My First Few Days in England

These last 48 hours have been a whirlwind of fast-paced information overload. I am finally getting some down time for the first time since I left the states. I am still kind of in shock I am 4,000 miles away from home for the next two months; but I am really excited for what is to come!

England wasn’t as different as I expected; I thought I was going to get off of the plane and immediately feel out of place and out of my comfort zone. Frankly, it wasn’t that much different! Yes, the toilets (as they call them) was the first odd thing I encountered, the second one being that people drive and walk on the opposite side of the road. My fear of the language barrier and a brand new culture is a worry I should not have initially had.

The town of Alnwick and the Castle is nothing I ever imagined. Photo’s don’t do justice, it’s absolutely breathtaking here. Before leaving, I saw pictures from all of my friends who have gone on this trip, and I felt extremely prepared and ready- but frankly, nothing can prepare you for this experience. I am so excited to see what’s in store over the next few months.

The one thing I was most excited about was to experience the pub scene (of course). My experience so far- they are so much fun, and everyone is so welcoming to our group of American college students. The beer is the other thing I was anticipating upon my arrival to Alnwick. The language barrier makes it extremely hard to ask about what types of beer they have at a loud pub, so my beer tasting will have to come on a day where I can actually talk to a bartender about what types of beer they have. For now, I am drinking Cargail(?)- which is a pale ale (like a Budweiser). It’s actually not that bad!

Something I noticed with the women is that they like to dress up, but a lot of them wear tennis shoes with skirts or a nicer outfit, which was rather odd at first. The younger crowd of Alnwick is actually really, really fun and extremely nice, but sometimes too nice…especially the guys. I learned very quickly to 1. not go to a pub by yourself or with a few girls, you will receive comments like “I am going to break your pelvis” (yeah, it happened). and 2. make sure you can always spot someone in your group, especially one of the guys otherwise you might be pulled onto the dance floor by a tall British man.

I am also trying to perfect my British accent, I felt pretty confident about it last night after I had a few drinks when I was quickly laughed at by some of the townies outside the bar. Oh well, it’s a work in progress.

I still can’t believe I have only been here for two days, it feels a lot longer than that for everything we have experienced thus far. I am so excited to see what’s in store over the next two months!

#Cheers