First day of classes

Well classes finally started today. Although I've been having a blast, I can't deny I was somewhat ready to get into more of a routine. So I can now say that summer is officially over for me. I only had one class today. It was Psychology: Cognition, Learning, and Behavior. Luckily, Kara is in the same class. So I stayed over with her last night so we could figure out where our classroom was together. I also stayed over to do laundry at her dorm(mine does not have a laundromat). So our initial plan was to wake up two hours before class so we could have time for me to run back by my flat then make our way to central London where all of both mine and Kara's classes are located. Considering the tube took much longer than it normally does, we both slightly panicked thinking we were going to be late for our first day. No worries though, we hauled butt and even managed to arrive five minutes early for class: )Afterwards we went on a search for the branch of the Barclays bank where Kara had opened her account. It had been almost two weeks and she still had not received her debit card. Speaking of debit cards, mine arrived in the mail as soon as I got done blogging you guys. So no more of me having to mooch off Claire, Kara, and random people that felt bad for me in my dorm!But yes, Kara finally got her card situation straightened out. Turns out they hadn't even mailed it yet. Kara had another class at 4 today so I decided to stay with her in central London until it started. Last Monday we randomly came across this cheesy restaurant in Soho called "Vodka Food Revolution"....yes, I know. What a terrible name. We would have simply walked past like most, but the grumbles from our stomachs and the sign that said, "50% off all food every Monday" convinced us otherwise. Anyways, the food ended up being AMAZING. So we thought it only smart to go back there again today considering it is indeed Monday!We split the Winter Mezze Platter??Anyways, it had hummus, sun dried tomatoes, chorizo, grilled chicken, flat bread, and spicy sauce. Kara also got the sweet potato corn soup that Elton ordered last time. It was also quite delicious. Our bill ended coming to 7 pounds which is pretty good for two people in the UK!
So I'm trying to think of everything I need to catch you guys up on. So far since my last blog, I have gone to the Camden markets twice. I've never seen so many different types of ethnic cuisine in one place at one time. The first time I went, I got an assortment of different indian curries for only four pounds. I liked what I got so much that I went back to the exact same stand and got the same thing. Yea and the stores were almost as great as the food ha. The most recent trip I took to the markets was actually with my new friend Miraya. She's from Santa Cruz, California. She's a business major at Berkeley. We just met her Friday night and she's been with us ever since: )I'm sure you will be hearing a lot about her in my upcoming blogs.

The view from Claire's room

My lovely new friend Miraya

Before we found out the tickets to see Princess Kate's wedding dress were all sold at Buckingham Palace

Typical Saturday at Oxford Circus, only five minutes from where all my classes are located 

Protestors

Brent about to get his dead skin eaten away by fish....one of the many things you can do at the Camden Markets

A little bit of a closer look for you

Me in front of the GIANT pastry stand 

One of the numerous food stands

Aren't they cute?Alexa, Miraya, and Kara(left to right)

And more food...this IS my blog 

After our lovely dinner of wine and appetizers

Claire and Miraya in my room before our Saturday night on the town

Right now I am just sitting in my flat listening to Mum. Today was the first time I got my first feeling of homesickness. Even in a city as cool and amazing as London, the heart is always where the home is. The homesickness has definitely subsided in the past hour though. A girl from my CIEE group pleasantly surprised me at my door and we were both able to talk about coping with being so far away from home. Everyone warned me about getting out of the "honeymoon stage" of studying abroad, but didn't really think it would pertain to me. Regardless, the two of us have decided to go do some historical exploring tomorrow. I still haven't made my way to see the Tower of London yet. Perhaps that's where we shall end up. Well I'll let you know how tomorrow goes. I miss you guys dearly. Anyone who is reading this and wants to skype, just let me know on facebook. I'd love to see some familiar faces: )

I love Aquariums!

Well I just got off the phone with my bank in America. My money should be arriving in my bank account either today or tomorrow, preferably today more than tomorrow. This past few week has really shown me how much I spend and even rely on small unnecessary items, such as a coffee from Starbucks. As soon as I can get quid from my account, I'm heading directly from Barclay's bank to Starbucks to get a Pumpkin Spice Latte. Yes Kara and Claire, I know we promised to not eat at any American chains while abroad but there is something so amazingly wonderful about that tall cup of frothy, sweet, spiced milk and coffee that I just can't resist. But as of now I am completely broke so I should probably not even focus on spending my money on luxury items. Yesterday was fun seeing as how Claire, Kara, Elton, and I all went to the SEA LIFE LONDON AQUARIUM on the River Thames. Although it took us a while to get there considering we still aren't experts at the tube, the experience was nonetheless worth it. My personal favorite were the sharks. I also liked the penguins but it was hard get a good look due to the massive swarms of people.

