile trek away from our nice warm rooms, we chickened out and slept in. But never fear, when we did muster the strength to get out of bed (still adjusting to the time change) we went exploring around Leeds. We found an Abbey. It was in the middle of a park. And it was free to get in and poke around. It would have been $15 a ticket in the US, and justly so. I loved it!

Kirkstall Abbey, 1150

Whats left of the Refectory

The Sanctuary

Luke in a transept of the Sanctuary

One of the aisles

The Chapter House

The Chapter house- the stone box on the left is an empty sarcophagus

 

Approaching the Abbey from the park entrance

There are many more photos, but these are the highlights. It was pretty extensive and we finally left when we got too hungry and cold to stay any longer. Its only about a 30 minute walk from our housing, so maybe we'll go back when it gets warmer!

Walks are nice.... for now.

The first building we get to once we get to campus.

We went here on Sunday for a tradition Sunday dinner.

Some of the other study abroad students we met at the Old Bar in the Student Union. The blurriness is just illustrating how much fun Luke was having- he just couldn't sit still.

The kitchen with me stuffing my face with custard.

Our walk back to housing last night.

So, I haven't been as loyal to taking photos of everything we've done as I had initially planned but I have brought the camera along, which is the first step to truly great photography. And when an emergency photo shoot is necessary and I don't have mine on me the iPhone comes in handy. So the above is a random assemblage of things seen and done.

Tomorrow we plan to go and travel around the surrounding country a bit so hopefully I'll have something a little more interesting and cohesive to post!

Merrie is (obviously) unappreciative of what I contribute.

If I don't do this now, than I (read: we) will never remember what happened these past few days...

D-Day+2

After another much-too-short night, the whole API group went out to the Royal Armouries (with a 'u'). It was very much similar to the "Arms and Armor" exhibit in the Met. There was a full suit of elephant armor as well as numerous English relics. PLUS guns! old guns, new guns, hunting guns, muskets, pistols, revolvers, machine guns, submachine guns, gatling guns, shot guns, rifles, carbines, grenade launchers, and so much more. I could spend days there, Merrie was ready to leave. The rest of the day was comprised of Merrie meeting her tutor in the school of Design, which was encouraging, while I wandered around campus using their WiFi. We found our respective buildings and classrooms as well. That night we had an introductory meeting in the Refectory (where "The Who: Live in Leeds" was recorded... sadly I really don't care though). It was a goooood meeting. We met other international students and culturally commiserated together. I also met my "buddy" from the Leeds Buddy Program. He was groovy.

I don't want shock, offend, or sicken anyone......

BUT for historical integrity, I must retell the following story, all of which is Merrie's fault.

Mah-gross

After returning from the pleasent introductory meeting, Merrie persuades our group to go to a seemingly harmless "restaurant" known as Mahmoods. It's an Indian (or Asian if you're British) style McDonalds. Needless to say, it was the worst food I've ever had to date. I had gyro made out of whole beef patties and mayo/ranch/sourcreamish sauce while Merrie muscled down half of a burger until she realized it had a thousand island/mayo/cheese mixture on it. wow. mmm mmmmmmm. I guess it was a cultural experience, but I'm sure it will never happen again.


D-Day+3

The School of Music

The next day I had my school of music meeting. It went well. I got classes worked out, met people, saw department, etc.. We also had another compulsory orientation meeting in a conference auditorium past where medieval explorers assumed the edge of the Earth was. Then we walked back! Later that evening was a "Study Abroad Social Evening" in one of the bars in the student union. The actual event was fun, but the traumatizing bus ride there and taxi ride home were not. At least we now know to not put your coins where the receipt comes out.

The Foyer (pronounce: foy-eh)

Looking at man stuff

I hear fashion is cyclical.

THE HALL OF STEEL

Finally I get to post

Its overwhelming being surrounding by such old things. There are so many things to photograph and I keep running out of memory. Here are a few places we've been so far.

The entrance

Temple Newsam House- This house is from the Jacobean (1567–1625) Period. We got to tour the inside living quarters by ourselves and then went into the basement with a tour guide. There was no photography inside, which is a stupid rule. The pictures are not the greatest- I was trying to keep up with the group- but they'll do.

The gardens

The house had a precious farm on its ground

 

The grounds were lovely.

And even more precious animals

(Find the Theme)

Dearest America,

you suck.

Regards,
Luke & Merrie

P.S. The following is a list of what Merrie has eaten today:

Chips (fries)
Smothered Chicken (bacon, cheese, bbq...)
Peanut Butter Pie (which was consumed before the chicken)
Sea Salt Crisps (chips)
Garlic Tortellini w/ ham and onions (which she made... and was good)
Baguette w/ olive oil
Toffee mousse
Interspersed with handfuls of Kellogs "Crunchy Nut"

After retelling this list, Merrie has decided she is now sick and not feeling well.

But why, you ask, is this alright? WELL America, because we have probably averagely walked 10 miles a day so far. One trip to campus is around a 4 mile round trip, while any other activity requires copious amounts of walking. We're not complaining, we're just hungry.


.... Let's start from square one.

