Tea and Scones?

I've been in England for over three weeks now and there is so much to share. The airport and train station in London were extremely busy, as would be expected in any big city. The underground was similar to the subway in New York City. The first huge differences I noticed when I walked outside were the narrow roads, teeny-sized cars, and of course everyone driving on the left side of the road. Many people will walk or ride their bike to the train station when traveling to their destination. There is a much smaller reliance on cars, which is very different to the U.S.

Main attractions I've been to so far in London include the Tower of London, Covent Gardens, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the House of the Parliament, Westminster Abbey, the National Gallery, Tate Modern, and St. Paul's Cathedral. I have had two meals of fish and chips, which were both amazing, afternoon tea, a roast dinner, and a traditional English breakfast. The English breakfast is kind of strange to me. It consists of eggs, toast, potatoes, which are normal for a U.S. breakfast. But they also serve baked beans, fried bacon (but it's different to our kind), big, fried sausages, cooked tomatoes, fried mushrooms. The dining hall where I live has served a simplified version of this everyday so far for breakfast!

Manchester is a really nice city. It's difficult going to school in a big city because all of the buildings seem far apart from each other and it's easy to get lost. I've gotten used taking the city bus everyday to get to the University. It costs 80P for the shortest distance and as much as £2.10 if you are far away from my hall. The bus drives through the "Curry Mile" on the way to University, which consists of many, many Indian restaurants, Indian dress and jewelry shops, and a few grocery stores. Some interesting facts I learned about the city are that Rutherford split the atom in the University of Manchester, the first computer 'Baby' was made in Manchester, and the Industrial Revolution played a huge role in the growth of the city. I haven't actually started classes yet, as this week is mostly for first-year students learning about their course for the next 3-4 years. Most of the information doesn't apply to the study abroad students. I should start classes sometime next week. Until my next post - Cheers!