Reflection

Well I sit here in my pretty much empty room ready to leave England to go back home to the United States in about 12 hours or so.. I can't say enough what this experience has done for me as a person and all the wonderful memories that I will always cherish. I got to travel Europe with my two new American friends, Cory and Grant. We saw things, in three months, that some people don't even get to see in a lifetime. Our trips were usually filled with countless hours of laughter, most of it probably not even that funny to anyone else but ourselves. We all live near each other in the United States and we talk about hanging out a lot this summer! I wish Cory the greatest of luck at Oxford, where he will be studying philosophy with the best of the best. I know he will love every minute of it. I wish Grant the best of luck in lacrosse this spring at Messiah. They play at Elizabethtown this year and although I won't be rooting for Messiah as a team, I will be rooting Grant on individually!! Next, I have to truly thank our directors, Denise and Sandy. Without their help, I would of been lost in Cheltenham and not being able to find where any of my classes are!! They were our surrogate Mothers for 3 months and I seriously can't thank them enough!! Last but not least, my English flat mates and friends. I will never, ever forget the times we had together and the kindness you showed me from the first day we had together. You guys (Jack, Ryan, Sonny, Alex, Sam, Hannah, Lizzie, Emily, Jess, Jono, Lloyd, Greg, Stu, Shim, and anyone else I forgot!) made my experience here the best time of my entire life and that is something I will forever be grateful for. It's amazing how people can come together no matter where they come from. I know that I will be back to visit everyone as England as shown me that it truly has a lot to offer as a country. Also, I can't thank my Mom and Dad enough for letting me leave the nest for 3 months and do something that I have always wanted to do. I know I haven't been home that often in the past year but I can't wait to enjoy the holidays with everyone. In the meantime, thanks to everyone who followed me throughout my trip and although this was my first blog, I had a blast writing entires.

So I fibbed....Just a little bit

I know my last post says that the Aston Villa match was my last football game...Well, I totally forgot that I had one more game to go to!!! My English friend Jack is a diehard Exeter City F.C. fan. They are in League 1, which is two leagues below the Premiership (soo it goes Premiership, Championship, League 1, League 2, Blue Square Premiership, etc..) Now, Exeter is a success story in lower league football. Two years ago, they were in the Blue Square Premiership, one of the lowest divisions of English professional football. In two seasons, they got promoted to league 2, then up again to league 1. Exeter were playing playing in Bristol against Bristol Rovers last night and Jack was able to secure me, Sonny, and him three tickets in the away section. Bristol Rovers stadium seats about 12,000 and the atmosphere was awesome!!! (even though it was freezing and raining at some points) There were no seats in the away section, so we stood the whole game. Bristol ended up winning 1-0 but Exeter played a hell of a game, totally dominating the 2nd half and stat sheet. I can't thank Jack enough for getting tickets and Sonny for driving!!

P.S. The video here will hopefully give you a little glimpse of the passion of the fans.

The last football game....

Once again thanks to some awesome friends I have, I was able to go to another Premiership football match!!! My English friend Jack was able to get tickets to an Aston Villa game through his friend that is a season ticket holder. Our seats were in the North End, just above one of the goals. Villa happened to be playing Tottenham on the occasion, with both teams in the top 5 of the table just behind Chelsea, Manchester United, and Arsenal. Villa started the scoring in the 9th minute, with Gabby Agbonlahor slotting in a scramble in front of the net. After that, Villa wasn't able to create many more chances and Tottenham began to press. In the 77th minute, the ball came to skipper Michael Dawson of Tottenham and he chested it down and blasted it into the upper right 90 of the goal just outside the goal box!! The game ended up a 1-1 draw, which keeps Tottenham in 4th place with Villa one point behind in 5th. Unfortuantely, this game meant that it would be my last football game while I am still in England :( I can't even describe to everyone how much fun these games were!! Yesterday's game in Birmingham was probably the coldest sporting event I have ever sat through (I think I have played in colder but you are moving around) and it didn't matter to me at all. The passion the fans have for their teams in England is unlike anything you will ever experience in the United States. Sure, everyone for the most part follows their NFL team with reckless abandon but what NFL team has at least 5 chants that all the fans know by heart?? These games I went to are something I will never forget for the rest of my life and I hope to make it back someday, hopefully with some of my American friends who have never experienced English football. In other news, my time in England is dwindling very fast as I only have 13 more days left before I leave!!! The trip to Aston Villa was my last one out of Cheltenham and I plan to cherish these last two weeks with all the new friends I have made. Keep reading the blog as I plan to update twice before I leave for home with some reflection of my time here in Cheltenham Spa and all the experiences I enjoyed!!!!

