Classes...COMMENCE!

Now that classes have officially begun...

...And I have had 3/4 introduction courses, I feel like life has more structure to it again. Which means I spend less time looking like this:

Look, I don't make gifs, okay?

And now am more like this:

All gifs used belong to their original creators, not me~

All my courses this semester are in the English Department, which is fine, and means I will have a much better chance getting some free choices in other areas next semester. It feels good to be back into the swing of studying too. It does give more structure to my day. WHAT DO YOU MEAN I CAN SPEND ALL DAY ON TUMBLR.

On future posts:

Okay so I know there's at least a few of you who want me to make a Boston post(s). THEY ARE COMING, I PROMISE YOU. This is my first week of study and though I now have a schedule, it is still one I need to adjust to. And I need to plan those posts. So relax, it's happening. Also I know I uploaded some photos of the first part of the trip on FB...I hope to put some more up this evening, time allowing.

The second food hall opened! PARTY DOWN~

Remember last post? When the freshman orientation was happening, the university basically shut down whatever parts weren't needed all the time? Thank goodness that the dinner hall is now open pretty much all day, and the newly refurbished cafe is opened and working. And actually really nice. It shuts at, like, 2:30am. THAT'S THE BEST NEWS EVER. I spent this morning reading and writing in there - it didn't get busy at all and I was there over breakfast and lunch. Might have to do that again, it was actually a very productive morning. As such, I can be found frequenting both that place and the slightly-off-campus coffee shop now. It depends what coffee I want (note: the coffee in the latter is a thousand times better...!). It's good that you can spend money as well as 'food-only' money or you can swap for a pre-paid meal in the new place if you want to. Thankfully, the staff completely know what you need, haha~ And with a second place, it of course means you get more choice, and it also means I'm less likely to become a food-craving zombie again. Sort of.

Super fast post was super fast?

Today is my laundry day so I must go down - for like the fifth time today (DAMMIT I NEED TO SYNCHRONISE MY LAUNDRY) - and retrieve the final batch. So for now, I say a quick adieu~ Thanks for reading the blog thus far! I promise you, more focused blog entries are in production. Until then, I shall be reading copious amounts of novels and essays, whilst watching Sherlock and Band of Brothers for the thousandth time...whilst eating delicious sandwiches.

That's if the guy with the leaf blower decides to disappear, idk.

Note: Just came back from laundry. ONE OF MY BLUE STRIPY SOCKS IS MISSING. ;3;

This must be how Tom Hanks felt when Wilson went away...

-G~

On Not Being a Hungry Zombie & Why It's Cool to Ask Questions

THIS WAS ORIGINALLY GOING TO BE A VERY DIFFERENT POST

Before I stepped out this morning, I wrote and saved a draft of what this entry could've been. However, after a quick detour for some cash after meeting my advisor, I adventured to the street which had been recommended to me plenty of times, but one which I had not yet visited. Originally, this post looked at the differences between the US system of education and the campus size between here and my university back in England. But now that I have bagels and coffee and am down five dollars, I think I have a different perspective to share with you! So let me tell you about what I've found so far~

Not my gif!

A story of starving and wandering around like a zombie on campus:

During orientation weeks, the food services appear to work by a strict schedule, especially due to the limited number of students (freshman and internationals) and therefore they will not be needing the dining services when they're in lectures. However, yours truly, though present throughout the international orientation week (the last four days), does not need to be present to all the freshman orientation events (in part, as I am a junior, it would be deemed irrelevant as many of the lectures are on the high school to university transition, which now I guess I've experienced twice if you count my uni back home and the international orientation here~). Imagine my CRIPPLING DEPRESSION when surfacing later in the day yesterday to find the freshman fair in full swing...but all food hidden from view. Shutter slammed down over the dining hall. The alternative eatery still under construction. In my hungry, post-nap stupor, I meandered around the campus, amongst the mulititude of newly-arrived American families. Still not used to the sun and the heat here, I wandered aimlessly. I stopped every student advisor I saw to ask them where I could find food. Did I mention I had run out of dollars and a lot of the vending machines here wouldn't accept notes any higher than a buck?!! I spotted a gathering of new people about a buffet table sipping cold lemonade and eating fruit salads. I hesitated. Could I? Was I allowed? I was new too, but... Was this for a specific subject? Wait...they don't really do that here... My British nature (overtly polite and hesitant, let's not lie...) made me turn away in despair. A larger buffet was being set up on the green. A terrible thought of snatching a biscuit fluttered through my mind. NO. No, I thought, no, I will wander...somehow food will appear... Suddenly, a friendly couple of faces waved to me! PEOPLE I KNEW. They brought me to the fruit and drinks at the more exclusive seeming party and there I refuelled. 

