WEEK 1: CAMBRIDGE

26 JUN, SUNDAY:
After dinner, I was really tired so I decided to just go to sleep.  In the morning Kate and Sam traveled together to Cambridge by train on Platform 9B (almost 9 3/4!) from King's Cross.  It was beautiful but just very very humid and warm.  When we got there we met a few of the Program Assistants who were really cool.  Most of these 'PAs' are there to help everyone on the social aspect of being in Cambridge.  They know where the best pubs and clubs are, and they are there to keep us safe and accounted for.

My room is great!  Sam is across the lawn in building AA and Kate is next door in building R.  My room is in Q on the second floor.  I have a fantastic view of the lawns and it's great that I can see all of my friends who walk by to and from class.

My dorm room!  This is the grass that we are allowed to walk on :)

On Sunday Kate, Sam and I walked around the small Pembroke campus to take some pictures and have some fun.  We freshened up and changed and did a bunch of different photo shoots.  Thanks to Sam, I have a great picture with the library :)  It was great to get to know Kate and Sam a lot more before the dinner.

The Library!  I actually can't wait to study here with the Fellows :)

Myself, Sam and Kate.  Wandering around Pembroke College.

The dinner was very... interesting.  There is this guy that is charge of organizing them who looks like a skinny version of Robert Downey, Jr.  He is has this slight look that puts fear into you and you ALWAYS listen to his directions.  The food was really cold and Italian.  I normally like my pizza, tomato soup and pasta warm so it was very interesting to eat.  I also had sparkling water for the first time - I decided I didn't like it.  Otherwise it was a great dinner to meet new people and I talked a lot to Ruth, a really cool PA who gave a lot of advice where to shop.

A few the PAs invited us to go to the Anchor because the Junior Parlour was closed (the on campus pub).  Around 15 of us went and it was a lot of fun.  The punting place is next door so a lot of us got excited to try that after we get back from our 5 day trip to Scotland.

When I ordered a pint, I thought I ordered Stella.  Instead it was Fosters, but that was okay.  It was pretty good and a bunch of us were talking and telling random facts about each other to get acquainted.  It was a lot of people's first time out of California and there were also a lot who had been traveling before.

Kate and I also decided to try some cider and asked the bartender what they thought was the best one.  She said the 'premium' cider was Rekordalig (I don't know if I spelled that right).  It was seriously the most delicious cider I ever had.  It's seasonal, with a strawberry and lime flavouring, so it was just fantastic.  It's just a shame that it's on the more expensive side so I won't be able to get it all the time when I go out.

Probably the most amazing cider ever on the planet.

27 JUN, MONDAY:
On Monday was Orientation where we met some really important people.  I was lucky enough to not have class that day, so I mainly relaxed and unpacked.  It was also really hot and humid - about 90% humidity at 85 F.  The Porter (basically security) gave a fire & safety tour which was much more enjoyable than I though.  He was hilarious and made me feel like he will really watch out for all of us.

There was also the Formal Hall dinner, which was going to be the last one inside the 'Harry Potter' esque hall.  It really needed repair work since it's so old (the College is about 400 years older than the US!) and it's really a shame we don't get a chance to do it every week.  My friends and I took the most of it though, and our Program Director, Dr. Nick Godfrey actually sat with us.  It was really nice to know that he is a funny and normal individual.  He's also young and it's his first year running the program.  He told us many stories and he even studied abroad at the University of Redlands!

The food was amazing at the dinner.  The roast beef was some of the best I ever had and it's making me hungry again just thinking about it.  I also ate the dessert in about 2 seconds.  I really like that they have served coffee after every dinner meal because it helps me get out of my food coma so I can enjoy as much time here as possible.

The Fellows, who are special faculty who are some of the most elite at Pembroke ate at the 'High Table'.  It was really interesting to see how different the ages some of them were.  A couple looked just to be about 25 while the oldest must have been at least 70.

The dinner was just a fantastic experience and I'm so glad that I had the chance to eat at least one Formal Hall dinner there.  From now on they will be in a marquee right next to it.

