I suck at updating.

I apologize for lack of updates lately. I'm really bad at sitting down and writing a blog post.

School is going really well. I'm starting to get used to the teacher's various preferences and all that good stuff. I still hate the uniform. Its a torture device and I can't wait to get home and take it off everyday. I don't know how the kids in my class have worn the same thing everyday for years of their lives. It would drive me absolutely insane.

I have finally figured out my half term plans. I'm going to GERMANY!!! Yeah, you read that right. I'm going to Deutschland. I'm going to visit my friend Charlotte for 4 days. She lives in Munster (I don't know if that's spelled right) and she has her own flat. So that should be fun. Oh, and did I mention the first night I'm there is my 18th birthday? Partayyyyy. Anyways, for the last half of the week I'm staying with two of my friends from school. One of those friends, her dad owns a club in the center of Cologne. Once again, PARTAYYY. Ok, I'm done now. I am excited to sight see and experience Germany from a native's point of view.

I find it really funny that everyone from home is complaining about the rain. Um, hello, try living in England. I
bet you won' t complain about one day of rain ever again. The weather is crazy here. Its so cold already and I've been told that it will get bone chilling cold and it will rain for 4 straight months. Bring. It. On.

I don't really have much exciting things to talk about because I've just been going to school and coming home and doing work. Although, I did go to the cinema (aka movie theater) this weekend and that was a bit of an experience. First of all, the popcorn is sweet. Sort of like kettle corn but covered in sugar. Its actually really good. And second of all, there was a bar in the cinema. A BAR. You get your concessions and everything then you walk through where you give your tickets to the person and there is a bar. You can go sit down and have a drink before your movie. I've never seen that in my life. Veryyy interesting.

I will try my best to update again on Sunday, or maybe sooner. But I'm going to a fancy dress party (costume party) on Saturday so maybe I'll have some interesting stories to share after wards.

Tah tah for now.

Customs sucks.

Today I got a letter in the mail. Someone sent me a package. YAYY, right? No. Because Customs is holding it because of international fees. AHHHH. Why can't I just have my package? :(

Anyways, I'm done ranting. I know I said I would update on Saturday but I couldn't be bothered. Sorry.

This weekend we went to Keswick, which is in the Lake District. It was gorgeous! Seriously, you know the lakes in the Harry  Potter movies? And the scenes where you can see the landscapes from the trains? It looked EXACTLY like that. So pretty. Even when raining. We went out on this boat on the lake and it was so amazing. Really funny though when we had to turn the boat around because an umbrella flew out of someones hands and was floating on the lake. Oh and I also had my first authentic scone. So good!

I think because people are getting to know each other more and getting more comfortable, they don't mind asking questions about my background. This week I've been getting a lot of inquiries about life in America. And people have been voicing their opinion a little bit more freely too. Last week we had a guest lecture and he asked the audience a question and he jokingly says "You know I usually talk about how ignorant Americans are, you know how they don't know anything about anyone else and they're only concerned with themselves but I think you guys are proving me wrong". I think every person in the room turned around and looked at me for my reaction. SO EMBARRASSING. Its not that I mind when people talk to me about America, but its starting to get a little uncomfortable because I feel like I'm constantly fighting off stereotypes.

I always think of things to put in my blog but forget to write them when I get here. Maybe I'll post again tomorrow.

Goodnight.

Whats the crack?

You may be wondering why the title of this blog is "Whats the crack?". Well, I shall explain. The crack is Cumbrian slang for Whats up? or Whats the gossip?. Its actually quite funny to hear someone say it. I had to ask for a translation when it was first said to me. This week I've learned a lot of new English terms and phrases. I'll share some of them with you now. 'Naught' is zero. 'I can't be bothered' means 'I'm too lazy'. 'Biscuit' is cookie, but almost everyone knows that.