But it made me realise...the dinner hall is only one place. At my campus back home, we have two bars, three coffee/sandwich places and a dinner hall. In part this is because the campus, unlike here, does not provide a pre-paid catering service...as far as I know. Most people spend cash on campus. Here, however, catered food is common. Now, most of us are waiting for the second dinner hall to open which allows you to take out smaller food, rather than sit down with a meal (which for reasons I can't really explain, I find really awkward...too many people, too busy maybe? Been that way since secondary, really...). And if I'm low on bucks (which I'm now not, and there's at least two vending machines which accept fivers, thank goodness... Also lol that people don't always know what I mean by fiver...and if I say quid or pounds instead of dollars, forgive me: some words are new to me!!), there's not much you can do if the dinner hall is shut. And god forbid if I have to go to the dinner hall alone - I'd rather not eat. Deep-seated issues.

Finding the stores I kept hearing about...

Today, after making the draft of this entry which I subsequently deleted (holla~!), I asked my lovely advisor which way it was to the stores. I had heard they were off-campus, and after two lectures which told us to BEWARE OFF CAMPUS AT NIGHT OMG CHILDREN NOOO, I was a bit reluctant to venture off campus to find the promised books and food which resided there. But my inner Sagittarius (HOLLA~ again...) was like NEEEEIGH~! WE MUST FIND FOOD, SELF. NO LONGER CAN WE WITHSTAND ZOMBIENESS AND MOPING ABOUT THE FACT THAT THIS CAMPUS IS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT. NO, SIR, NO. WE MUST FIND DELICIOUS FOOD AND BOOKS FOR REASONS AND STUFF. So I figured today I would go check it out. AND I DID. And damn, I am glad I did! 

When they said 'off-campus,' they really meant, it's just the back of the actual campus. It still looks and feels like campus. Walking past the registration buildings, there is a small high street on the back of them, literally still in sight of the campus. If you wandered there by mistake you'd assume you were still in campus boundaries (CAMPUS CAMPUS SO MUCH CAMPUS IN THAT LAST COUPLE OF SENTENCES!!) Down there was a small diner which someone had told me about! A hairdressers! Some smaller, possibly clothes, stores(?)! The renowned coffee shop regularly visited, and possibly run by, students! The book store + complete with Clark merchandise (which I had been disappointed to have not found earlier). I quickly visited the book store (which was, unknowingly, until I saw the bag they gave me for the pens I bought, my first visit to a Barnes and Noble). But hungry from not having had a decent breakfast, I ducked into this place:

Both pictures belong to their respective owners! Not my work!
Forgot my camera... (-_-;)

