Sept. 20, 2002
I made it to Manchester, England on the morning of Sept. 15th and was very jetlagged when I arrived. Luckily the International Society picked me up at the airport so I didn’t have to try to find my way to campus on my own. I then had a week of International Student Orientation where I met several Americans. Orientation itself wasn’t all that useful, but it was nice to meet people and start to learn my way around.
Sept. 22, 2002
Each night of orientation they had stuff planned for us to do. Tuesday night I went to Morris dancing which was a lot of fun. Wed night I had Scottish dancing which was sort of fun but more complicated. Wed there was also a party for the International students and they had a bunch of local Manchester bands play. Thurs I moved into my flat in Whitworth Park. There are 7 of us sharing the flat: three Brits, 2 Greeks, 1 Swedish girl, and me. They are all nice and we get along pretty well.
This is Burleigh House which is where I live.
This is my bedroom.
This is my bedroom.
This is my bedroom.
Friday morning I took the train to London with two American girls I am friends with, Lindsay and Madeleine. I bought a youth rail card (18 pounds), so the train ticket cost 32 pounds. It ended up taking us 4 hours instead of three because the train ahead of us hit a person (so sad). We arrived in London at Euston train station and got a cheap, crappy hotel room near there (Cottage Inn) that cost 50 pounds a night. We walked around London and saw Big Ben, the river Thames, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Pallace, Trafalger Square, Picadilly Circus, Leicester Square, and Chinatown. We also went to the National Portrait Gallery which had famous painting of British Kings and Queens that I remember seeing in my History books.
Sat Lindsay and I went to the British Museum which is enormous! We spent a couple of hours looking at just the Egyptian exhibits (very cool!). I got to see the Rosetta Stone (used to figure out how to translate Egyptian hieroglyphics), mummies, and lots of artifacts and statues. Then Madeleine, Nick (Mad.’s boyfriend), and I went to the Tower of London. We took a self-guided tour of it which cost 8.75 pounds, but it was worth it. We got to wander through the castle and take pictures. We got to see the Crown jewels which were gorgeous. We could also see Tower Bridge stretching across the Thames from there.
Sun morning Lindsay and I went to the Globe Theatre (Shakespeare’s), walked across Tower Bridge, and saw the London Bridge. We almost got caught up in a huge farmer’s rights protest which stretched a good deal across London.
Joannah and Lindsay in front of Big Ben in London
Sept. 28, 2002
I registered for classes this week, which was a pain. First semester I am taking Intro to Archaeology, Molecular Genetics, Quantum Mechanics, and Earth Materials I. Second semester I am taking Stars and Stellar Evolution, Thermodynamics, Earth Materials II, Comparative Planetology, and Sedimentology II, as well as Intro to Arch. (a yearlong course).
Sat I went on a hike with the hiking club to Grasmere in the central Lake District. The hike I took was 12 km with a 600m height gain and took us 5.5 hours. It was gorgeous and a great way to see the English countryside. The hike was through large mountains/hills where sheep roamed freely. Everything was covered with green grass with low stone fences everywhere that are probably 200 yrs old. We ended the hike in the little town of Grasmere, which is in Wordsworth country. It was a cute little English town.
Joannah on a hiking trip in the Lake District
Oct. 2, 2002
I bought books yesterday, and contrary to what I’d heard, they are not cheaper here. I have been getting kind of annoyed with the little differences here-like the lack of technological advancement. Just little things… like no drinking fountains, no Ethernet hook ups in my hall, telephone booth sized showers, paying for grocery carts. Okay, enough complaining; I’m not miserable or anything just kind of experiencing culture shock.
Oct. 2, 2002
Lindsay and I walked around Manchester today taking pictures of the library, Town Hall (gorgeous Victorian building where they movie scenes that are supposed to take place in the houses of parliament), the Manchester Cathedral (which dates from the 15th century and is very pretty and ornate), St. Ann’s cathedral (built in 14th century).
Oct. 5, 2002
Lindsay and I went to Stratford-upon-Avon today with the International Society. We saw Holy Trinity church, where Shakespeare is buried; Hall’s Croft, the home of physician John Hall who married Shakespeare’s daughter Susanna; New Place and Nash’s House, the home of Shakespeare’s granddaughter; Shakespeare’s Birthplace; and the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Stratford is a cute town and bigger than I expected (and quite touristy).
Hall's Croft, Stratford-upon-Avon
Oct. 13, 2002
Today I went hiking from Dolgellau, which is in the north of Wales, with the hiking club. We hiked about 18 km though Snowdonia National Park on Cadair Idris (one of the highest peaks). It rained most of the day and was quite cold which made the hike less fun that it could have been. The drive to get there was lovely though- mountains with strings of low level clouds bisecting them. It was also cool to see all the signs in Welsh and English. Welsh is completely unpronounceable.