Visiting my Sister in Athens, Greece

A couple days ago I returned from another one of my amazing weekend trips!!! This time, I was in Athens, Greece to visit my sister who is studying with at the City University of Athens for the semester. My trip didn't start out very well at all!!! Cory, Grant, and I left Cheltenham Spa at 2:30 a.m. on Thursday morning and arrived at London Gatwick airport at 6 a.m. One problem. About an hour into my bus ride, I realized I had left my passport in my dorm room in Cheltenham. Don't ever do this because you can't fly anywhere without it haha. Sooo, I got a bus from Gatwick at 6:20 a.m. that stopped at London Heathrow first and eventually back to Cheltenham. I arrived in Cheltenham around 11:15 a.m. and quickly found another flight from London Heathrow that was leaving at 4:40 p.m. I boarded a bus at 12:30 p.m. in Cheltenham and got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. None the less, I landed in Athens about 10:10 p.m. Athens time (it's 2 hours ahead of England). My sister was waiting for me at the airport and it was very relieving (and awesome to see her of course!!). I went straight to bed at the guys apartment (where I was staying). On Friday, my travelmates and I were lucky enough to be invited to go on a day trip with the rest of the BCA Athens group. Our first stop was the Epidarus theatre, which is the middle picture. It has amazing acoustics, as you can hear any sound all the way from the top. What's even more impressive is the fact that it was built in the 4th century B.C. and is in very good shape. To get to this theatre, you pass by the Corinth canal (the third picture of Rich and I is at the canal). The Corinth canal connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. My sister plans on bungee jumping it sometime in the near future!!!(with my mother freaking out from this news haha). After the theatre, we made our way to the citadel of Mycenae. Mycenae was a military stronghold that dominated southern Greece in the 2nd millenium B.C. The whole site has been excavated and it had an awesome view of the rest of the countryside. The next day, my sister was nice enough to take us to the Acropolis, even though she was already been before. We climbed Mars Hill (right next to the Acropolis), where the apostle Paul delivered his famous speech (and also where we posed for many Boy Band pictures). After that, we headed up to the Acropolis, where we saw the Parthenon. It's amazing to think how far in history the Parthenon goes back and that you are actually staring at in person. We then preceded to go downtown to the shopping area, where Sarah and I accidently bumped into two Elizabethtown professors!!! It's such a small world, as they recognized Sarah's Etown shirt. They were in Athens for a conference. I also ate a Gyro, which was absolutly delicious and got to see Laura Lesnick(Our friend from high school who came to visit), who I haven't seen in forever!!! I have to thank my sister especially for taking care of Grant, Cory, and I and also all the other BCA Athens students for being so nice and showing us around without any complaining. Grant, Cory, and I can't stop talking about how much fun we had and all the new friends that we made. The Athens trip was my last out of country trip for the semester and it couldn't of ended on a better note. I will always cherish the chances I had to travel in Europe and it has opened my eyes to the world. Continue to follow my blog, as I am going to another football game this Saturday and I will be providing some reflection posts in the last couple of weeks. Wherever you are, stay classy and live life to the fullest!!!