Dr. Nick Godfrey (Program Director), Danny, Kate and me at Formal Hall dinner.

New friends! From left to right: Sam, Robby, Kate, me, Danny, Sam2 and Sam.

28 JUN, TUESDAY:
After dinner, I felt really tired so I just went to my room early instead of going out. The next morning, I went to morning prayer at the College Chapel. It's a beautiful small chapel and about 4 students went. Even though I'm not terribly religious, it was a nice place to be after finding about Kristen passing away so suddenly. I also had class at 9:00 and at 11:50. Both of my classes were GREAT and I am so happy that I am in them. I am in Spooks and Spies (History of British Secret Intelligence) and Morality in Britain. Both are going to really complement my experience here in Cambridge. Most of the time my classes will be 1 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon. Hopefully I will have enough time to do exploring in between those classes.

Today Kate, Sam and I went to the 'Official' Cambridge store. I got a really cool crewneck Pembroke sweatshirt and I checked out cufflinks for my friend Issei. It was raining, so Kate and I also went to get some clothes (I got boots and a sweater).

It's beein raining all day today, a huge contrast to the past few days. And when I say raining, I mean the thunder is so loud that even the locals scream from fright. It feels nice to be in my dorm. :)

Tomorrow morning I am leaving for 5 days to Scotland, which I'm a little nervous about. The bus ride is really long and I just don't like traveling for very long... lol. My next post will be all about SCOTLAND!!

Pembroke love,

Erika

LONDON: DAY 3

26 JUN, SUNDAY:
My final day in London was literally all over the place.  I knew I had to leave for Cambridge with Kate (we were meeting up at King's Cross Station), but that wouldn't be until around 2:00 PM.  What I really wanted to do more than anything was the British Museum since it's free and I am a huge Ancient Egyptian/Greek/Roman history nerd (thanks to my 6th grade history teacher).  I was incredibly disappointed to find in my London guide book that it is closed on Sundays (my luck of course).  I wanted to do something (since I had to check out at 10:00 AM) so I went to the Camden Markets thinking it would be fun.

It was a lot more touristy than I thought and I mainly did window shopping.  I did get 2 small presents for Hayley and Richard (you two will see what they are soon hehe) that were cheap and I couldn't help but get it for them.  I did a long walk from the Camden Underground Station to Morning Crescent Station.  I was pleasantly surprised on how old the station was (many other ones that I used were modernized to the nth degree).  It reminded me a lot of what it must have been like in the 1920s to the 1940s, and I love that time period. :) I took a lot more pictures than necessary, but I couldn't help it!

Morning Crescent Station was in a beautiful area.

The low ceilings and tube shape were very very cool!

I took the Tube to King's Cross again back to Clink 261 to maybe rest for an hour before meeting with Kate and friends at the train station (It was around 12:45).  I decided to just ask the receptionist at the hostel if the British Museum was open because I thought that MAYBE my handy guidebook could have been wrong.  Turns out, it was!  Even though I was already really tired from walking so much in Camden Markets, and I decided that I really did have to see the British Museum.

The first thing I did when I got in the area was visit Russel Square.  My parents stayed there about 10 years ago on their first trip to Europe ever.  They told me stories of getting lost and turned around before surrounding and buying a map and compass (My parents... the surveyors... getting lost! It's laughable. ;]).  Now I could see why because I was just starting to get a bit turned around.  Luckily I found the beautiful park.  It was incredibly humid (about 80%) and 85 F that day and I was just so uncomfortably hot.  A lot of girls were laying out in the sun lazily and many kids were playing in garden.  I took a picture of the map in case my parents will get lost the next time they go to Russell Square ;)

Russell Square's map.

Afterward it was just a quick walk to the British Museum.  I only had about 45 minutes to be in it before leaving for King's Cross so I decided to just do a 'crash' course and go everywhere I could as quickly as possible.  I was able to see all of the Egyptian, Greek and Roman artifacts, though not with as much detailed as I liked, so I can't wait to go back!  Also a really nice French couple took my picture for me in front of the museum :)

The British Museum!  It was so hot I could not imagine the people in the back wearing pants and jackets!

