Let it SNOW?!

What a week!!!! It's hard to believe that one week ago tomorrow I was getting off of a plane! I have to say, it feels like I've been here much longer than a week, but not in a bad way. I think there is just so much going on between organizing classes, learning how their university system works, meeting friends, and exploring my new city that its hard to imagine I've only been here 6 days!

Just as a side note, I'm not great about updating things like this, so like I've said before I will try and post one or two times a week, but if you haven't heard anything...I'm fine...I'm just the worst at keeping any sort of journal.

A good part of my time spent in Nottingham, thus far, has been organizing my modules (classes) and trying to prepare for them adequately. The way that orientation was set up for exchange students required them to miss at the very least Monday and Tuesday modules. Well as fate would have it I ONLY have modules on Monday and Tuesday, so I missed all of my classes the first week....great. I was able to talk to all of my professors and it is all fine, but that means that I'm doing 2 weeks worth of course work to catch up. To make things a bit more interesting, you don't buy textbooks, which means for someone like me, a Sociology major, I will be living in the library renting books for 5 hours at a time. Very interesting.

Of course I can't spend all of my time working! I've been able to meet several people through my Bible study and other exchange students so I've been able to get lunch or hang out with lots of different people. We've gone into town a good bit and I was able to go on a little adventure by myself walking around my beautiful campus and taking some pictures. Also, nightlife in general is not something I am used to, but I've been tagging along with some exchange students to check out some favorite student spots. Very different from America! Some of the places I've been seem to be straight out of a movie. It has definitely been a "We're not in Kansas anymore....or even the United States" experience.

Today has been one of my favorite days in Nottingham yet. I woke up and met up with 2 American girls and an Australian exchange student to get coffee at a cafe that is on the very opposite side of campus and seemed to be a place not many students go to. COFFEE! I was very concerned about the availability of Diet Coke initially, but that has not really been my problem. The issue has been trying to find a cup of coffee that doesn't taste like dirt water. Well everyone....I found a place! I finally had a cup of coffee that was able to meet the standards of Kudu and Hope and Union (2 local coffee shops in Downtown Charleston that I like). After coffee we went to a part of the city that I had not been to before and went shopping for a bit. I definitely need to continue investing in jumpers (sweaters) because it is cold....very cold. When we finished shopping we went to the train station and got railcard passes, which will reduce the prices of train tickets (which is good because, God willing, I'll be going to London next weekend to visit my wonderful, beautiful roommate Shelby!!!) We got to take lovely pictures where we were not allowed to smile. Of course when you are told not to smile...all you can do is smile. I look like a Russian spy. Ridiculous. hahaha.

Now to explain the title of this blog post. While walking to the train station from shopping it began to very lightly snow on the city. It was actually very pretty and to someone that can count the number of times she's seen snow on her two hands, it was very cool. When we came out of the train station, however, it was no longer a light snow. It felt slightly like I was being slapped repeatedly by a freezing cold washcloth. We decided that we needed to escape the cold, so we went to a pub called The Cross Keys. This was probably the moment when I really felt like I was in England for the first time. We sat down and got nice warm chips (french fries) and burgers. We also picked a great time because we were able to watch the England/Scotland rugby game!! Yes, sitting in a pub, watching a rugby game alongside passionate fans, and drinking a London Pride beer (obviously I had to), it was nearly exactly how I has imagined it. Of course, I also imagined Prince Harry would be there waiting to take me to meet the queen, but we'll save that for my next pub :)

When we walked out of the pub after watching an English victory, my jaw about touched the snowy, white ground. In the time we had been in the pub, the ground was COVERED in snow!!! it is currently still snowing and it is supposed to keep snowing. What do you even do in snow? I mean in Charleston if there is the potential for ice everything shuts down....how do I respond. The answer ladies and gentlemen (and my father would be very proud of me for saying this) is LAYERS!! Basically I've been putting on so many articles of clothing that I can't move my arms higher than enough to open a door.

Anyway, I'm now back and warm in my dorm and will be doing course work all night. Oh yeah, no one really goes out on Saturday nights...it's their off night. The biggest night of the week to go out is Monday. Oh so many changes. Tomorrow, if the snow isn't too bad I'll be trying out a church and going to lunch at the very welcoming Pawley household (family friends from St.Andrews)! I really want to watch the Superbowl, but it won't be coming on here until around midnight and pubs close at 12:00 here! Well anyway, GO GIANTS!!!!! (Yes, Brown family I cheer for the Giants specifically because you converted me!)

Well stay warm my wonderful friends and family! I'll throw a snow ball in honor of y'all!

This is the Hugh-Stewart Hall. This is a dorm.....yes just like McAlister or Berry for anyone that goes to the College of Charleston. Not all halls look like this, but this is just too much like a Jane Austen novel to pass up!

The Portland Building is where the student union is, along with a couple of food courts and stores. Also a Starbucks :) Another thing that this campus is not short of is bars. Almost every building (seriously, dorms included) have bars. It is still so weird to watch people not only drink openly in their halls, but have the ability to buy alcohol on campus!

This is the lovely Willoughby Hall where I live. Anyone that lives in Willoughby Hall, except for me, would say this is not a good dorm and is actually one of the worst on campus. I, personally, like it. Although it is home to primarily 18 and 19 year-olds, making my 21 year-old self feel old, I really enjoy the location and my room. I also have a great suitemate that I share a study room with.

The building that is the most recognizable on the University of Nottingham campus and is found on every brochure is the Trent Building. It is very big and looks over a beautiful lake (that today was frozen). I imagine that if I walked to the green near the Trent Building right now, it would look too much like this haha

Lots of Love from Nottingham!