Claire and I on the tube

Elton and Kara exploring the Aquarium

Best pic I could get of the shark

Just my view when I walked out of the aquarium: )

Us checking out Parliament in the square beside it

A horizontal pic of Parliament ha. Can't figure out how to turn it at the moment

Claire, Kara, and Elton gazing at Parliament

British boys playing soccer; )

Well it's one o'clock here and I still haven't showered and Claire is asleep in my bed. It's been an entire week since we've been here and we are still jet lagged. We don't really have any plans for the day, however, we were going to try and read at a fun coffee shop. We will see if this ends up happening considering we have not even gotten out of bed. I'll be posting soon. My classes start Monday. I'm very excited. Hope all is well in the States. I miss you guys dearly. Sending my love. Cheers!

Hello friends,
I apologize for not writing sooner, but it's been quite busy since I've arrived. There is so much to tell I don't even know where to begin. Well, I'll start with the bad news first. After spending only two days in the UK, I sadly got both my wallet and iPhone stolen from my dorm room almost immediately after arriving. Being the ignorant person that I am, I thought the lock at the front of the building was enough security to protect my belongings. Boy did I learn my lesson. I left my stuff for literally two minutes and they were gone when I got back. I was able to cancel the credit cards, and although I lost my drivers' license, I still have my passport thankfully. I did lose some cash as well but I'm pretty sure I had spent majority of the pounds I had converted before coming over here....So the past few days have been somewhat stressful seeing as I have had no means to support myself. Thank goodness for the 30 luna bars I packed in my bag and some pretty amazing people I have already met on this trip. I can't even tell you how many have offered to loan me money. The guy at the front desk, who I just today became familiar with as Chad, automatically gave me 40 pounds right after the incident had happened. Claire and Kara, my two closest friends on the trip, have been so sweet offering to pay for literally EVERYTHING(Claire offered to loan me money for a potential trip to Croatia this week!!)  And even my flatmate Pat bought me bedding. Those are just to name a few of the incredible acts of kindness I have been receiving these past few days. So we are finally starting to move into the better news!Even with everything that happened with my wallet and phone, I have still had the most amazing six days I could possibly imagine. So far I've taken a bus tour of the city, taken a river boat cruise on the River Thames, gone to a comedy show, been to so many cool, trendy nightclubs and pubs, and met numerous fascinating people from around the world that I am already getting sad I have to leave in May(talk about a Debbie Downer mentality). As of now, I only have about seven minutes left to blog before I have to go meet with the banker to set up an account here in London. I do, however, want to get a blog out seeing as how I have greatly neglected posting these past few days. So please excuse my random intermission.....
As I mentioned in my previous blog, at the airport I met up with Claire, one of the girls in my group and now a very close friend even after only a few days. It ended up being quite a hunt considering there were numerous locations of the place we had planned to meet. We did, however, end up finding each other. This was extraordinarily nice as the process to get to the hotel was quite confusing for us Americans. Hate to do this but I have to make it to my appointment!Cheers for now. I'll try and blog when I get in tonight.
Blog Continuance:
Well I am officially in for the night!It's 2:40 a.m. here and sadly that has been a record this whole week. I guess I'll pick up where I left off. Basically Claire and I did make it to the hotel in Kensington, a very upscale location in London.

 Claire taking a picture in our little black taxi cab

We were the first to arrive and considering we had about an hour before we met everyone in the lobby, Claire and I grabbed a beer down the road where we were not asked for i.d.(a quite satisfying and pathetic feeling for a 20 year old like me). We eventually met the group, all awesome students from all over the "States" as the Brits call it. Our directors, James and Elizabeth, took us straight to dinner where we all enjoyed excellent English cuisine and plenty of red and white wine for the table. I ordered chicken and mushroom pie with mashies, or mashed potatoes. Whoever says typical English food is bad should really try out this restaurant. I was pleasantly surprised myself. After dinner our directors suggested we all go out for drinks if we were feeling up for it....and we were!

Some of the group at only the start of the night.....

Next day basically consisted of getting to know London, such as the cruise on the River Thames, bus tour....lotty dotty dah

Kara and Claire at Piccadilly Square

Beautiful Kara with Trafalgar Square in the background on the bus tour

The group in front of Tower Bridge(NOT LONDON BRIDGE) after the Cruise on the River Thames

The London Eye

Big Ben is actually the bell of the clock not the Tower. This structure as a whole is actually Saint Stephen's Tower. Did you know this Harrison?

