New Brighton Experiences

This week I had a few unique experiences. First, I met the oldest man in Europe! His name is Henry. He lives at St. Dunstan's, so I dropped by to visit with him one day. He is 112, and will be 113 in about 2 weeks! He's amazingly coherent despite his age, and likes to crack jokes. He squeezed my hand tightly and told me to "be good" and to "enjoy life." I guess I should follow his advice. :) The queen has visited him at St. Dunstan's (not while I was there, unfortunately), he has a tour bus in Brighton named after him, and he's been on the news several times. He just likes to be known as a typical guy, however. His grandchildren live in Grand Rapids, Michigan, so we already had something in common!

I also went swing dancing in Brighton. I learned the Jive, which is a different form of swing than I usually dance. It barely has any footwork, and was a ton of fun! The people were all really nice, and I got to practice dancing with lots of them. I also convinced two of my fellow classmates to come with me, and converted them into swing dance lovers! :) We're going to try to go again next week, since we had so much fun! Here's a video of the couple who taught us (they're amazing!): (sorry it's sideways again)

Also, if you are interested in more pictures of Brighton and swing dancing, check out this link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2190759&id=30308465&l=d715fec0e4

(You've seen some of the photos before, just go to the end of the album to see the new ones)

Ireland

This past weekend I went with three of my fellow classmates to Ireland. We started out in Dublin, which is in the Republic of Ireland (the southern part). We were somewhat disappointed because it was very urban, touristy, and basically all about beer (Guinness, to be exact). The city has been fought over so many times that many of the old buildings were destroyed or not very pretty anymore. However, there was still a ton of great history, interesting sights, and lots of fun to be had!

We stayed in a hostel, which was an interesting experience, to say the least. We had some obnoxious roommates who like to go out and party until the late hours of the night and come back drunk to slam the doors and turn on all the lights. The bathrooms were pretty gross too. Other than that, I enjoyed the hostel atmosphere. They had activities going on, movies showing, lounge areas and an outdoor patio where anyone could hang out and meet people, and they offered us a simple breakfast each morning and a free walking tour of the city.

The walking tour was great! Our tour guide was very enthusiastic, and explained much of the history of the city, showed us famous landmarks, told great stories, and even shared the devastating parts of their history, such as the potato famine. I learned a ton about Ireland that I didn't know before.

We also took a bus tour through Dublin and saw parts of it that we hadn't walked to yet. We went into the two cathedrals in the city, both are Anglican. They were stunningly beautiful and filled with history! Christ Church Cathedral, the largest, even had a medival crypt underneath the church that we could go into. It was pretty neat. We also went in to the Guinness Storehouse, where the famous beer was first started and is still made. It was a pretty cool building. It was seven stories high, and the middle of the building resembled a giant pint glass. At the top, you could see the entire city of Dublin through all glass walls. We also checked out a few of the Irish pubs and had some traditional Irish food and drink. I discovered that a "Colar of Bacon" means the meat from the collar of a pig and "mash" means mashed potatoes. I sounded like a dumb American when I asked what they were, and got a few eye rolls from the Irish locals. However, the food was excellent! :)

On Sunday, we took a bus ride up to Northern Ireland to Belfast. The ride there was very pleasant, as we got to see some of the Irish countryside. (To be honest, it looks exactly like England's). We took a bus tour around the city. It was much less touristy, and we were able to see a lot more of the strife of the Irish political battles. There literally is a fence that they call the "Peace Wall" that separates the British people who want to be part of the United Kingdom (and who are all protestant) from the Republican side who want to be part of the Republic of Ireland (and who are predominately Catholic, but a diverse crowd lives on this side). There were many buildings missings where they had been blown up only a few years ago, and many murals and memorials all over mourning the fighting and lives lost. It was very sad, but interesting. I also learned that Belfast is where the Titanic was built. I saw the dock where it was first put together.

Then, after a very long, early morning and using basically every type of transportation (a taxi, an airplane, a train, two busses, and walking), we arrived back in Brighton, England. I have taken a nap and a nice hot shower, so now I have the energy to tell you about my journey!

Happy Memorial Day to those back home, and Happy Bank Holiday to those in the UK!

For Ireland pictures, check out this link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2189776&id=30308465&l=ca5308d578

Paris and Versaille

This past weekend I travelled to Paris and Versaille, France! It was an amazing trip, and I was able to see many famous and breath-taking sights!

First, we travelled by bus into Paris. We went to the Notre Dame Cathedral first, which is gorgeous! Then we took a boat tour on the river that goes through Paris, and saw many amazing sights from the boat, including the Eiffel Tower. We then went to the Louvre, which is the famous art museum where artworks such as the original Mona Lisa is kept. I didn't go all the way inside to see the artwork, but I did go inside the building. It's absolutely gigantic. I was told that you could take 2-3 days to go through the artwork before you saw it all. The building used to be a palace before it was turned into an art museum.