Roma, Italia

My trip to Rome this past weekend was unbelievable. I mean to see on TV programs where the Pope stands for mass, the Colosseum, and the Vatican are one thing but too see it in person, it leaves you speechless. Cory, Grant, and I arrived in Rome at about 10:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. We waited at the airport for a long time for a Terravision bus, as it's the only way to get from Rome Ciampiano to the city center. The bus finally arrived after about an hour and a half and we were on our way. Intially, our first impressions of Rome were skewed. On our way in, building after building was covered with grafitti. I mean I have been to some of the East Coast's roughest cities but Rome's grafitti was like none other. However, as we got closer to the historical areas, the city was beautiful. Our first views of old Rome were the old aqueduct systems that still stand throughout the city, although not connected anymore. After about 40 minutes, we arrived at Termini station, the main transportation hub of Rome. Our hostel was only about a 2 minute walk down the road and it was easy to find. For once, we stayed in a hostel that was clean for the most part!!!! Our first thought was to get some food, as we were starving and you have to pay for food on RyanAir flights!! A wonderful Italian restaurant was 2 stores down and we sat down for a wonderful meal. We all got a Margherita pizza, which is basically just cheese with tomato sauce. We learned that in Rome they actually don't work all the dough of the pizza with their hands (a misconception that all of Italy makes pizza the same way!). In Rome, they use a roller like they would in the United States and other cities such as Naples they work the dough with just their hands. After eating, all of us had to take a nap because we had not slept the night before at all. After napping, we wandered down to the Colosseum to see what it was like at night and it was absolutly amazing. We couldn't wait to come back in the morning. The next day, we went to the Colosseum and walked around for a long time. It was nice because we got a Roma pass, which allowed us to get into two monuments for free and unlimited travel on Rome's transportation system for three days. The Roma Pass allowed us to skip the 45 minute wait to get into the Colosseum. During the day, we were also able to see the Trevi Fountain, and the Spainish Steps. We also visited the Pantheon, not to be confused with the Parthenon of Greece. Outside the Pantheon, we wandered into Miscellanea Pub to grab some coffee. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by the owner Michelangelo. He shook all of our hands and put his arm around me like he had known me his whole life!! Anyway, we sat down and talked with us for like 30-40 minutes about him time in American and about Greece in general. He ended up giving us a free piece of cake each. Also, we got pictures from behind the bar with him and he gave us some free shots of Southern Comfort too!! He even ended up knocking off like 2 euros of our bill as well. The hospitatility of Michelangelo is something I will never forget and since it's an international students' pub, we plan on sending him some Messiah and Elizabethtown gear. On Sunday, we spent all day in Vatican City. We were able to go to the top of St. Peters Basilica (which was 550+ stairs) and see all of Rome. It was neat to see where the Pope stands for Sunday mass and we were also fortuante enough to go to the Vatican Museum as well. In the museum, we were able to see the Sistine chapel (Michelangelo's famous paintings) as well as many other famous stuff. The three of us agree that this has been our favorite city by far and we cherished our time!!! Well I'm going to go, as we are leaving again in about 12 hours for Athens!!

"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them"

If you don't know where the quote from the title of this blog entry comes from, think of a famous playwright. If you guessed William Shakespeare, then you are right!! Last night, I was fortunate enough to see "Twelfth Night", one of Shakespeare's most famous plays. The best part about the play was that it was actually located in Stratford-Upon-Avon, which is where William Shakespeare was born. Some famous English actors played important roles in the play, the most famous being Richard Wilson. I apologize for not having any pictures of any of the actors/actresses in the Royal Shakespeare Company because they wern't allowed. This weekend I will be doing a four day trip in Rome so look out next week for some exciting blogging and new pictures!!

Etown Reunion

The first week of November saw Mikey Galanek and Allan "Bruce" Craven to Cheltenham, England to spend a quality little weekend. They both are studying in Barcelona for the semester and it was nice to see some of my friends from Etown for a couple of days. On Friday, we ventured to Burton-on-the-Water, a town about 30 minutes from Cheltenham. It is in the beautiful Cotswolds and a lovely area to walk around in. The stream that runs through the town is only about 6 inches deep. Due to heavy rain, we wern't able to spend much time in the town itself. On Saturday, I made my 2nd trip to London so Mike and Allan could see how awesome of a city it is!! We took a free walking tour, where we were able to see all of the Royal Attractions. (technically not free because you tip the tour guide but still much cheaper than the double decker bus tours!) This time, I was able to see the Tower of London, an attraction that I didn't have time for last trip! We also attempted to see Abbey Road, home of Abbey Records and the famous crosswalk on the Beatles albumn cover but were unsuccesful. (due to many tube lines being closed, I got us lost haha). I can't believe it is getting close to Christmas already, as the Christmas lights are already turned on all the way down Oxford Street!! With a great weekend behind me, I must rest a little bit before my 5 v 5 football match tonight. Let's get the win TAN DOGS!!!!

