Inglaterra

My week in England was really nice. I was able to relax and spend some time with British family. That offered a different look at British culture than what I could have seen in London.


Here is the lovely lady I went to visit.

So, as some of you may know (or at least won't be surprised by...) one of my favorite parts of traveling is trying new food-- especially dessert!! This was my favorite dessert in England-- Treacle with custard.

The "chips" with malt vinegar were just amazing.

One day, we took the train from Nuneaton to Birmingham. It was pretty.

We did some shopping and a little people watching...

And we saw a very strange building that didn't seem to match the rest of the architecture...

As I mentioned previously there are some things that are just different there. One of those things is the kitchen. As you can see in the picture below, the washer and dryer are in the kitchen under the counter.

The sink was a little weird too. One big side and one tiny side. And I am not sure of the reason for the tupperware bucket that is always in the big side.
Every (or at least those I saw....) kitchen is equipped with an electric kettle for tea at a moments notice. We had plenty of it and I love it.
In one kitchen we were in, the oven opened like a door. Kind of strange. Seems like it would be easy to burn yourself. We managed not to though.

Overall it was a lot of fun. Very relaxing. We had plenty of time to sit and drink coffee-- which we did. A lot. Maybe we are turning into our mothers?? No... it's not that bad yet.

So that was England. But as I write this, I am in Madrid, so I am already behind!! We leave here tomorrow to go to Salamanca and meet our host families. By the way, we are nine hours ahead of California and 6 hours ahead of Michigan, in case you are wondering. I am looking forward to getting to Salamanca and meeting my host family. I am ready to get settled. I will try to keep you all posted when possible.

Hope all is well!!
Love,
Me.

Catching up

I'm currently sitting in my hotel room in Madrid and it's the first time in a while I have been able to use my own computer to get on the internet. So I am going to go back in time a little to getting ready for my trip to share some pictures.

Life was really busy before I left for Europe, I had several major projects at school followed by a visit from my brother, followed immediately by finals. I then had one week to wrap things up at work, pack my apartment, and pack for Europe.

Here's Ky and Steph at the zoo and in Hollywood:

This is Evelyn helping me pack all my clothes:

Isn't she cute? I can't wait to see her again when I get back. She'll be almost six months old! Before I left, the Becherettes (Toph and Bee) and Mark and Ashley met Nish and I in LA, it was my farewell to the city. We saw a great British film call "Son of Rambow" ate at the Apple Pan then had drinks at a Spanish restaurant. It was nice. Here's Mark and Ashleigh at the Apple Pan:

I think I packed and repacked my suitcase three times trying to get the right balance between how much it weighed and how much stuff I wanted to bring... I think it has worked out well so far though. It feels like I have been gone a bit longer than I have-- I think have three types of foreign currency may contribute to that. (Canadian- acquired during my 7-8 hour layover, pounds and now Euros) Well, I guess that is all I wanted to share about my pre-departure. We can move forward from here.

The beginning...

     Well, I made it! I am sitting comfortably in my cousin's bed in a small town in England called Nuneaton.  My trip here was relatively uneventful.  In fact, my 7 hour layover in Calgary, Canada was a little more uneventful than I'd have liked.  I thought I had done well with packing (one bag for three months, four pounds under the weight limit!) but as soon as I had to carry it up to the fourth floor of the hostel, I changed my mind.  I now want to leave my entire suitcase in England, even if it means wearing the same clothes everyday!!  

     We had a relatively busy weekend being made fun of by the Erin's boyfriend and all of his friends for being American.  The cultures are very similar but at the same time, rather different.  I think it is fun to pay attention to all the differences.  I've already eaten fish and chips, had plenty of tea and later this week (maybe tomorrow?) we will go to a pub quiz. We attended a rather pentecostal church this weekend... which was not really my cup of tea.  We went to Starbucks and it was interesting.  My latte tasted different, (I think it's the milk?) their coffee beans come in smaller packages and they have a drink with black currant in it.  There are a lot of American things here.  

     I am having a good time so far, it is nice to relax.  I slept in this morning (or "had  lie in") until 10 o'clock then just sat around with Erin drinking coffee from a french press.  Later we will go out to eat (or "have a meal") at a Mexican restaurant.  Apparently it is the only one in Britain.  (or close enough)  I am reveling in my freedom from responsibility (homework and work) while it lasts.  Soon the homework part will start again, but I'll try not to take it too seriously.  

     The weather is cool and rainy at times, but I don't mind.  It's a nice change from California.  

Okay, I will try to keep you all posted, and as soon as I take some pictures I'll share them with you.  

Hope all is well!!

Love

Kari