I found a church in Paris that I went to for mass on Saturday afternoon. It was entirely in French, which was definitely a new experience for me! The church was beautiful, and the people had such strong Catholic devotions! It was amazing that I still knew what was going on even though I couldn't speak any French. (I just responded quietly in English). We all said the Latin and Greek parts of the mass though, which was neat that we all could suddenly speak the same language while in Church.

On Saturday night, the tour company took us on an illuminations tour of Paris. The city looks totally different and very romantic when it's lit up at night. The Eiffel Tower was gorgeous while lit up. At 10pm they even changed the lights on the Eiffel Tower so it looked like it was sparkling! I took a video so you all can see it. It's at the bottom of this post (sorry it's sideways, I'm not sure how to turn it). This tour was one of my favorite parts of the trip.

On Sunday morning, we went to the Palace in Versaille where Marie Antoinette lived. The gardens there are very elaborate and beautiful! It was so huge that it took over an hour to walk through about half of the gardens. There are fountains and marble statues everywhere!

We then went to Sacre Coeur, which means Sacred Heart. It's a bascillica built on the highest hill in Paris. From the church, we could see all of the Paris skyline, which was amazing! The bascillica was also amazingly beautiful. Behind the church was a little market area that was like a hidden gem of Paris. There artists gathered and painted/sketched scenes from Paris. There were also shops and cafes, where I bought a mouth-watering crepe filled with warm chocolate! I also bought two prints of paintings of scenes from Paris.

I wish I had the ability to type every detail of the trip here, but that would take months, since there was so much to see! These were the main highlights that I can remember. Here are some pictures to help fill in the unspoken details:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2188536&id=30308465&l=901b0f8409
and
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2188545&id=30308465&l=0797b4f5f7

Here's the video of the Eiffel Tower sparkling (and if anyone can tell me how to turn it, let me know):

My first full week

This was my first full week of classes and internship. It was very busy, but quite enjoyable!

At St. Dunstan's, I attended a few sessions from a conference that was held in the building. I learned about some of the new projects they're working on to help those losing their sight, a condition that sometimes comes with sight loss called the Charles Bonnett (pronounced "bonay") Syndrom (it causes visual hallucinations of patterns, people/animals/objects, and occasionally scary things that don't exist), and had tours of the nursing floors and the IT Training room (where they teach people how to use a computer without using much vision). I also spent quite a bit of time just talking with St. Dunstaners. They all have such amazing stories, and they just love to share them!

My classes were pretty easy this week, since they were the first ones. The first class we all just shared what our agencies do and what our tasks are each day. We also talked about a few business items and were given our first assignment (which is only a 1.5 page paper about our agencies - just about the easiest assignment there is!). The second day of class, we met the three students from England that will be coming over to EMU in July and August to do the same thing. They're not Social Work students for some reason, but they're possibly interested in it. They will have placements in Ypsilanti and will live on EMU's campus. They seemed pretty nice and we were glad to meet each other. We can ask them for help while we're here, and they can do the same as they're preparing to leave and when they're in Michigan. It's a neat partnership.

The weather here this week has been pretty awful. Monday and Tuesday was incredibly windy (I heard it got up to 120 mph in some places) and chilly. Wednesday and Thursday were overcast, chilly, and breezy. Today it rained and was quite cold this morning. The sun is coming out now, but it's still really windy and cold. It's funny to say this, but I miss Michigan weather! At least it wouldn't be so windy and the sun might have a chance to come out and warm up the air in Michigan. I think it's so cold and windy here because we're right on the ocean. It is pretty cool to walk out of St. Dunstan's each evening and look at the ocean while I'm waiting for the bus, though.

Leeds Castle and Canterbury

Today I went with some of my classmates on a tour of Leeds Castle and Canterbury. It was an amazing trip!

Leeds Castle was really neat. It actually had a moat, but no dragon. ;) I was somewhat disappointed by the inside, because much of it had been somewhat modernized. I believe some of the decendants of the royalty who lived there in the past only stopped living there in the last few years. There are several rooms used as conference rooms (they're still historic-looking, but not as cool as they could be) and 23 of the 24 bedrooms are currently used (I'm not sure who uses them). The castle is most known because it was one of the homes that King Henry VIII lived in. His first wife, Catherine of Aragon, lived there with him. The castle also had beautiful gardens, many birds (they had an aviary, a duckery, and famous black swans that were a gift from Winston Churchhill), and a maze that we didn't have time to go into (in case we got lost and couldn't get back to the bus on time!).