"Drinks and Nibbles"-Came on our menu at the extraordinarily cute, trendy Mexican restaurant we ate at in Soho. Just thought it was cute: )Dessert is called pudding. 

Some of the amazing people on my trip: )

Made it!

Dear blog readers,

I’m sorry I did not update you on packing like I said I would. It seems my departure date arrived much quicker than I had expected. Tied up with last minute “to-do’s,” my blog was put further down on my list of priorities. As of now, I can happily say that I am safely sipping coffee in Heathrow airport. Although I am thrilled to finally be in London, it has not been an easy morning whatsoever. I have had no way to contact my parents since I’ve arrived, which was three hours ago My calling card is not working. I don’t have any phone or internet service on my phone. AND, even though I bought a Sim card to gain internet access, it still refuses to work for me. Oh well, Mom and Dad I really did try to let you know I made it. Either I am extraordinarily unlucky with overseas communication, or I am so incredibly jetlagged that I can not even comprehend the tasks that require the slightest bit of common sense. Anyways, enough of my pity party.  My plane got in around 7 a.m. London time, roughly midnight in Alabama. Another girl from my Study Abroad group arrives here in an hour. We agreed to meet up at the airport before heading to the hotel. It’s been a long wait but I’d much rather have another person with me when making my way through London for the first time. Her name is Claire and although we’ve never actually spoken besides via text or facebook, I can already tell we are going to get along. We are both pisces, chose the same program and city to study abroad in, and we both happen to have chose jean jackets to wear when arriving in London…I for one believe that says something. Very few have the confidence and boldness to pull off the jean jacket; ). The plane ride over here was much faster than I had initially thought. The other times I flew to Europe seemed much longer. But yet again, they did not have the movie selection like they did this time. To my wonderful surprise, they had Bridesmaids! Embarrassingly, I still found myself laughing out loud like I did in the movie theatres when I first saw it. Currently, I am admiring the swarms of of people passing by the coffee shop that I have inhabited for the past few hours. And yes, I have seen PLENTY of good looking foreign men: )Well I might as well avert all my attention to people watching now. I reckon I'll be blogging within the next few days. Miss you all. Contact me on Facebook if you want to skype. 
Sending my love from London, 
Iz

Our trip to New Orleans!

Before I begin, I'd first like to say that I am thinking of all those who lost loved ones this very day ten years ago. My heart goes out to you and those you know who were so directly affected by the attack.

Yesterday, my day started at approximately 6:15 a.m. I made sure to wake up on time to see Dad break the news to the boys that we were going to New Orleans for the day. A little groggy and confused at first, the boys' adrenaline definitely picked up after hearing they were going to the New Orleans Bug Museum, or Insectarium, and Zoo!We didn't think they'd have too much fun shopping with Mom and me at Canal Place. Forty-five minutes later we piled in the car and were off!!Thankfully we put a movie in for the boys to occupy their attention for the 2 hour ride. Of course this did not stop the persistent question, "Are we there yet?"....Then again, the movie was A Little Princess. Mom initially thought the boys would enjoy this just as much as Star Wars. It only took 30 minutes into the ride for her opinion of this to change.

After Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was put in, the ride seemed much more quiet if you asked me. Anyways, we eventually made it to New Orleans. Our first stop was the ever so delicious Cafe du Monde!!

After we scarfed down our beignets, Mom and I made our way to Canal Place leaving Dad to handle four extraordinarily energetic boys in New Orleans. I did attempt to get one picture with them before we parted ways for the next several hours. As one can see from the photo, they were not too interested in getting their pictures taken....

I think the liveliness and local color of New Orleans was more captivating then Dad with my camera.
We got one good photo though after Mom "got in the picture"......

By 11:00 a.m., Mom and I were starting our shopping extravaganza at Anthropologie while Dad and the boys began exploring the world of bugs!!!We only made it to a few shops before Mom needed a lunch break. Thankfully the nice lady in the Saks Shoe Department let us keep our already numerous purchases with her while we went and dined. We ended up eating at the Palace Cafe, only a few blocks from where we were. The weather could not have been more perfect, and it certainly showed by the swarms of people we saw on the street yesterday!

Mom hydrating herself while she people watches. 

My sweet potato gnocchi with arugula and duck:)Didn't think I was that hungry until this came out!