D-DAY:
-KLM: good food, awesome free personal tv screens, good nap
-Amsterdam: creepy
-Leeds-Bradford: little puddle-hopper, short flight, cloudy. Airport was tiny and had a rural feel.
-API program leader (Rachel) was late. met the other 4 people in the group (Sarah, Meg, Chasity, and Anthony)
-had a quick drive through the countryside to our housing in Headingly. I was last. It was cold.
-I live in G block, Merrie lives in D block. They're close. Everything is old and dirty and every, single door is a "fire door," so they all slam and we get fines if they're wedged open. (This leads to a very social environment).
-After we threw our bags in our rooms we then proceeded to go on a 4 hour walking tour of the city. This would have been wonderful if we had had more than a few hours of sleep in the past 20+ hours. We ate at a bagel place inside THE LIGHT, an "American" style shopping mall (no),and we also saw Town Hall, the art gallery, the Henry Moore Institute, Leeds Parish Church, Millennium Square, Kirkgate Market, and a bunch  of shopping arcades in the centre.
-Naps ensued.
-If my memory serves me correctly, Merrie and I ate out at a bar called "The Box." We had our first of many Carlsbergs and a pizza named after Fabregas and some other football player I don't care about.
-Long, good day.

Pictures:

The view from my room

 Meals on the Plane

 Tetris

 Neat info

 Neat info in SI

 flight tracker

 Awesome screen on the plane (many movies were watched)

more food (breakfast)

D-DAY+1
-we began the morning with an extended campus tour. It didn't really cover the whole campus, (which is huge). I still haven't been all the way to the other side yet.
-had lunch at a curry place in the student union (apparently Leeds is known for the best curry in the country?). Ergo, it was good. Unfortunately, it was a "to go" kind of place so we had to eat outside...
-After lunch (maybe before?) we had an LU orientation as well as finished up immigration and registration culminating in our very own whitewashed Leeds University cards. <3
-From there followed a 3 hour API orientation. We have more pamphlets then you could shake a stick at.
-I believe from there we all ate dinner at The Eldon, a local pub. Fish and chips platter, local pale ale, meh.

More Pictures to come...

I'm tired. I'll post more Sunday.

(neeeey)

Time Flies (pun)

SO....

I will try to make this pretty short and sweet because it's 1 a.m. and that's WAY later than either of us have stayed up since our arrival. Merrie should be putting up some pictures tomorrow.

In short:

1. The flights went of without a hitch. We got through security at Dulles in.... 5 minutes?
2. Amsterdam was dirty and 80s.
3. The documentations we slaved over to get in the country weren't even really looked at.
4. Both Merrie and I live in mixed gender suites. 3 girls 2 boys each. 1 bathroom.
5. Leeds is breathtaking. It's difficult to know what to take pictures of because everything looks cooler than the U.S.
6. Cars are European, and diesel, and small, and drive on the other side of the road.
7. Leeds city centre is the mecca of shopping, (if only we had money).
8. We live about an hour away from campus when we were told it was a 25 minute walk.... (we're not complaining yet)
9. Everyone drinks. All day. All night. No RAs + no noise violations = no sleep (I'm not complaining)
10. Everyone is MUCH nicer than America... if only I knew what they were saying.

Tomorrow I have a meeting with the School of Music as well as a compulsory orientation meeting. Later, we have a "Study Abroad Social Evening" at the Student Union (it's "Fruity" on Fridays, you only have to pay admission to 1 of the 4 clubs/pubs/bars within the union).

HOPEFULLY there will be a more time for an adequate posting.

A(n) Historic Moment

Before I begin, it is imperative that you narrate this in your mind as either:
A: David Attenborough
B: Morgan Freeman
C: Mr. Darcy
or D: William Shatner (or Patrick Stewart)

As we write this groundbreaking, ribbon cutting, trailblazing first post, the most important thing on my mind is the cat not ruining my computer with his overzealous shenanigans. However,  in less than 4 days Merrie and I will depart from all of what we consider familiar. While we have dreamed of this for over a year or two, the stark reality is that we have no idea what to expect. We have read just enough literature to be thoroughly confused and equally excited. Studying a semester in the middle/latter half of our college career at an institution that is six times larger is a harrowing experience by itself, let alone in a country where fanny packs, my favorite accessory, means vagina bag. This completely alien environment, at this point, is exactly that. Our departure, which we used to view as kids anticipating Christmas has turned into the last chapter of a favorite book, bittersweet. We know this is a beginning, but it feels like an ending.

Apparently I act like Data when I compose blog posts. The Trekkie references are only germane because of the marathon runs of Star Trek: The Next Generation that have been running continuously on "SyFy" (a stupid name change in my opinion). Focusing on the daring adventures of the starship Enterprise has been our main solace from cabin fever. Sadly, it is no replacement for Voyager.

Merrie is excited about photography. This post is an appetizer, a teaser. Hereafter, a delightful plethora of pictures from cathedrals to bathroom stalls will be shoved in your faces soon. "Methodical cataloging" might be a better description of Merrie's contributions to the blog. I bring the star power... and charm... and wit. In fact, let's have a flowchart of the attributes we each supply:

Expect great things.