But the biggest new word I've learned this week is not even a word. Actually, its a letter. Did you know that instead of saying the letter z, they pronounce it 'zed'? I can promise you I'm not making this up. This is real. If you are just as shocked as I was when I found this out you will need a couple of days to accept it. I don't know about you, but I was under the impression that the alphabet is one of those steady, unchanging, reliable things. But apparently not. Even the alphabet can be changed. Lesson learned.

I'm very tired now, but I promise I will sit down tomorrow and write a longer blog post. Pinky swear.

Crazy week.

Dear blog readers (do I even have any?),

I am soooo sorry for neglecting you this week. So as I eat my biscuit and drink my tea I will try to fill you in on as much as possible.

I finally moved into school on Monday night. I got here, dropped my suitcase in my room and was immediately rushed off to have tea. They really don't give you any time to think here. I went down and was greeted with a sea of new and equally frightened faces. An oddly comforting sight. Knowing I'm not the only one scared and completely lost is always a good thing. I got unpacked in my room and all that good stuff. Then, I finally looked around and said to myself, "Wow, I'm really here in my dorm room. In England. About to start school. Is this real?".

On Tuesday, I actually started classes. The system here is soooo weird. I am only taking 3 subjects. Maths, physics, and spanish. Usually you take 4 subjects as a Lower Sixth pupil, but my Maths is called Further Maths meaning its double the amount of maths than usual. Confused yet? Just wait. For each regular subject you have two different teachers. For example, in Physics I have two teachers- one to teach the mechanics part and one to teach everything else. In maths, I actually have 4 teachers- one for Statistics, one for Core, one for Further Pure, and one for Mechanics. For Spanish I actually only have one teacher, because there is only one Spanish teacher. I think if they could find another one they would have her, haha. So basically its like taking 4 math classes, and 2 physics classes. Utterly confusing.

But classes are the least of my worries at this point. If you have ever seen a movie about snobby english boarding schools, alot of the stereotypes are probably true. There is a sort of heirarchy system here in which you're position is determined by your year. I am in Sixth Form, which is the highest form. But there is two divisions of sixth form- Upper Sixth and Lower Sixth. I am in the Lower Sixth. Which means I sit at the middle lunch table and I get to sit in the second set of chairs in the Sixth Form center. If I did any differently I think heads would roll. But I don't mind it too much. The other students are all really nice and I seem to be fitting in quite well. I kind of float between the English students and the German students. I live with the German ones (my roommate is German) so I spend alot of time trying to understand the German flying around me.

My physics and maths classes are quite good because I've done most of the material, but sometimes I feel like I'm relearning English because of all the different terms they use. This is something that only math geeks would care about but I'll put it in here for my Dad's benefit. When we're solving equations instead of saying "negative two" they say "minus two". What do they say for subtraction you ask? "4 minus 2". Why did they shun the use of the word negative when it makes it much clearer whether you are refering to an action or the sign of the integer. Also, in upper math classes you usually begin to use a dot as a multiplication sign to differentiate between the variable x and the multiplication sign. Here they use the x sign still. Even in Further Maths. One of my teachers even said "I think England is the only country that still uses the cross for multiplication". Well, can we get on changing that? Cause it would make my life alot easier. Anyways, thats enough of my nerd rant.

As far as living on campus goes, I'm really enjoying it. I like living with a bunch of girls. Really. There's no sarcasm there. Its actually enjoyable. The discussions we have in the common room can get quite interesting.

Oh, and I finally found out what a prefect is. A power trip. Basically. Supposedly its a big honor and I'm sure it is. They basically just have to make sure everyone is following the rules. Tuck in your shirt, put your collar down, button the top button, you can't be here now, go to the library, etc etc. Can't say I wouldn't like to be one though.

I'm really tired after a long week so I'm going to bugger off and go watch a film. I will try to update again this weekend with more about school and everything.

Tah tah for now.

Scenic route.