Even though I was so exhausted, tired, hot and sweaty, I pushed myself to get my luggage out of the storage (in the way back and the bottom of about ten 50 pound suitcases!) and make it in time to meet at King's Cross Station.  I met up with Sam and about an hour later (her flight got delayed) Kate joined us and we were off to Cambridge!  The people on the train were so incredibly polite and nice.  They helped all of us with heavy luggage and putting it away for the 45 minute train ride.  It was great. :)

For the next 5 weeks my posts will be all about my times at Pembroke College and the adventures I go on with my friends!  I am so excited to finally be in school here. :)

LONDON: DAY 2

25 JUN, SATURDAY:
After an early morning breakfast (and check out) I wandered around getting ready to do my own version of the Harry Potter walking tour from a free online booklet.  I took the Tube all the way to Temple and waited to hang out with Zoey, who's in my program.  I realized while waiting that the "Harry Potter" tour was a bust and it was actually mainly just really random sites and only 5 out of 30 were legitimate Harry Potter sites.  So instead Zoey and I wandered around London together and went to a few pretty cool places.  Somerset House in Westminister, Trafalgar Square and an M&M store near Leicester Square.

Somerset House in Westminster! It was so cold and windy.

Zoey was a complete trooper with me even after flying in on Saturday as well.  She let me take on a journey for me to find cheap (ish) Wicked tickets for that night because I desparately wanted to see the musical!  I was a bit nervous to go buy myself because the Apollo Victoria Theatre was about 6 stops away and I wasn't familiar with the area (Victoria) like I was around King's Cross.  I decided to just go for it - because how often would I be able to do what I want in London, and how often would I actually be traveling in Europe by myself?  Going to Europe in the first place is all about getting out of your comfort zone (but still safe).  Since I had Brittany on hand (she was up in northern England with her sister and mother for the day and her train was getting into the Victoria station about the same time Wicked would end), I felt the need to be adventurous.

It was really exhilarating to get to Victoria and go find the theatre on my own.  I ran into a lot of friendly Brits who were nice enough to take my picture since I wanted some with me in them (what can I say, I'm a picture happy person!)

I didn't even get lost to the Apollo Victoria Theatre! :)

I had never seen Wicked before, but I thought - Hey, I'm in London.  What a better place to see a new musical as amazing as this one?  It was actually completely different than what I expected (I've seen the Alpha Phi - FIJI 2008 Songfest version on YouTube that got 3rd Overall) and I got goosebumps and emotional throughout the whole thing.  My seats were a bit far, but I had a great view and I though the theater was much better than Pantages in Los Angeles (though I love going there with my family :]).  The actress who was Glinda wasn't the headline girl - the standby Chloe Taylor was but she was fanatastic so I didn't mind.

As I was walking (the wrong way I found out about 5 minutes after this story) I saw about 6 people waiting in line by the stage door.  Brittany hadn't gotten in yet (we were going to meet up for a quick good bye) so I decided to join the line.  I met to girls from another part of England (I can't remember where) and we helped each other get pictures and signatures from the cast!  The cast was really really great and were really friendly to me and happy to talk to me (they said they love when they get people outside of England in the crowd - the group behind me was from France).  I got some great pictures of the main actors.

Fiyero (Mark Davis)

Elphaba (Rachel Tucker)

Glinda (Chloe Taylor)

Wizard of Oz (Clive Carter)

Eventually I met up with Brittany and we ended up going to McDonald's for some good old chicken nuggets. :)  I had such a big day walking everywhere that it felt really nice to get back 'home' at the hostel!

--

Today I found out that my dear Alpha Phi sister Kristen Stit had passed away from cancer earlier in the morning.  She was an amazingly strong and positive woman and incredibly inspiring.  You will be missed and I will always think of you!

