How to dress like a female English university freshman

I've been working on a little graphic to depict what I see on a daily basis. No, thankfully, not everyone is quite like this, but it's far too common for my comfort.

Random Street Encounters

On the way back to my dorm today, I was accosted by two guys representing the Church of the Latter Day Saints. One of them was from Utah.

And that's all I'm going to say about that.

Edinburgh

-- Pictures from Edinburgh --

Continuing the pattern of running around on the weekends... from wednesday (15 Oct) to sunday (19 Oct) I was in Edinburgh with Beth.

We arrived after 5 and a half hours on the train and found our hostel pretty easily. It's right on the Royal Mile, which is pretty much Edinburgh's main street. We found dinner at a nearby pub, had bangers and mash, and got to listen to a silly Scottish man sing American folk songs.

The second day, we climbed Arthur's Seat, which is a large hill just outside the main bit of town. It took a good part of the day to get up it and wander around... but we made it and put our names up on the top, along with lots of other hikers. Other bits of the day included visiting St Giles' cathedral, having delicious Mediterranean food, and generally wandering around town

We spent the morning of the third day at Edinburgh castle, which is generally old and interesting (it's even built on top of an inactive volcano!). There we heard lots of stories from a friendly employee, who eventually recommended some areas for lunch and whatnot. At dinner we tried cullen skink -- a traditional Scottish dish that is delicious.

The fourth day, Saturday, was partially spent wandering the lower parts of Arthur's Seat, despite the occasional rain. We had lunch at the adorable Elephant House, which is coincidentally where JK Rowling started writing Harry Potter. We ended with a ghost tour that evening, where we heard stories from a Canadian guy who came to Scotland and decided to stay

Finally, we had to reluctantly return to Nottingham on Sunday by walking to the station, taking a 3 hour bus, a 1.5 hour train, a .5 hour train, another .5 hour train, a walk to the bus station in Nottingham, waiting half an hour for a bus to show up, a 15 minute bus ride to school, and a 15 minute walk back to the dorm. Whew.

London

-- Pictures from London --

I spent 10 Oct through 12 Oct on a whirlwind trip around London with two people who had never been before. We hit all the standard spots, and even managed to do a few things I didn't do the first time I was there... we went on the Eye, saw St Paul's cathedral, were in awe of the inside of Westminster Abbey, and enjoyed the craziness of the Portobello road saturday market.

It was fast and fun... though the craziness of London was a bit overwhelming. It's hard to try and see everything over a weekend, but we mostly managed

Brighton

-- Pictures from Brighton --

So, from last Thursday (2 Oct) until Sunday (5 Oct) I went to Brighton, on the south coast of England. Heading down was a pretty easy train ride -- two trains for about 3 and a half hours total. I went with my new friend Beth, due to the fact that neither of us has class on Thursday or Friday.

Thursday, we found our hostel. The directions told us to head for the beach, and then head towards the Brighton Pier (in the picture). We didn't think much of it, but once we arrived at the hostel we realized it was on the beach, about a block from the pier. There's a picture looking out our window, showing how close we are to the beach... It was sunny and gorgeous pretty much all Thursday and Friday. The first day was spent wandering. We explored down the beach in both directions, had some delicious pad thai, got somewhat lost in the small pedestrian streets in the area called the Lanes, and ended our evening by watching some football (...soccer, but don't say that word on this side of the Atlantic) in the hostel's bar.

Friday was also pretty low key: we explored the artists' quarter, where every other shop is eclectic and interesting. We both purchased excellent new hats (mine was literally from a shop on a street corner, Beth's was from a stall in a maze-like indoor market). That afternoon, we hung out on the beach for a bit, and I made some sketches that maybe I'll upload if I ever have access to a scanner. In the evening, two other friends arrived -- Claire and Emily.

Saturday morning was still nice, weather-wise. Beth and I showed the newcomers around a bit, but it started to rain about the time we sat down (outside) for lunch. We still headed out to the beach, and onto the pier, but the wind was really picking up. It was to the point where you could barely move forward into the wind, and the sea was getting really choppy. We had planned on getting our feet wet in the English Channel, but with it so nasty we held off. I'm satisfied, really, because of the large amounts of salty sea spray I got in my face... We visited a small gallery and a fishing museum to escape the weather, but eventually we caved and headed back to the hostel. That evening for dinner I had possibly the best fish and chips ever, then we played cards and hung out in the hostel for the evening.

Sunday morning, we had to head to the train station. It was a solid 20 minute walk, with the wind battling us most of the way. Honestly, it was more amusing than anything. We made it early to the station, and eventually boarded the bus that would take us the first half hour of the journey. Of course, due to the weather, the bus was held up in traffic -- we missed our connecting train in Three Bridges. We caught the next one, to London Bridge, and then took the underground to London St Pancras... finally we boarded an East Midlands train back to Nottingham... arriving back an hour later than planned. All in all, not too bad of an experience. Lesson learned: avoid the bus when you can

The irony is that I'll be on another bus Friday morning. We're going to London then and coming back Sunday evening... oh well.