Now, I may write more about this place later but as I just visited, I might as well say something. The inside is full of used books which gives it that awesome coffee-shop/library vibe. I made a mental note to especially visit this place when autumn fully kicks in, and winter(!), as goddamn does my coffee/tea fix really go insane then. I'd also been feeling a bit withdrawal-y from the lack of tea and coffee (i.e. caffeine...I know, it's not good for you [all that regular caffeine], but back home tea is a staple part of your diet, it's true-- Imagine how painful hearing about the Boston Tea Party was...my god...) so finding somewhere I could get a hot drink and take it back with me to campus and my room? PERFECTION. I love taking away food. And though I don't think you can pay with anything other than cash (as I don't think it's included in the meal plans), I am still happy to spend five dollars (that's a bargain and cheaper than back home!) for a latte and a bagel! So no more hungry for yours truly~ The place has a nice warm indie feel to it and...I'm a literature student so if you filled even the dankest cave and/or hovel with old paperbacks I'll probably love it. But this place has a good reputation and well should it! The latte I'm sipping is delicious. Bravo. It also seems to be a popular haunt for staff of the university too - it's a great place. I fell in love as soon as I stepped in. It's only really small though. If you're reading this and you know me but haven't visited here yet, give me a call and we shall go DUDE. PS: They have SHARK WEEK coffees. YEAH.*

*yes, Shark Week isn't a British thing but we hear so much about it... Me and my broseph Haylie (also on year abroad go check out her blog - which I consider a sister to mine own - about life studying abroad in Virginia~) are fans. Maybe we should branch into shark-themed coffees for our future ventures, huh? 

Book store and finally finding merchandise!

So those university flags are a real thing huh? I was oddly disappointed that I hadn't found your usual university merchandise store; where they sell hoodies and flags and snow-globes (sometimes). Until I found the book store. In my sojourn there, I bought some highlighters as I always freak out that I don't have any come note-making time (i.e. the chaos around essay writing time~). I believe you can both buy and rent books here...which reminds me I really ought to check out the library properly soon. I think at some point I will buy some Clark themed stuff. I know I really want to send my brother things I find - it'd be food heaven for him here... We have a similar merchandise shop at UEA so it's not like these things are unique only to the US...which reminds me also that I don't own anything of that kind about my old uni...though I did promise I'd buy a top or something before I graduate... Um, I digress...?

So since finding this street, I feel so much better and more comfortable here. The last couple of days, waking up later, means I miss my friends going to breakfast - so at least I know catching up on sleep (still a bit jet-lagged...) means I won't have to miss breakfast. I can't really express how happy I am finding those shops. I really feel a lot more comfortable here now. GOD BLESS YOU, STREET.

And some words to people who have met or may meet me:

I have to comment on the whole American* & English accent thing. Firstly my name is really uncommon here. Gemma. Yeah. It's been pronounced with a hard 'g' and with 'n''s more times than I can count. Is this a bad thing? HELL NAW. It's actually really cool. Now, I'm only just really meeting the American students but so far they are a really friendly and inquistive bunch - I am generalising but it's in a nice way. Inquisitiveness in my book is a good thing. I'm fascinated by the Southerners I meet at home so meeting people from Europe and Asia is amazing to me - and Americans and Canadians are also just as awesome. So I'm inquisitive too. I love that about our planet. That it's so big but it's also really small. And realising you have something in common with someone who lives on the other side of the planet is really incredible. So I'm gonna say to you right now that if you meet me and you're not from England (if you're from anywhere, America or no!) don't be afraid to ask me silly questions. I mean, if you think England is in Norway (no one thinks that, right?!), I may laugh. A lot. But I'm not gonna dodge questions. Because I think it's awesome that people are interested in other people's cultures. People seem to like my accent and yes mostly assume I'm from London but hey, I usually assume people are from California or NY or Boston, not from Maine or Alaska or Ohio. So I ask those same inquistive questions. I say words differently just as Americans do. I say 'aubergine' not 'eggplant,' 'courgette' not 'zucchini,' and 'biscuit' is a blanket term with 'cookies' being biscuits with chocolate chips in (generally), whilst 'cookie' is the blanket term here and a 'biscuit' is...well, I'm not really sure exactly. So if we've met and you want to ask me questions, silly or no, about England or the UK in general, or even about Yorkshire and the North, feel free! I do it at home with people not from anywhere near my county, and so if you're not from England, you can ask me whatever you like! Don't be shy to doublecheck that I'm not Irish (which has happened a lot - granted, I'm a quarter Irish and my surname definitely is~) and if you mispronounce my name, though it's really weird for me, I'll correct you but not in an outraged way. My name is sort of weird. Names here are strange for me! So this is a head's up: don't be worried, I won't take offence even if you really think that we all talk like Cockneys and wear tweed. I'll be honest with you, but I won't laugh at you. Because trust me I am just as inquisitive about where you're from! So, no, I'm not a Londoner and I don't sound posh because I'm from near 300 miles away from there...but I'm not gonna think you're dumb for asking. You're not dumb. You're awesome. I LIKE YOU. ME GUSTA. LOVE LOVE. HEY. 