Today has been quite good. I took the train with Camron (the oldest son in my host family) and he showed me around Whitehaven (nearest big town, think Danville in relation to Chatham). I got some necessary items that I needed. We had lunch, with a glass of wine (woohooo). The cities/towns here are so beautiful and historic. Even modern shops and pubs still have a classic look to them that you just don't find in American cities. Camron also took me around school and showed me my boarding house. I will definitely get lost. Apparently the school doesn't really do any sort of orientation, they just kind of throw you in there so we'll see how that goes. After he showed me around the village and the school we stopped in a pub and I had a gin and tonic. Apparently showing ID is not really required here because technically I shouldn't be able to drink. When in England, do as the English do!

This evening I was invited to a barbecue with some of my school mates- the same kids that will actually be in my year at school. I had a great time and I'm really relieved to actually know some of the kids that I will be going to school with. They all seem quite cool and fun. But whoever said British girls aren't pretty are lying. Definite myth. They let me in on all the secrets of the school and what you can and cannot get away with and such. I'm excited and nervous to get started.

Hopefully pictures to come soon because I literally cannot put into words the beauty of this place.

I shall report back soon. Now bedtime.

I have arrived. Thank buddha.

The last 18 hours or so has been quite an adventure.
I got on my flight to Iceland, no problem. But I guess the fact that I was really leaving the country hit me as soon as we we're about to take off. Boy, it hit me hard. I cried for like 20 minutes. I'm sure the people next to me were a little freaked out. But I finally pulled myself together and settled in. I was starving when we got to the airport so I ordered a chocolate croissant. Holy crap it was soooo good. And it was still warm. Icelanders know how to make some pastries.
After my delicious breakfast I got on yet another plane, this time one that was actually going to England. It seemed like the longest flight of my life. Seriously. There were obnoxious couples all around me gabbing away in icelandic. It was quite annoying.
So, I finally arrive in Manchester and I get ready to go through customs. Blah blah blah, whatever, right? Nope. I am questioned because I don't have a letter proving my scholarship to the school. So here I am, travelled all this way, thinking I'm going to be denied entry to the country because I don't have one piece of paper. SERIOUSLY?! The lady that was 'helping' me was not very nice either. She finally let me in with a "make sure you have your documents next time".
After all this I have to get on a train to Carlisle to transfer to a train that will take me to St. Bees. In case you had forgetten, St. Bees is where I originally set out to go. The train rides went well. With the exception of a few stinky passengers and screaming kids. The views from the train were worth every minute of it. England is like every movie and picture you see- gorgeous. Especially the area I'm in. Its like a fairytale.
FINALLY, I get off the train at St. Bees and meet my host for the weekend. I immediately make a fool of myself by trying to get in on the wrong side of the car. But its all good. Their house is wonderful. They were nice (or crazy) enough to let me make an international call from their phone. They also took me to get some authentic fish and chips. OH MY GOODNESS. So good. Especially because I hadn't eaten since that morning in Iceland. I had tea following my dinner and now I have the house to myself.
Must sleep.
More pictures and descriptions to follow.

The waiting game...

I am currently sitting at my gate at JFK. Patiently waiting to board the plane.
The airport experience hasn't been too bad so far- no mishaps or accidents. But it has been really interesting in terms of the people you see in airports. It's crazy how many cultures come together in one place. It's awesome. I literally could sit here and just watch people.
I really wish there was something of more interest to report, but so far the journey has been uneventful. And I'd like to keep it that way. I'm already really tired but I'm super excited.
I see a woman with a baby waiting at my gate. Kill me now....
Next post will probably be from somewhere in England :D

Epic freakout.

So today has been really interesting.
Woke up- thought I was going to vomit. Then I cried. Then I hyperventilated.
All before 8 AM.
It doesn't seem like I'm leaving tomorrow. But I guess the suitcase sitting in my room, full and ready to go should be a good enough reminder. I'm so excited- but I'm also super nervous. I'm starting to realize how much I'm going to miss everyone and everything.
Mom just texted me to go to bed- oops.
More tomorrow.