Then I travelled to Canterbury, which I absolutely loved! It was a very cute, old town. Our tour guide said that almost all of the buildings were around 400 years old, with many being older. The Christ Church Cathedral, the head of the Church of England, was gorgeous! I learned that St. Thomas Becket was murdered there. Also, St. Augustine of Canterbury built his Abbey there. King Henry VIII destroyed it when he started the Church of England (and destroyed many other Catholic places), but the ruins still stand. I saw them and the gravesite of St. Augustine. I also found a small old Catholic church which had St. Thomas Becket relics on display. It was quite a historic and holy place!

For photos, here are two albums:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2186800&id=30308465&l=2bc92c9b86
and
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2186818&id=30308465&l=1dc3d5910e

This week will be my first full week of my internship and classes will begin. It should be a pretty busy week, but I'm looking forward to it!

London

London is amazing! We took a bus tour of the city, which took a long time (and was very cold), but we saw the highlights. The weather was crazy! It started off raining, then the sun came out a little bit. Then it started pouring and hailing on us, while the sun was partly shining! It was incredibly cold and wet, so it wasn't very fun sitting on top of the bus in the wind. I got some great pictures, so it paid off to be a tough tourist! I unfortunately do not have much time to write a detailed post, but to see my pictures, click on these links:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2186515&id=30308465&l=ff31758e16
and
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2186516&id=30308465&l=2445ab3da3

Tomorrow I'm heading to Canterbury and Leeds Castle. Stay tuned for pictures and more updates.

St. Dunstan's

My first day at my internship was yesterday. I am placed at St. Dunstan's, which is a home, rehabilitation, and learning center for people who were previously in the military and are blind (or going blind). It is a HUGE place that's seven stories high, with large wings that house many different departments, activities, residences, and more. They have a gym, a pool, an arts and crafts center, a sports center, a restaurant, a lounge and dining room, and tons more that I haven't even discovered yet, I'm sure. With a place so large, I thought I might feel lost. However, I already feel more comfortable there than I ever did at the agency where I was an intern this past semester. Pretty much every person I ran into knew my name and that I was coming, and they welcomed me with open arms. I even have a name badge that sets me apart as one of the staff, and my title is "Student Social Worker."

On the first day, I walked in the door and was greeted by one of the security guards who already knew my name. He introduced me to my supervisor, Lynn, who is a quiet but incredibly nice lady. She took time to explain the agency to me, answer my questions, and show me around a bit. Then I had a fire tour, which is basically a tour of the building with a security guard who showed me what to do in case there's a fire. Then I had lunch with another intern, Julia, who is a social work master's student from the University of Brighton. She's very friendly and showed me what she does and how to get my lunch. We talked for a really long time about how the social work schools and professions are different between our two countries, and she explained their government structure to me a little. Then I went to a training on how to guide blind people if they need assistance. One man helping with the training (he also works there) was actually blind, and when he found out I was there, he was very excited. He knew I was coming and already knew my name. He came over to chat with me, and bought me tea and a cake (which is basically a biscuit with jam inside). He's a very friendly guy (or chap, as they call them here). My supervisor also offered to give me rides to and from campus when she can so I don't have to take the bus all the time. To say the least, I was incredibly impressed by their hospitality!

Today I accompanied a group of St. Dunstaners (this is what they call residents and those visiting who are members) on a day trip to Uppark House. It's an old English home that was built in the late 1600's. It belonged to several rich people, but none that are very famous. It was a beautiful house. The trip was really fun. Each employee was paired up with a St. Dunstaner, and we helped them around the place. For those who had a really hard time seeing, the home actually let them touch a few artifacts and cut flowers from their elaborate gardens so they could smell them. They did a great job allowing the people to get enjoyment out of the trip using their other senses. I was paired with a man named David, who is 91 and was drafted during World War II. He had many great stories to share. I also spoke quite a bit with a man named Gordon. He was very friendly, and told me all about how while he was in the army, he was stationed at Buckingham Palace. He would be in the changing of the guards, and has seen the queen many times. He was even at her coronation. It was so much fun to just talk to the St. Dunstaners and get to know them. I'm really looking forward to going in each day, which is an awesome feeling!

This weekend I'm off to London, Canterbury, and Leeds Castle. I'll continue to update pictures when I can! :)

Brighton

Hey Everybody!

I finally have the internet in my dorm room now, so you can contact me via Skype. I also can update things more often.

I spent the past two days mostly in downtown Brighton. It's a really fun city with tons of things going on and loads and loads of shopping! It's right on the ocean, so it has some shore-like characteristics to it. It's very large with tons of bus transportation throughout it, so I've gotten pretty acquainted with the bus system. It's somewhat overwhelming, since there are so many buses to choose from! Even though I've explored the city for two straight days now, there are still sections of the city that I haven't seen yet, if that gives you an idea of how large it is. There's an event called the Brighton Festival that goes on every year for almost the entire month of May, so there are a lot of random events going on all over the city as well. It's really fun to hang out there.