Manchester United, Part 2

I was fortuante enough last night to take my second trip up to Manchester to see the Red Devils play again!!! (To do my dream twice:priceless) My friend Jack was kind enough to drive me, Kristen, Cambria, and Khouri up to Manchester for the game. It was supposed to be a 2 1/2 hour drive but ended up taking about 5 hours to get there!! We got stuck in traffic 45 miles outside Manchester and then when we got into the city, we couldn't find the stadium. Eventually, we found this car park that was only 5 pounds and the guys that were attending it were so helpful and nice!! We got into the stadium with about 25 minutes left in the first half and Manchester United was already down 1-0 to CSKA Moscow (this was a Champions League game. For those of you who don't know, the Champions League is a tournament of the best club teams in Europe.) As soon as we sat down, Michael Owen scored for Manchester United and it was tied 1-1. Over the course of the game, CSKA would scored two more goals, streching their lead to 3-1. United wasn't playing too bad because CSKA's keeper was forced to make many saves. With about 10 minutes left, Paul Scholes scored off a header and then in injury time Antonio Valencia scored to tie it up 3-3. This was important because United only needed a tie to advance to the next round!!! Overall, I am soo happy that I got to see United play twice!!! I know I will be back with my best friend Benny and I'm sure the game we go to will be as just as good as the one's I went to!!

Stonehenge and Salisbury

I apologize to everyone for not blogging in a really long time.... I had two papers and an exam last week and it took up a lot of time. I didn't go anywhere either so there wasn't much to blog about anyway. Yesterday, I was lucky enough to visit Stonehenge and the city of Salisbury. Stonehenge is still a mystery, as no one really knows why it is there. However, there are plenty of theories. The archeologist who came and spoke to all of us earlier in the week said one of the most popular is that it's an ancient burial place. Remains have been removed from Stonehenge to be studied. What you see today is only a slimmer of what it used to be. Weather, vandals, and other various events have happened that have damaged the stones. Around Stonehenge, there are lots of mounds as well. Also, it is believed that there were many Stonehenges (most of them smaller) and the one we see today is the only surviving one. After Stonehenge, we went to the city of Salisbury. Grant, Cory, and I walked around all over the city. Our favorite was the Salisbury Cathedral. It was massive!! Inside the cathedral is also one of the four remaining Magna Carta documents. If you don't know what the Magna Carta is, it basically was the basis for all laws of England. The Magna Carta was used to help write the United States Declaration of Independence. I will try and blog some more later this week!!!!

"The Theatre of Dreams"

"Glory, glory, Man United,Glory, glory, Man United,Glory, glory, Man United,And the reds go marching on, on, on..." For those of you who don't know this chant, it is indeed that of Manchester United!!! Last Saturday, my friend Sandy and I made our way to Manchester without any tickets in hand because they were sold out for the match against Bolton. However, we had hopes we were going to be able to scalp some tickets and sure enough we did (not saying how much they were haha). The experience for me was once in a lifetime! (even though I am going again in November!). This has been my dream since I was introduced to English football by my best friend Benny. Since then, I have followed the league every year. Our seats were in the East End, just above one of the goals. United was able to pull out a 2-1 win, with all 3 goals coming at the end that I was sitting!! The atmosphere for the game was better than any other sporting event that I have ever been too. The fans chanted, screamed, and just plain made fun of the Bolton fans all match long. Manchester itself was an awesome city, with public transportation easy to come by and maps all over the place. After the game, Sandy and I were able to hit up a huge shopping area. Overall it was an awesome time!!!!

England til I Die, England til I Die!!

Wow... That's all I have to say about last night. I was fortuante enough to witness an England national soccer match against Belarus at Wembley Stadium with my mates, Cory and Grant. We had the time of our lives and it was an experience of a lifetime. Now picture this. England has already qualifed for the World Cup next season. They are missing two of their best players but still 75,000 crazy fans show up to support their nation. The Ravens get about 70,000 but it would never be that high if they had already qualifed or their best players wern't playing!!! England ended up winning 3-0, with 2 goals from Peter Crouch and a sweet shot by Shaun Wright-Phillips (I will post the video here). The fans were soo passionate and it was the best atmosphere I have ever been in!!! Once again I can't thank Ian Pain enough for getting us tickets as Grant, Cory, and I couldn't of had a better time!!!! Check out these videos yo!!!