Just a bit wet on a hiking trip in Wales, Snowdonia National Park
Oct. 20, 2002
Today I went to Liverpool with the International Society. The weather was really crappy- it was cold and rained most of the day. We had a two hour bus tour of the city which was vaguely interesting, but we never got to get out to see anything (except the Catholic Cathedral which was shaped like a funnel).
After the bus tour, we were dropped off at Albert Docks, where you can catch ferries to Ireland. Madeleine and I went to the Tate Liverpool modern art gallery, which didn’t actually have that many exhibits. There was a cool building near the docks at Piers head with a clocktower bigger than Big Ben. After that we walked to the city centre of Liverpool and took pictures of the Town Hall, St. George’s Hall, the Liverpool Museum, library, and the Walker Art Gallery. We then walked to the Anglican Cathedral which is the fifth largest cathedral in the world and took 75 years to build. It was huge and beautiful! Madeleine and I then went to the Philharmonic Pub. It is an incredibly ornate Victorian pub with gorgeous stained class windows and an ornate ceiling. Then we saw the Chinese Arch which is the largest outside China, although the Chinatown is pretty small.
Liverpool is known as being the home of the Beatles, and as such we saw Penny Lane, a yellow submarine, and the places where the Beatles used to live and play. There was a Beatles Museum, but we decided it wasn’t worth the admissions price.
Despite several of the highlights, I wouldn’t recommend visiting Liverpool. It is a very gloomy and depressing city and is quite run down in many places.
The Liverpool Museum and Library
Oct. 21, 2002
Today we had an earthquake in Manchester. It was a 3.9 on the Richter scale, and the epicentre was located under Manchester. It was my first earthquake and it was kind of scary. When the shaking first started, my first thought was that we were being bombed, but then I realized it was an earthquake. I was in Biology lecture at the time, and I could see the walls and the projection screen shaking.
Oct. 25, 2002
We have continued having aftershocks all week, but I’m pretty used to them now. England actually doesn’t usually get earthquakes. Lindsay, T.J., Sarah (and her brother and sister) and I went to see Othello tonight at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. We got to sit in the fourth row from the actors, and it was incredible! This was the first time I had ever seen a Shakespearean play performed. The theatre was small and circular, kind of like the Globe. There were no sets or anything, just the actors performing in the centre. Othello and Desdemona were great, but the actor playing Diago had hurt his back, so the director read his part (from the script).
Oct. 27, 2002
Lindsay and I went to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, this weekend (pronounced Edinbragh) with the International Society. We left Sat mourning at 8:30 am and arrived in Edinburgh at 1:30pm. Sat. evening we just walked around Edinburgh; it is gorgeous. It’s an incredible city, and the architecture is beautiful. In the centre of the city is an extinct volcano with a castle built on top (Edinburgh castle). Leading down from the castle, built on old lava flows, is the Royal Mile, a street with lots of cute shops and pubs. We saw a man in a kilt playing the bagpipes on the street. We got caught in a downpour (characteristic Scottish weather), so we got dinner in a pub to warm up. Sun morning we had a bus tour of the city.
The first thing we saw was the Royal Yacht Brittania, moored in the harbour near our hotel. We saw the prestigious private school where Tony Blair went to middle school/high school. We went up to Calton Hill which yielded great views of the city and had several monuments on top of it. One, the National Monument, was an attempt at replicating the Parthenon. We were driven through New Town, dating from the 18th century and a great example of Georgian architecture. It included Princes St., the principle thoroughfare with lots of shops and a great view of Old Town. On Princes St. there is a huge monument to Sir Walter Scott, the Scottish author. We went through Old Town and saw Holyrood Palace, the Monarch’s official residence in Scotland.
We drove through the Royal Mile and saw original houses; they can be recognized by their tiny windows since in the old days they paid taxes on how much window glass they had. They also all lived starting on the second floor with a staircase to it built on the outside of the house (the first floor was the cellar). At the top of the Royal Mile is the castle, which we toured. It cost 8 pounds to get in, and was neat, but freezing cold (since it was on top of the old volcano it was windy and cold). Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to her son in the castle. It now houses the Scottish crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny. We also went to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.
Edinburgh is an awesome city, and I think it’s my favourite city so far. Definitely worth another visit.
Lindsay and Joannah on Calton Hill in Edinburgh, Scotland
Oct. 31, 2002
My flat had a Halloween Party tonight. Brits don’t really celebrate Halloween like the States- no trick or treating, haunted houses, or hayrack rides. They use it as another excuse to go out and drink. But, we had an American style party with Halloween decorations and candy.