*Also a lot of people think they don't have an accent if they're American and seem sort of down about it. Like they wish they did. TRUST ME. You have an accent. And all American accents sound awesome to me. Though if you have a strong Boston one...ME GUSTA...again.

Not my gif. *Though I love SPN~ <33

- G~

STATE SIDE

Guess who's back...

First photo I took in Boston, MA.

Oh yeah. I made it State-side! Look! Old South Meeting House. Oh yeah. I got to Boston, okay. 

I spent this last week adventuring the city (and neighbouring Salem), and am now currently in my university accommodation, typing up this post, sunburnt and aching from the surprisingly strenuous week that the university has put on for newly arrived international students. It's been a hectic weekend and, well, day - tomorrow will be the same, probably - so out of my exhaustion and slow-adjustment to life much farther from home, I won't do a BOSTON ADVENTURE TIME post just yet, until I have everything sorted out here first. 

...But here's a taste of what to expect:

• Boston seafood is so good that CAPSLOCK ITSELF cannot convey the deliciousness...
• I love the lobster mascot. ~♥
• Advice on some of the best places to eat, places to venture, and tips on costs for some of the major attractions in the city.
• Interesting finds!
• Tips on adventurousness~
• The best way to navigate the city! From a walker's point of view!
• Places which are awesome and you should visit, but also advice on how to make the most of the busiest attractions - from first-hand experience, man!

So you're really tired?

Not my gif!

Guys, I am so tired. I, probably like many, had a different idea of what it'd be like to move to a different place, and Boston is a hard city to compare smaller places to, but so far so good. I've met some really nice people - fellow non-Americans, though I'm the only Brit, apparently...! - and it's really a matter of getting courses ready for next week which is the most nail-biting! I am looking forward to studying, actually. I know.  I genuinely adore Literature. People who know me know this. Poor things. But I like to have both free time and a schedule to work by - so I'm easily tired out by days full of activities and advice lectures! It's odd. I'm classed as a Junior here, which is a third-year student which I am, but I feel like I'm a first year again! But I promise you as soon as I am back to 100% - and slightly less achy! - I shall create a series of Boston advice entries as well as one which details my ever-changing transition to American university life. I swear I am still on English time... (which is approx. 5 hrs ahead if you're wondering...). My current strategy for comfortable adjustment to this new lifestyle is watching Band of Brothers for the nth time and listening to (non-stop) the epic vocals of The Decemberists. And damn it all, it does help! But thankfully, I have met some wonderfully helpful people here and so many are incredibly polite and welcoming straight away that I wish I could buy them all delicious English teas as a thank you...but there's so many people that I'd...well, I'd have no money... *moth flies out of pocket* *shrieks and runs a mile from moth* *immature phobias rear their ugly heads*

- G~

Thinking Aloud Before Travelling

Ignoring the last post's discussion on nerves...

I am still INCREDIBLY nervous. Like. So much so that this ain't gonna be a witty post...

Not my gif!