Amsterdam

Before I get into my adventure about Amsterdam, I just first want to say congratulations to the Etown Men's Soccer team for entering the rankings at #24 this week. With 12 wins and 1 loss, they are having an awesome season!!!(of course it happens when I'm here!! haha) Anyway, my first trip outside of England was an eventful one. I had terrible problems with the National Express coach buses getting to and from the airport in Birmingham but were not going to dwell on the negatives!. The flight from Birmingham to Amsterdam is only about 45 minutes, which is basically the equivalent of flying from Washington D.C. to New York City. I met my three Etown amigos (Tom Kropp, Allan Craven, and Mike Galanek) at the hostel in downtown Amsterdam on Friday night. Our hostel was interesting, as we were actually staying in a room with 5 sets of bunk beds. The room itself was very small and there wasn't much room to have personal space but it wasn't too bad for 3 nights. The cool part about it was that there were people from all over the world. Our roommates consisted of 2 Germans, 2 Norwegians, and 2 Brits. Also, for one night we had two other American roommates from the BCA program in Barcelona where Mike, Allan, and Tom are studying. The nightlife of Amsterdam was very lively. While I was there, we were able to see the house that Anne Frank was in when she was caught by the Germans. We also went to the Red Light District and saw Dam Square (main square in the city). One day we caught a train to Rotterdam, which is another large city in the Netherlands. An interesting fact about the Netherlands is that it's basically under water. It's similar to New Orleans in the fact that most of the city is below sea level(there are many canals in Amsterdam, as you can see in the picture in the top left). There was no problem with the language barrier, as everyone we encountered spoke perfect English. All in all, it was fun trip and nice to see some of my friends from Etown. Stay tuned for my next post, which will be about the England national soccer teams World Cup qualifer against Belarus!!!!

When in London

Wow, I totally forgot to write this post about one of the best trips I have done yet!!! Soo, I was lucky enough to have two of my English flat mates (Emily and Jess) take me to the city because Jess lives there and Emily has been several times. This made me feel soo much more comfortable (considering I live in the middle of cow fields at home and at Etown haha). We caught the Mega Bus in Cheltenham and it was about a 3 hour ride to London. After arriving in London, we quickly got the Underground because I needed to be at Arsenals Stadium for my scheduled tour of the grounds. For me, the underground was quite an experience because I have never ridden on a train my whole life (other than Amtrax, which is less hectic). So, we got to Emirates Stadium on time and what a sight it is!!! If you don't know, Emirates Stadium is home to Arsenal, one of the premier football (soccer) clubs in England. The stadium itself seats about 62,000. I got a tour of the directors box (leather seats for people who pay rediculous money), the changing rooms, the tunnel entrance to the field, the pitch itself, and the press room. All in all it was a pleasant experience. After that, the two girls and I made our way all around London. I was able to see Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, London Eye, and St. James Park. We only had so much time so I'm hopeing to get to London again to do the Abbey Road walk that the Beatles made famous. After the day in London, I will have to say that it is probably one of my favorite cities right now!!! The next couple weeks I will be traveling a lot so I want to fill you in on where I will be going. Tomorrow I will be leaving for Amsterdam, where I plan on meeting up with Mike G, Bruce Craven, and Tom Kropp (the Etown gang who are currently studying in Barcelona). I will be staying until Monday morning where I will fly back to England. On Wednesday, I have a lifetime opportunity to see the England national soccer team play a World Cup qualifer against Belarus in Wembley Stadium. Wembley seats 90,000 and I have to give a huge thank you to Ian Pain, who was gracious to get some American's tickets to the match. Last but not least, I will be heading up to Manchester next Saturday. Now for all my friends, family, and soccer buddies, keep your fingers crossed I can get some tickets to the game. As of right now they haven't been released to the public. However, I am going up anyway and taking a chance. It's my dream to see a game in Old Trafford and I'm hopeing that I will get that chance!!! For now, stay classy wherever you are!!! Also, many thanks to Jess and Emily, it meant a lot!!!

