Day #14

The day I knew would come- homework day. Even though it was gorgeous outside, I locked myself away (in a cute little cafe on campus, which, to be honest, was a more than acceptable compromise for me) and whittled away at my homework. And enjoyed Mean Girls Day.

After some pasta and Buffy, my friends and I enjoyed some throwback songs while I showed off some of my dance moves:

As a final note, a few of my friends and I are going to attend Karaoke Night at a restaurant on campus, and we need suggestions. So far, we have 500 Miles, Beautiful Soul, anything Spice Girls of Hilary Duff, and Total Eclipse of the Heart. Thoughts?

Day #13

As of today, I have officially had all of my classes! I'm excited to see how the rest of the term goes. But the real adventure today was getting to see my very first play in England! My theatre class has 6 assigned plays to see this term, and tonight I saw "One Man, Two Guvnors" at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury. The production was extremely well done, with lots of slapstick humor and even some audience interaction! Have a picture of me being very excited with my ticket.

As a side note, my room here at Kent is also orange and white, just like my room at home. Somehow, Kent knew. Kudos to you, Kent.

The next play I'll be seeing is PRIDE AND PREJUDICE YAYAYAY MY FAVORITE EVER because Jane Austen is basically god. I have very high expectations. 

The rest of the night went smoothly until we encountered a spider the size of Aragog in our bathroom sink. I managed to kill it with hair spray, but I made some new friends because I wasn't about to pick Aragog up out of that sink with a ten foot hockey stick. Aragog has family. They'll come eat me in my sleep. Biggest complaint about Kent so far: NO SCREENS ON ANY WINDOWS OR DOORS. Thus an insane amount of bugs. But as far as complaints go, I'm living the life over here across the pond!

Day #12

Although I've visited downtown Canterbury a few times already, I've only ever spent a few hours there at a time, usually running around getting groceries or towels and sheets. But everything changed when the fire nation attacked today!

My friends and I took a leisurely stroll down to the town (saving bus money again, mind you). On our way there, we decided to go punting! Which, if you're like me and had no idea what that means, looks a little like this:

The guy doing the actual punting is named Ben, and we decided he would make a really cool Uncle. In addition to being a very talented punter (punting-er? punting person? driver?), he also knew a ton about history and recommended a lot of awesome places to go in Canterbury. Even some rain couldn't spoil our trip down the river with Uncle Ben.

After a relaxing punt (how does this word even work?), we headed to Tiny Tim's Tearoom in downtown Canterbury. My cream of mushroom soup, giant slab of bread, and artsy cup of English Breakfast Tea made it very clear to me that "the food in England is gross" is just a dirty, filthy lie. Those people obviously haven't eaten at Tiny Tim's Tearoom. Also, apparently Tiny Tim's Tearoom is haunted. By Tiny Tim. We went into the room that was supposedly haunted, and there were lots of creepy ghost sounds. So that was good.

We closed out our trip by going to the one, the only, CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL! Kent students get in for free, which is my favorite price. It's colossal, and so ornate and beautiful; it's no wonder people made (and according to Uncle Ben, still make) pilgrimages there to worship. The stained glass windows were one of my favorite parts, especially when you think that people didn't have access to glass as easily back in those olden days as we young whippersnappers do today. There were about ten thousand different rooms, and we even got to go into the crypt. Also, the gift shop was hilarious with the juxtaposition of really religious stuff and funny/slightly inappropriate Canterbury Tales references, such as shot glasses with the Wife of Bath. And rubber ducks dressed up like the Pope. 

Around 8pm, Kent set off fireworks to commemorate its 50th anniversary. A beautiful end to a lovely day. 

Day #11

LAUNDRY TIME! What an adventure. Since one wash cycle is 2.60 pounds (highway robbery) and a dry cycle is another 1.80 (ridiculous), one of my house mates and I went in on a wash together, and decided to forego the dry. Consequently, we have transformed our rooms and the stairs railing into out drying racks. It may take (MUCH) longer, but I'm happy knowing I've saved enough money to finance a one-way bus ticket into town. Also, my room smells pleasantly like detergent. Hooray!

My tickets have been ordered for the 6 plays we are seeing in my theatre (note the British spelling) module (note the British word). First show is this Thursday!

I am Canterbury Cathedral bound tomorrow! Still deciding which character I should impersonate while pretending to make the pilgrimage. Stay tuned!

Day #10

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

Although I had to get up at 7 this morning (and did not have access to any caffeine), my first day of classes went swimmingly (heh heh)! It turns out that I only need to actually buy 2 books, one of which was only 2 pounds! I also walked to the City Centre today (saving them moneys where I can) and got to pet a total of 4 dogs. Needless to say, today was a success.

After we got back to our house, one of my house mates and I made tacos for dinner, complete with cucumbers, cheese, lettuce, toasted taco shells, and some day old (code for still delicious but much less expensive) baguette. And for dessert, chocolate chip cookies! I promise I didn't eat all of the batter. 

Time for some homework, Buffy, and well-deserved rest. Adieu, adieu, to you and you and you!

Day #9

The trip to Leeds Castle finally arrived!! Even though the bus was slower than molasses (I thought we were going to come to a standstill and start rolling back down the hill), we did eventually get there and it was definitely worth the wait. Our trip coincided with the Festival of Flowers, so we were able to see 30 gorgeous arrangements in and outside of the castle. I took some pictures with friends, some of whom are international students like me, and others who decided to create their own religion so they could divorce and marry again in an attempt to produce a male heir.

With classes starting tomorrow, I'm turning in early. Wish me luck!

Day #8

The study lounge has been located, and I want everyone to know that I have already picked out my favorite seat. I did a little pre-course reading so that I can impress my professors and they won't think that I'm an ignorant American. Fingers crossed!

Just as important was our discovery of how to work our oven, and our pizza success! Appetizers for dinner included bread, butter, and Buffy. Needless to say, a perfect meal.

My new go-to friendship pitch is to say "wow, I was really hoping to meet some people tonight, but I haven't met anyone yet" loudly enough for people to hear me. Tonight, this resulted in two friends who are also Doctor Who fans, which automatically qualifies them for "Insta-friend" status.

Tomorrow is the university sanctioned trip to Leeds Castle, during which I plan to appreciate lots of architecture and eat lots of good food. Cheers!