Suitcase is pretty much packed. The last few bits and pieces I'm gonna need over the weekend so for now they shall remain where they belong. THE FLOOR. Secondly, pretty much all the admin stuff is now sorted. Though, (slightly concerned): I discovered a list online of cool stuff the university planned to send to newcomers over the last few months, including stuff like how to access the email account, how to settle in, a free t-shirt, etc.; all the usual WELCOME TO YOUR NEW HOOOOME~ kinda stuff that some friendlier uni's send out. Which all sounded awesome. I, however, have not received any of it... Which makes me a little concerned. Partly because an expired address was somehow still being used. A-hem. Which was probably my fault. But then, I live in England, and posting to and from countries can be tedious and expensive...and I received none of the earlier listed to-post items soooo I might be good. I'm trying to reassure myself that all that stuff probably wasn't intended for me anyway, seeing as how I'm neither a first-year nor American. So I'm gonna assume all the stuff for me is over email and that. is. it. But you know how these things go. Plus, that t-shirt sounded cool... /all the free things, plz? So I'm gonna assume none of that was meant for me. Also I found that list by complete accident. //JOIN ME IN MY SURFING~ 

On getting things mostly finished...

Of course, it's always awkward trying to contact people who are not only in another institution but are also in another country and another time-zone. But all the people I've thus far contacted have been lovely and helpful and most of them replied within a day which is good! Thanks to their help, all the admin stuff is largely sorted out...and the last few things are in the process of being finished, so I should start relaxing... SHOULD. As for courses...? I plan on making a hand-written list of courses that sound cool/relevant/neat. Presenting them. And then get told which I can and cannot take. Unlike a lot of other people I know, I was told early-days not to enrol online so... I feel more than a bit blind about what I'll actually be studying there. Which is partly why I'm very nervous, aside from the whole away-in-another-country-for-a-year-thing.  But I suppose that was one less stress, and I'll get help in person. Which, after all the stuff you have to do for uni's, is sometimes a god-send. Of course, half the courses I pick are also to be free choice. So one half, theoretically, will be American and English Literature (which is my degree at home), and the other half, I HOPE, might be something along the lines of theatre and/or film studies (subjects I have a great passion in but have never actually got to academically study...and I desperately want to...especially the former!). That's if I'm permitted them, of course. (I'm trying to keep my choices more MAYBE-ish in my head. If it turns out I can't for whatever reason it saves my first few weeks being tinged with ~CRIPPLING DISAPPOINTMENT~) And they also slightly depend on whether my uni back home is cool with them. Both are technically academic - at least at the university back home they certainly are... *formulating argument for choices already, I see?* 

Some awesome news though, which I need to read more into but at the moment seems pretty damn useful, yadda-yadda, is that there are buses that run to and from the campus to Boston and the airport. Likewise, there seems to be buses that go to the other universities/colleges in the city, and then to various popular destinations, like the local mall. Which will be a huge help to someone who doesn't drive even in her home country. Secondly, these buses run from a weekly to bi-weekly schedule which means I could use them to help me travel to other destinations, which might require me getting to the airport first. PLANS. THEY ARE FORMULATING? Lord knows how much I want to travel...

Final thoughts...

I don't know when I'll next have internet access after this weekend. Maybe sporadically. Maybe not until I get to Clark. Hopefully, I'll be having a good enough time exploring that I won't need the internet anyway! Until then, fingers crossed everything goes to plan. See you on the other side...

Not my gif either!

Post-Script:

I have another blog, don't'cha know~! It's up online and has been for months, but  it's currently empty and thus I won't link to it yet. I am hoping to start a review blog and when I have time, and the right state of mind, I plan on reviewing things. YES. Updates on the blog will also be mentioned here. Planned future entries will be about the A Song of Ice and Fire series of novels, and the recent Shakespeare adaptations by the BBC: The Hollow Crown. I shall post links to these when completed on this blog. The blog will also contain thoughts on genre and occasional entries on specific subjects. It will cover literature, film and television as well as any theatre I manage to see. But for now: WATCH THIS SPACE. :D 

-G~

Last Few Days!

The nerves...

Yep. I'm definitely in the pessimistic stage of transition to another country. Yep. 