Bath

On Saturday we did a day trip to the beautiful city of Bath. We started out the day by visiting the Sally Lunn house. This is the oldest house in the city itself (dates to about 1482). Inside the house we were treated to some tea and the world famous Sally Lunn Bun!! The bun is basically sweet bread and it was really delicious. From Sally Lunn, we went to the Roman Baths and Pump Room (the baths are behind Grant, Cory and I). The Roman Baths were very popular in the first and fifth centuries and we were given an audio device to listen how it was like to live during that time. After the Baths, we were free to wander on our own all over the town. The three of us went to the Royal Crescent, which is basically a bunch of townhouses that strech for a really long time (you can see what it looks like in my facebook pictures). Tomorrow I am going to London for the first time so I will be sure to let everyone know how it goes!! (I have a special trip planned in London as well!! See you later!!

First Week of Classes

Well, it has been awhile since I have done a blog post, so I apologize to everyone that has been anxiously awaiting!!! This past week was my first week of classes at the university and it was a different experience than back at Elizabethtown. Three of my four classes are once a week and my other one is just twice a week for an hour each time. The most assignments I have for a class is two for the whole semester. Except for my Spanish class (which is written and oral exams), all of my other classes require me to write essays. The requirements for the papers are done by word count (and not pages like most of the U.S. assignments). My only business class (European Business Environment) is really awesome because there are students from all over the world in my class. My module tutor (they are only called professors if they have been published lots of times) recognized this and put us into groups that were very diverse. It will be very interesting to see what view points the students in the class take on the European Union. Yesterday, was the Freshers Ball!! It is a formal dance for all the freshmen at the University and I had a lot of fun going with my English friends. Most of you from back home probably have not heard of Stavros Flatley. They finished in third place of Britain's got talent, behind Susan Boyle and whoever came in first. Basically, it's a father and son who do like an Irish dance and it's hilarious! The moral of the story is that they performed live at the ball and it was really funny. I will provide a link on youtube for all you guys to enjoy. I don't really have any new pictures to put up but I'm going to London next Monday and the weekend of October 9th I will be making my first trip to Amsterdam!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gHvATmUsSg

Pictures from Different Places

To the left: Beautiful St. Ives

Above: Land's End

Newquay, England

Weekend to Cornwall!!!!

I apologize for all my followers that it has been awhile since I last blogged. I have been really busy and this morning I finally have some free time to let you know how the weekend trip was. We left Cheltenham at about 8:30 a.m. in the morning and made our way to Lanhydrock house. Along the way we had to stop for 45 minutes by law so the bus driver could get some rest. Our trip in total was about 4 hours!!! (a little different than the United States) The Lanhydrock house basically the home of the Agar-Robartes family until 1969. It has been refurbished and is surrounded by beautiful gardens. You can see the picture to the left here. We wern't allowed to take pictures inside, so I apologize you can't see how awesome it was. We left from Lanhydrock and made our way to Newquay (pronounced New-kee) It is known as the surf capital of England and where lots of English people take there holidays. We stayed at the Reef Surf Lodge, which is a really nice hostel and had a surfer feel to it. Newquay was going to be our home base for the weekend. On Saturday, we made our way to Land's End, which is the southernmost tip of England. After Land's End, we went to the fishing village of St. Ives, which was my favorite part of the trip. St. Ives was a beautiful place with narrow streets, and lots of places to eat and shop. After St. Ives we made our way back to Newquay for the night. On Sunday, we left Newquay to head home but we stopped at the Eden Project. Unfortunately, my camera died, so I have no pictures of the Eden Project. Basically, the project is carved out of an old clay pit. There are two biomes, a rainforest one and a mediterranean one. (reminds me of the movie Biodome with Pauly Shore haha) Also, there are all these plants and it was a really cool place. I will provide a link to the website in case you want to check it out!!! Well, I am going to eat some breakfast and get ready for my first international class!!! Wherever you are, hope everything is going well for you!!!!

http://www.edenproject.com

P.S. I will post some pictures from every place we went in a new post!!!

