So panic! I almost thought I was late for our 10 am meeting with Zoey and Mary! Actually I panicked when I read the time wrong on my “clocks”. I still had an hour to sleep. So I did. Once I was up and actually ready to start my first official, whole day in England! YAY! After breakfast the group met up together in order to go as a unit to our orientation with Mary and Zoey. They talked us through our schedules of the upcoming weeks. We have a lot of extra day trips around Brighton including: going to theaters, castles, cliffs and classrooms. They are excited about everywhere we go and it carries over and puts our excitement on exploded.
After a brief orientation with the information specialist (the librarian, I like his term better), and finding the coffee stand (watch out! Everyone’s new best friend!). We all quickly scrambled to get on the internet since we were unable to set up our dorm ones until after lunch. When it was time to meet with Mary and Zoey for lunch, we saw them running out to go get lunch, we decided to sit out in the sun. It felt really warm. Lunch was Pizza Hut. Now hold the phone: I think British Pizza hut is better than American and it was a treat from Mary and Zoey. I think it was something about the crust, but it was yummy as is the British candy (a Carmel biscuit, Twix and Kit Kat, better chocolate, almost creamier). Joining us at lunch were Kate and Dave who are our actual teachers. It seems like we are going to have a fun time with them as people as well as in their classes. Who isn’t going to have fun in a class called “Drama with A Picture Book.”
After getting a break and attempt to set up internet time, we all loaded into our oversized mini bus/van, and headed into Brighton again this time going to view the Royal Pavilion. This is the most amazing and out of place palace in the entire town and maybe even the country. So first a back story told by us Mary: The Royal Prince Regent needed a place to stay and fell in love with the sea and needed a place to get away from the royal life. However it sounded like said Prince might have been a playboy or just a disgrace, that fact was skimmed over… Any who the Prince liked to come to Brighton for a weekend as a getaway. Brighton is still a place for a weekend getaway today.
Once we got to the Pavilion we found out that the Prince was actually King George IV. And he loved Indian architecture and had his pavilion built. However the interior is influenced by the Chinese. But the funny thing is that neither he nor the designers ever went to China. (It was not mentioned about India). But the inside is beautiful and grand. It is actually was restored because Queen Victoria (George’s Niece) hated her uncle’s taste. One room was left in the way she had decorated for herself. She was actually going to destroy the summer home, but the people of Brighton bought it. Included in this wonderful building is a 1 ton, 10 meter long chandelier that is clutched in a dragon’s claw. However while I was able to pictures of the outside I was not allowed to take any on the inside. But I did buy post cards and take a picture of those! Wait… Whoops you are not supposed to know that. Disregard the post card thing. He hehe
After finshing the tour (guided through the big main rooms, self tour through the rest) we went over to get our bus tickets for all three weeks. Since we seem to have extra time some days we might go into town or go to a bar at night or a trip to the threate, we need to be able to get around town. Side note- there are a lot of double-decker buses here, I thought they were only in London and only 50 or something, however that statement is very false. THEY ARE VERY WHERE!!!!!!!!!!!!! So bought our bus tickets and then started to look around town at one of the local shopping districts. (Don’t worry I did not buy anything!) From there we went to the Brighton Pier. It is huge and holds an arcade and amusement park. While it is a beautiful place to take pictures and think that you are going to go do whatever there is to do it is not worth. If I wanted to ride a roller coaster, which I would not, I would go to Six Flags back home, which I would not go to. But the pier was pretty and had a beautiful view of all the seaside buildings and boardwalks. Being close to the Ocean (Hey I think this is the first time I have seen the Atlantic) one would expect sandy beaches. WRONG!!!!! Try Rocky!!!!! Huge pebbles and stones that are very capable of breaking a window and getting in flip-flops (not recommended).
At some point we decided to go eat something and the group that went to pier yesterday, took us to a spot that they wanted to go to get fish ‘n chips. I think it was a good call since it was delicious! The place/ bar/ pub was called OHSO like I’m oh so hungry! Hahaha. The fish was wonderful and coated in a light coating. Rather impressed with my first fish n’ chips. When we first got to OHSO, we sat outside and was greeted with a never ending pub song by the men in the next table. We later decided that they were very intoxicated. But the ginger was trying to get to know us and get in all our pictures. They didn’t try anything and if they did Chris, our lone boy was going to help us out. Aww cute he is looking out for our wellbeing. Some of us, in attempt to get away from our “new friends” we started walking down the beach. We noticed some shops and grounded boats and proceed to pose for our best boat impersonations. Finally meeting back up with the rest of we went back to the university on a double-decker bus.
So this ends by day with me trying to get internet (a success finally!) and have been writing to you and getting photos up!
British Lesson #2: Brelly= umbrella, Wellies/ Wellington= rain boots, dodgy= sketchy. Also not once have I heard the bathroom referred to as the “loo.” It is the toilet and a bathroom would be found in the house with a bath. I feel lied to from all movies that have British toilets in them.
where's the british pictures???
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