LONDON: DAY 1

24 JUN, FRIDAY:
So I finally made it to Europe!  I am so happy and excited that I'm here.  I was a bit nervous getting on time for my flight (there was an hour plus wait to check in) but I made it in good time.  The flight was... not the nicest.  I was in the very middle seat in the middle row for 10.5 hours, but I tried to sleep as much as I could.  I got a pretty good breakfast (egg and cheese with an English muffin) so that kind of made up for it.

As soon as I landed I had to go on the Underground to get to my hostel (Clink 261). I bought an Oystercard (it cost £4) but it has definitely been worth it.  A single way cost £4 but with the pass it was £1.90.  I used it A LOT and I will be going into London at least two more times where it will be useful.  Taking the Underground (the Tube) from Heathrow to King's Cross/St. Pancras was about 22 stops... which is about an hour.  It wasn't that bad though because I went on it when it wasn't that busy and I was able to see a lot of the residential areas just outside of London before it went underground.  I was also checking and rechecking my map that I had to get to my hostel.  As most people know, I can have a terrible sense of direction so I was nervous about getting lost.  When I got off the Tube I was able to get a grip on myself and find the street with my hostel (Clink 261).

The hostel I stayed at!  A 5 minute walk from King's Cross Station.

The hostel was really cool and I felt very safe there.  My one problem was the fact that I actually had to check out of my room on Saturday and recheck into another room.  It wasn't that much of an inconvenience, but definitely more of an annoyance.  I didn't feel like I could just relax for a bit, especially since I was doing a ton of walking and still hadn't fully rested from my flight.  Otherwise, the breakfast was simple but good (toast, cereal, NUTELLA) and the sheets were clean and it did it's job.  It was also really cool because it was across the street from a Ear, Nose and Throat hospital (at least that's what we call it in the US).  I thought of my brother and family all the time looking out on that. :)

The Ear, Nose & Throat Hospital right across the street!

I was able to meet up with Brittany, a friend from elementary school and high school that goes to a fashion university in London.  We had dinner at a great burger place in Covent Gardens and it wasn't too badly priced.  Then went to Earl's Court in Chelsea which is where she lives.  The area was so cute and charming and her flat is so big!  I loved it.  It was actually raining at night, but we decided to go to a couple of pubs and had a few drinks.  It was really really fun and I wished that I could have spent more time in London with her!

Brittany with me at the Troubadour Pub in Chelsea!

 It was an excellent first day in London!

PACKING... AND MY BROTHER

So not only do my parents get to send me off to Europe for  nearly 2 months, they are also sending my brother on a 30 day trip.  He is going with 19 other newly high school graduates with a teacher named Mr. Padilla.  He brings students to Europe for about 26 years now and takes them all over.  He had to do all of his packing today (he leaves the 22nd - I leave the 23rd) and it was funny to watch him pack with the cool air compressing bags.  Usually I just pack the night before or even day of and hope that I remember everything.  Since this will be the first time that I will be on my own, I feel like I should probably be a bit of a better packer.

I leave THIS WEEK and it's only 4 measly days away!  I'm getting more anxious since I've been in Los Angeles.  I officially left Orange County which makes me sad.  This will be the longest I have been away from the beautiful county since I moved down there for my first year at UCI.  Europe, I hope you're ready!

4 days!
Erika

PS. Kudos to my brother and the other new LCHS Alumni!

PREPARING FOR EUROPE.

Sarah just forwarded me the itinerary we have for when we travel together for 11 days.  Let me tell you - it looks freaking amazing.  We are going to hit Munich (Germany), Salzburg (Austria), Vienna (Austria), Prague (Czech Republic), Berlin (Germany), Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Paris (France)!  It's on average about two nights per city which is going to be perfect for us.  I want to see as much as possible while I can - I know that I will have a chance to go back to Europe and travel more extensively at certain places.

It's now less than 3 weeks away from happening, which is just crazy.  I only have finals and two more weekends here in the US before I leave (by myself) on a non-stop flight to London!  I'm excited yet scared at the same time to be traveling alone for that first night.  Hopefully I meet up with my friend Brittany or people who are going to be there ahead of time.  Then it's off to King's Cross Station* to get on the right platform and off to school! ;)

18 days and counting (!!),
Erika