Sunday, October 13, 2019

Studying Abroad in London: Clubs & New Cities


Hello all! I know this post is coming a bit later than usual but, in my defense, I've had a busy week so far. Things are starting to slow down more into a routine and I'm having a really good time. In fact, it seems like each week just gets better than the last. I honestly never want to leave. Anyway, it was another jam packed week so let's just dive straight into it!



Monday
September 30, 2019

I woke up a bit earlier than usual to make pancakes. I was really craving them and decided to make them for the whole flat one morning. It was really fun to just all sit around eating pancakes in our PJs before splitting off for the day.

I had my next lecture in my Business of Writing class and spent some of it contemplating coming back to Roehampton after graduating from Lake Forest to do a Masters degree. They have an entire Masters program dedicated specifically to Publishing, and since I'd love to live in London post-graduation, it would be awesome to get into that one.

I ended up getting dinner with a couple of friends to catch up before heading back to my flat. We played various card games, including Uno (friendships were destroyed). It was a really fun time, if I'm being honest. I ended up going to bed at a reasonable time, too. 



Tuesday
October 1, 2019

I got up pretty early this day, which I kind of regretted later when I was tired, so that I could get working on my super long to-do list. I didn't actually get much of the list done, but I did feel accomplished anyway.

After doing some stuff for a bit I went to lunch with a friend and had a pretty good avocado wrap with some excellent book-themed conversation. Then I headed to the store with a couple friends--Henning and Isaac--and spent too much money.

The big event of the day was when I went to see The Lion King with one of my other friends, Sophie. We left a bit early so we could explore the area around the theatre before the show. I accidentally got us lost at first and it did start pouring rain but eventually we got to the theatre and had some good food for dinner.

The show itself was absolutely amazing--I definitely may have cried simply because of how beautiful it was. The dancing was fabulous and I loved the songs. Plus, just how well done it was got me right in the feels. Afterwards, we had some great conversation on the way back to campus (luckily we didn't get lost this time).

I ended up staying up late talking in the kitchen with two other flatmates--Isaac and Liberty--until about 3 am. It was honestly just so chill and fun and we had some really good conversations. Afterwards I realized I had homework to do for my 10am lecture. I ended up staying up until past 4:30 to Facetime friends back home while I did my homework. 



Wednesday
October 2, 2019

My lecture was okay. There was a lot of just hearing about pictures that people had taken, which was interesting except that I was so tired from staying up late to finish the homework. I had lunch and then knocked out for a good two hours.

I then just hung around the kitchen with various flatmates until it was time to start pre-gaming for that night's outing. We initially missed the bus and I almost peed myself because we had to wait for the next one (it was apparently really fun We went to Infernos in Clapham and it was so fun. The venue was really cool and the music was actually pretty great. I had my first ever Tequila shot...can't say it was that great but it did the job. We were only there for an hour and a half to dance or so but I definitely would want to go back.

We ended up getting an Uber back and regrouping in the kitchen where we all ordered pizza and food. It was pretty good for 3 am pizza and then we just stayed up talking and messing around until 6 am. It was so late by the time I got to my room that the sun was starting to come up and I was able to watch the sunrise while Snapchatting. 



Thursday
October 3, 2019

I slept in, of course, and just had a chill day on Thursday. I rejoined my flatmates in the kitchen and we had more pizza for lunch and then Camembert for dinner. I'm pretty much just 75% cheese at this point.

After just chilling all day I went and watched The Office with Isaac, amongst other things. It was fun. Then I went to bed at a reasonable time so that I wasn't going to be dead tired for my Friday lecture. 



Friday
October 4, 2019

It didn't really matter that I went to bed at a reasonable time because the fire alarm woke me up over an hour before my alarm did. A bit before 7:30 it started going off and woke me from a dead sleep and I had to find clothes and shoes to wear outside where I still wasn't warm enough.

After that, I did some last-minute homework I'd forgotten about and made breakfast before the lecture. The lecture itself seemed to drag on forever but it finally ended and I was able to go get lunch with Isaac. While we were eating, there was a brief panic mode as I struggled to buy coach tickets for the weekend but it all got figured out eventually.

Carla and I left campus around 3 and took a 6.5 hour coach ride from London to Liverpool. It was quite long but I slept for most of it. We got into Liverpool pretty late and then ended up going to the wrong address for our AirBnB. We had to get an Uber to where we were actually supposed to be and it was almost midnight by the time we got there. However, it was a nice AirBnB with a comfy and warm bed, so no complaints here. 



Saturday
October 5, 2019

We woke up early so that we could catch the public transport into Liverpool. It was nice because we were able to pay to leave our luggage at one of the stations so that we wouldn't have to carry them around when we were messing around in the city.

After that, we went to have breakfast at this cafe near the waterfront. It was a super cute place and the food was yummy. Then we went to the Beatles statue and took some pictures before jaunting over to the Beatles Museum. I've never really known anything about the Beatles so it was actually really interesting getting to go through the exhibition. 

Then we picked up our bags, got lunch at a common food chain, and hopped on the coach to Manchester. It was a nice little nap on the short drive and then we were in the next city. We started off by going to John Rylands library and my nerdy heart was so happy. It was a beautiful library.

Then we got dinner at a pub in town before walking a bit to get gelato at this dessert place. It was so freaking yummy and definitely worth the walk. Then we walked about half an hour or so to let our food settle before hopping a bus to our AirBnB. It was a place kind of out of the way and it was a bit sketch but in the end it was a warm and secure place to spend the night. I will say, it would have been nice to have warm running water and a comfier bed, but alls well that ends well.

We stayed up late talking and I have to say that those late night conversations with people are moments I absolutely love. We definitely regretted the lack of sleep in the morning, but it was still just a super fun time.



Sunday
October 6, 2019

We woke up at 6 am to get ready and catch our bus into Manchester. It was quite a ways from the AirBnB to where we were going but it gave us some time to warm up and just figure out the details of our day.

We were dropped off near the Old Trafford stadium where Manchester United plays and walked a little ways to get breakfast at a cafe nearby. The food was yummy and I had a huge hot chocolate that almost put me to sleep. But it helped keep me warm on the walk through the rain back to the stadium.

We explored the museum section for a little bit before being taken on a behind the scenes tour which was pretty interesting. I've never actually been in a sports stadium like that before so it was quite cool for me to see.

Afterwards, we hopped a bus back into Manchester so that we could then catch our coach back to London. Once again, I spent most of it sleeping and listening to music before I couldn't sleep any longer and played dumb games on my phone. We then had to catch the Tube back to campus during a busy time but we finally made it.

I was able to eat some dinner with my flatmates before hanging out with Isaac and watching movies before bed.



Overall it was a really fun and busy week. I'd definitely say I'm settling more into London and having a blast with it all. I can't wait to see what the rest of the semester holds! Also, any pictures from this past week are going to be available on Facebook due to technical difficulties. 



Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren



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