Warwick Castle

Sooo, on Wednesday all of the BCA students went on a trip to Warwick Castle in Warwick, England. The castle was actually built in 1068 entirely of wood and was rebuilt in stone sometime in the Middle Ages (to see all of the pictures, check out my facebook!) It was home to many Earls of Warwick until the 1970s, when it became sort of like a monument. It's neat checking out some history of England, as the United States doesn't have any castles!!! Since my last update, I have been keeping busy with BCA orientation and getting acquainted with the city. I can pretty much find my way around Cheltenham with ease and I think I have figured out the bus timetables (hopefully haha). Today was the Freshers Fayre, where I got lots of free posters/food/deals for nightclubs and pubs. It also gives everyone the opportunity to sign up for the different societies and sports clubs. I have decided that I'm going to play soccer (the school has 5 teams) and I'm going to help coach the men's lacrosse team!! I'm really excited and the trials (tryouts) start on Monday of next week. Tomorrow, all of the BCA students are doing a weekend trip to southern England. We are going to Cornwall first, then make our way to Newquay, the surf capital of England!! We're actually staying in the surf lodge right near the beach, so it should be lots of fun. On Sunday, we are going to Lans End, which is the southernmost tip of England. I will provide an update sometime early next week. Let's go Ravens on Sunday!!!!!!

A Little Update

Sorry Guys, been really busy here in Cheltenham. Just wanted to provide a quick update before I get off to bed!!! On Saturday night, we went to a resturant called Zizzi's in downtown Cheltenham. Zizzi's was awesome because it's actually in an old church. I've never eaten a meal/dinner in an old church before but it was really cool. The oven is actually where the altar used to be!!! (the picture is up top!!) All of my suite mates moved in today with there parents and it reminded me of freshmen move-in day at the states! There are 2 more guys and 3 girls. Everyone is soo nice here, it's awesome!!! The crazy thing is that the University has 4 campuses and everyone only studies at one campus. However, I am going to be at 2 or 3 of the campuses and each campus is at least a 10 minute walk! (Not like Etown at all haha) Also, I have a class at the Oxstalls campus, which is in Glouchester. I found out today that it is a 40 minute bus ride and I have class there two days a week :( Good news is that's where the gym is so I can just spend all day at Oxstalls and get lots of things done!!! This upcoming week we will be going over more orientation stuff and going to the Warwick Castle on Wednesday. Hopefully, I will get another post in before that!! In the meantime, I hope everyone back home is doing well. I am having the best time of my life and I'm so happy that everyone encouraged me to come over here to England!!!

P.S. I am happy that the Ravens won. Joe Flacco is the man!!!

Arrival in Cheltenham!!!

I have arrived safe and sound in Cheltenham, England!! It's currently about 5 p.m. in Cheltenham and it's sunny outside!!! The tempearture got up to the mid 60's today and I also heard that it will sunny out here for the next 5 days or soo!! Soo, my trip started out not in the best fashion, as we went to Dulles Airport instead of Regan National (completely my fault!). The good news is that they are only 20 minutes away so I got onto my flight in Regan with plenty of time to spare!! I then flew to JFK, where the BCA group flight was out of. We then had a red-eye to London, so we landed at 9:30 a.m. London time. Right now I have extreme jet-lag and I only got one hour of sleep last night but it will all be worth it in the end!!! I don't have any pictures just yet but in the near future I will hopefully take some. Cheltenham is an awesome place!! The drive from London to Cheltenham actually reminded me of home because it was all fields and pastures!! Cheltenham is actually a city of about 105,000 but it's not called a city because it doesn't have a cathedral. So, it's considered a town. Alright, well I'm about to get my room organized and walk into town before I go to bed for the night!!!

Hey Guys!!!! This is my first time doing a blog and I created it so that all my friends/family can follow me on my trip to Cheltenham, England. I will be departing Dulles airport on September 10th to JFK in New York City, then taking an overnight flight to London. The university I will be studying at is called the University of Gloucestershire. I will be staying in the Universities dorms with their "freshers" (freshmen) and I get a single room to myself. Unlike some of the other BCA programs that Elizabethtown offers, I get to take classes with all the other students at the University!!! In total, there are about 40 students in the BCA Cheltenham program. There are 3 of us from Etown and about half of the students are actually from Messiah. While I am at Gloucestershire, I will be taking four classes. I'm really looking forward to taking Introduction to Coaching Principles because someday I would like to coach soccer and I've never heard of a class like this before. If you want to know more about the University, I will post the link on here so you can check it out!! Alright well I'm going to get started on packing and look for some new blog posts in the next couple of days!!!

http://www.glos.ac.uk/Pages/default.aspx