I have been bonding with my fellow classmates really well. We've been getting along for the most part, and have become quite close despite the fact that we barely knew each other before we came. It's amazing how quickly you get to know people when you're immersed with them for several straight days in a strange country.

There are many little things that are different about England than I expected. There are a lot of phrases that are different. Examples are asking for the "toilet" or the "loo" instead of the bathroom or restroom, "having a lay in" means sleeping in, a "lift" is an elevator, and many more. It's sometimes a bit difficult to communicate when we use different terms, and it's also a bit of a challenge to understand the accents sometimes. Today someone English told one of my classmates that her accent was hard to understand, which made us laugh. It's been fun trying to figure out all of the little differences.

I need to get some sleep now, so that's all for today. If you want to check out the first of my pictures, go to these links:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2185834&id=30308465&l=f82265f0ba
and
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2185858&id=30308465&l=a441777c8c

The first few days...

Hello Everyone!

I have officially and safely arrived in England! It took me a few days to have access to a computer, so I haven't been able to update this until now. I'll give you a brief overview of what I've been doing so far:

On Friday, May 1, I arrived at the London airport at around 7am (England time, so it'd be 2am Michigan time). I only slept about 10 minutes on the plane, so it was a very long day! I then got on an underground train that took me to a station in London. Then I walked in London across a street (I wasn't really in the mood to look around much yet because I was feeling pretty lost) and went into another train station. From there I took a second train to Brighton. My professor picked me up from here and drove me back to the dorms at the University of Brighton. It was a very long and exhausting trip, but I am glad I'm here now!

I haven't had a chance to explore the campus much, but so far the University seems really nice. The dorms are great. Each of us have our own room and bathroom. We share a hallway (called a flat) with other people who have their own rooms, and we have a common kitchen and living space. Europeans apparently think we're neat freaks and don't hold my passion of keeping the kitchen clean, so it's pretty gross. None of us are going to use our kitchens much because of this and the meal plan that we're getting from the cafeteria. The cafeteria is sort of like a restaurant, but reminds me of the Eastern Dining Commons One hall. The food the first night was alright, and I haven't eaten there since.

On Saturday morning we got up bright and early and got on a tour bus with other American students who have been at the University of Brighton all this past semester. We traveled to Oxford, where the Oxford University is located. We walked around it and saw the University, which is absolutely beautiful and really really old. It's basically considered the Harvard of England. We also walked around and got lunch and shopped a bit. Then we all piled back onto the bus and travelled to Stratford-Upon-Avon. This is where Shakespeare was born, lived, wrote his plays, and died. He's also buried there in a huge old Anglican church. We walked around a bit and got some fish and chips (which is pretty good) and ate in a park by the Avon river. Then we went to the Shakespeare theater in Stratford and saw his play "A Winter's Tale." The play was really good. It was definitely typical Shakespeare in that it was very depressing and had really random parts and the people were all very connected in unique ways, but was definitely worth attending. After this we went back to the Bed and Breakfasts (called Guest Houses here) and crashed. Then Sunday morning we got up and had breakfast together. Then I (and another guy) walked across town to the only Catholic church for morning mass. It was a low mass, so there was no music, but it was still interesting. They say the creed a tiny bit differently. I'll go more into detail on this another day.

After church, I met back up with the group and we went on a walking tour of Stratford. We saw all the Shakespeare monuments and buildings where he lived, the church where he's buried, and many cool old buildings that have carvings of Shakespearean scenes from his plays. Then we got some lunch and got back on the bus. We then went to Warwick Castle, which is a really really really awesome old castle that many of the royalty lived in and used throughout the centuries. The earliest date that I found on the informational signs were in the 1000's. That's really old! They also had a lot of people dressed up in time period clothing walking around, shows going on of jousting and sword fighting, birds of prey shows, the personal quarters that many royal people lived in, and tons more. It was really awesome. Then we rode the bus back to campus.

Needless to say, I am exhausted after a really long 4 days. I feel like I've been here for weeks already because each day lasted so long (especially since I didn't sleep for about 24 straight hours the first day). I am definitely looking forward to a full night's sleep tonight!

The next two days I have free, so I'll be resting, checking out Brighton and campus, and finding out about where my field placement will be. Tomorrow (Monday) night I'm having dinner at my professor's (Laura) home that they're renting on the beach. That's when we will find out our placements and hopefully meet some of the U of Brighton students who will be coming to Eastern in July (they're also Social Work students, so we're doing an exchange).

More updates to come! I hope that gave you a bit of an idea of what I've been up to! I can't use Skype at the moment because I don't have my own internet (I'm in the library right now). When I am able to use it in my dorm room, I'll let you know so that I can contact you easier! I hope everything is well back in Michigan. Keep me updated! :)

Here's a link to pictures from this weekend:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2185834&id=30308465&l=f82265f0ba