After lunch, we went straight back to shopping. The next few hours consisted of more purchases, Mom being extremely cold, our card being declined after spending so much than usual in a different city, and the two of us getting the exact same pair of jeans(a quite comical happening considering our polar opposite body shapes). Eventually Dad picked us up, and we all enjoyed New Orleans style homemade cooking at Mother's. After dinner, we got back in the car and started our way back to Mobile. It was a fun yet long day, especially for Levi(4) who had endured it without taking a nap. Although we got home around 9, the thought of bed was appealing even to me. All in all, I feel much more prepared for London  and was glad to get some quality time with the fam before I say good bye Wednesday. I'll be updating my blog with my packing challenges very soon.

Getting anxious

Well I have made two blogs altogether in the past two days. Let's hope I can keep up this dedication while in London. There will of course be a tad bit more distractions than there are here presently in Mobile. I would say my day was an overall success in regards to being productive in preparing for my trip. After being the last one to get up in the house as usual, I got dressed and got my hair cut. Afterwards I stopped at Satori, my favorite local coffee shop, and ordered my usual grande, soy, sugar-free Irish Creme coffee. Unfortunately I overestimated the need for splenda in it(a happening that occurs quite often) and somehow ruined it altogether. Oh well. I did, however, get some time to start reading "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving. Yes, I know you're all wondering the randomness of my reading selection. Let me explain. For the past couple nights I have tried to watch Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow starring the very talented Johnny Depp. And both nights I failed miserably at this considering I can no longer stay awake while watching movies at night. Last night, however, I did see enough of the film to pique my interest in seeing how accurate the movie lines up with the story. There WAS a headless horseman in both, and there were a few of the same names....that's about it similarity wise. Moving on though, after my 30 minute break from my already VERY stressful day, I was able to get my prescription filled and make it to the bank to inquire about a few last minute questions I had about using money overseas. OH, I stopped at ATT as well to look into a calling card. The guy just told me to go to Wal Mart...should have known that.  So after all that, I was so worn out that I had to come home to take a nap. Yes, a nap everyday before my trip is an integral part of my preparation for London. If I'm already behind on sleep in THIS time zone, imagine me after I experience jet lag. I did forget to mention that I did do some packing today. I now have a towel and some toiletries added to the heaping pile of clothes laying(lying?) at the foot of my bed. Success?I'd say so: )As of right now, my biggest dilemma is whether or not to bring my jean jacket. It looks great with my cargo pants and quite adorable with cotton dresses and scarves, but I'm not entirely sure if the denim craze is too big in the UK right now. I don't want anything that screams "AMERICAN!"To anyone who is reading and actually has an opinion on this subject, your perspective will be thoughtfully considered. Till next time friends(aka dad and grandma. Yes, my mother has yet to check out my blog).

My weekend in Auburn pics

Pre-departure

Well I am pleased to announce this is my very first post. I'd like to dedicate this blog to my grandmother who wanted to stay as much informed on my life abroad as if I were in Como, an hour and a half max drive away from her. Although I haven't left for London yet and have very little to blog if anything at all, I wanted to at least document some of the chaos and excitement I am starting to experience before my journey across the great lake!As of today, I only have one week before I am enjoying my pre-selected low fat/cholesterol meal while reclining my chair in coach(Dad said no to first class). Luckily, I have my passport along with my visa. All my paperwork has been completed through the Study Abroad Office, and I have even said the majority of my good-byes. There's only one thing left....packing. I called the airline today to inquire about how I will go about this "packing."Apparently I get one free checked bag. SCORE!However, my second bag will charged $70, enough for me to eat for a week...no biggie. Oh, and they both must be under 50 lbs. One pound over is a $200. So thankfully I have seven days to figure out how and what I am going to be bringing with me abroad. The most I have done so far is separate half my closet into items I'd be interested in bringing and items I'd rather leave here. For any of you who know my procrastinating ways, this is QUITE an accomplishment for me. I do believe the majority of my packing will take place after Saturday though. The family and I are having one last trip together before I head off on my 7622 jet to London. If all goes as planned, Dad, Mom, Joshua, Logan, Lucas, Levi, and myself will be heading to New Orleans for the day. Mom and I will be hitting up the shops as Dad and the boys enjoy the bug museum: )Of course, everyone will definitely reconvene for beignets and coffee at Cafe du Monde. As I previously stated, I have already said most of my good byes: (With school starting much later in the UK, I am the last of my friends to go back to school. Fortunately though, I got to go up to Auburn this weekend to visit my friends Alexandra, Chelsea, and Janie one last time before I left. I put some pictures up from the weekend for you to look at Grandma. Thanks to all who read this!I'll be posting about my sure to come packing endeavors within the next few days. A week from this moment I should be boarding my plane in Houston: )