I get asked if I'm excited about going (a lot) and for good reason. I am. I am very, very excited about going to the States. I'm not an unfeeling robot. And I definitely don't want to take the experience for granted. I know lots of people going and I know lots of people whose course didn't provide a third year abroad. So, yeah, I am excited I get to study in America. With Americans. In an American university. ~IN AMERICA~ But I'm also super nervous about it. Like SUPER!NERVOUS. I'm in the OH GOD MY STOMACH stage of transition. 

I get weirdly morose about leaving. But about the oddest things. Like the fact that I didn't have time to re-watch that dvd box-set. Or that I didn't read that book I got at Christmas. Or that I can't bring some of my stuff so going abroad is gonna seem really weird without, say, my lamp. YEAH. I get morose about the fact that I can't bring my lamp. I don't even...

So what's the point of this post? I don't know. I suppose I want to highlight for future travellers or my fellow ones in the same boat, that going abroad isn't always EASY-EASY. Aside from the stresses of obtaining tickets and visas and contacting universities and the homesick feelings that hit nearly everyone at some point, you can also get weirdly down about stuff you're really looking forward to and are actually really chuffed about. It's an odd state of mind. And I can't offer much reassurance at this point to others who feel similarly. So in apology here's a cute picture of a seagull that I took. 

LOOK AT THE CUTENESS.

Partly, this blog is to chronicle what stuff I experience in the US. But it's also a travel blog and for me travelling, even travelling I've always wanted to do, is met with some SAD-FACE. This isn't a feel-sorry-post. OH NO. This is a I'M TOTALLY EXCITED...but y'know... sort-of-post. And I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in this. Likewise, I try not to dwell on the missing ACTUAL PEOPLE thing. A lot of my friends at university are from outside the department I'm in and so when I return to my current uni next year they'll have graduated. But hopefully this year will have made me realise that the UK is stupidly small anyway, and I really ought to travel more at home too. So friends, I shall find you. Liam Neeson-style. /only less threatening. And more armed with tasty food and maps.

-G~

Less Than a Week!

*not my gif!

Pretty much sums it up...
-G~

Happy Yorkshire Day!

A not-quite-so-sunny August 1st...

         Filey on a much, much sunnier day (picture taken by yours truly)

Yorkshire Day is celebrated every August 1st, with some places hosting venues to celebrate the day. Today, I am sat in the house, with the Olympics chattering away in the background, so an adventurous post this ain't.   But as a proud Northerner, I am indeed celebrating the day...if only in spirit. (For more information on the day, click here.) 

Unfortunately the weather isn't quite as pretty or as hot as it was a week or so ago when I took the above photo in Filey. I'm no photographer but it was hard to take a bad photo when the weather was that good. And when the weather is good, the countryside and coast here positively sings. So much so I just wrote positively. And sings. Oh yeah. 

Counting down...

But the first day of August for me means something a little different this year. Mostly...I LEAVE IN 12 DAYS. D: Yeah. I still need a few things beforehand though. Like a rucksack to safely carry my laptop around in - and hopefully carry a few other things besides! As I once stated on this blog, just a few posts down, I have arms like empty socks. Utterly useless. Toothpick in stature, really. So a rucksack might just save my poor weedy arms from lugging heavy hand-held bags. MAYBE. We've yet to find one which isn't crazy money. Likewise, a new suitcase in order. We're hoping for an easy-to-push four-wheeler, hard-cased. Again, these little features make suitcases so much more pricey but HOPEFULLY we'll find something. It's not too late in the day. As for packing...some clothes we'll be buying out there and the book situation has already been examined in this blog. I also bought a passport cover...and a new diary to keep track of my future classes - um, not much but it's something, right? So it's more of a waiting game now. I just need to get some final things sorted which I'm waiting for emails about but other than that... I'm counting the days! A friend of mine has already landed in Florida...so it all seems very realistic now.

But it sounds as if the US of A has all the good weather at the moment. As I glance out of the window at the grey and overcast sky...I can't help but feel a little relieved that I might get to see some summery weather at least... /can already feel the cloying humidity now...oh how I've missed it...

-G~