90 Days

So tomorrow marks my 90th day in London. Cannot believe it has been 3 months already. When I look back and think about all my apprehensions of coming like where I was going to live, who I was going to meet, what I would be doing everyday, etc. I am so thankful for how it has all worked out. I have a flat (currently- may be homeless come January though), I have friends from all over the world, and I am enjoying what I am doing (maybe not all of the papers). It is so weird because last year at this time, I never imagined being here and being a student still. Maybe next December 1st I will have a job?! 


The countdown is on though:
-8 days till I am done with the first semester of my masters program & the day my sister arrives in London
-18 days till I leave the UK and come back to the US
-25 days till Christmas
-28 days till my Birthday
-29 days till I return to London for NYE with my best friends


Thank goodness I will only be in US for 11 days because I do not know what I would do without a Strongbow cider and Muller yogurt for too much longer. (joking but definitely some of my favorites)


Anyone reading this obviously is a close friend so I hope to see you while I am home! I am so excited and ready for this holiday season.
<3 <3 <3

Thanksgiving Miracle

So I celebrated my first Thanksgiving abroad and successfully cooked my first turkey, Abraham Ben Franklin Lincoln I. Honestly, I had no idea that turkeys came with giblets? That is disgusting. But Carolyn used it all and made gravy! Such the Betty Crocker. Thursday was definitely different than most holidays and did not really feel like Thanksgiving. No one was traveling to be with family, no one was off work, and the Macy's Day parade was not on.....But ESPN America was! Carolyn and her boy friend ordered the channel for the month so it could feel more like Thanksgiving. Now I have never thought of myself as very knowledgeable of the game but it was hilarious trying to teach everyone the rules of American football. 


Carolyn and I ultimately had a dinner party for 11 (everyone wanted to celebrate!) and it turned out perfect. We cooked all day and had: Turkey, Stuffing, Green Bean Casserole, Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potato Casserole, Corn Casserole, Rolls, Pumpkin Pie, Banana Pudding, and Mulled Wine! The most enjoyable and comical part was telling everyone that before we ate, everyone had to say what they were thankful for. It was everyone's first Thanksgiving and they got rather nervous. Our guests included: 4 Brits, 1 Canadian, 1 Norwegian, 1 Swede, 1 Italian, and a Portuguese.  It was a great night that I am sure I will never forget. 

 Abraham Ben Franklin Lincoln I and his neck (which took us 10+ minutes to figure out)

 Cleaning the bird.

 The Brits excited for their first Thanksgiving

 Siri, Charlotte, Natalie, Chris, Steve, and Maria

 About to say what we are thankful for

Hope everyone else had a great Thanksgiving. & 3 weeks from tomorrow, I come back to America. 

Things I am Thankful For

Normally, I love this week because.... 

-it is a 2 day week (if I even went to those 2 days of classes)

-Home Sweet Home

-it's a holiday!

-watching Duke basketball with my parents/ Christmas movie with my sister after eating

-cooking deliciousness with Mer/ Mer having a weird fetish with carving the turkey

-my puppies

-naps

-family time

Well this year is obviously a little different but nonetheless, more about the true meaning of the holiday-Thanksgiving. & I am thankful for so many things this year. I am thankful to have the opportunity to live in London. I am thankful for family & friends. While I am 4,196 miles away from my family in Tennessee and 4,326 miles away from my friends in Alabama, I am encouraged and so blessed by them every day. I am also thankful for new friends. Friends from England, Italy, Norway, Sweden, France, Canada, & even Kansas City helping to make my experience here better every day. I am thankful for good shoes and a warm coat because I walk a lot here and it is getting pretty cold! I am thankful for modern technology, especially my iPhone/viber app. And of course, the list could continue for forever. 

Don't fear though, I am going to have a Thanksgiving dinner! This year, my American friend, Carolyn, and I will be cooking a feast for all of our international friends. It is going to be a "Thanksgiving Miracle" (quote from Friends) if we can pull it off. We have already made 2 trips to the American grocery store and now face the battle of converting everything to pints and grams and centigrade, etc. 

I definitely will document the moment and blog later. Good news though- Carolyn ordered ESPN America so we can watch all the sports! ha. Also, please enjoy the invitation made my Carolyn's British boyfriend. I know you are definitely jealous now. 

 

Taste The Freedom!

UK Grades

So I have never been a straight A student but obviously enjoy getting 85,90,95 type of grades. Anyone can imagine my amusement when a fellow classmate here told me that they got a 45 and were okay with it because it was a tough assignment. I just thought they were not very bright until I learned the grading system. No one gets in the 80s or 90s here. In fact, a 70 is basically an "A"and a 40 is like a "C". Other nationality-students are also throwing around words and phrases like "I got a first" and "distinction". To me, this is foreign but I guess I will learn. Also, one can get an "E", "FX", or "F".

Super random, I know, but somewhat weird and interesting. I also had to post so Dad can read and understand in case he ever hears I get a 40.


<3 cate

This week's British Slang

Blimey.....Rubbish....Dodgy. All brit words used in daily conversation. While I have now been in the UK for over 2 months, I still have trouble, OCCASIONALLY, understanding British accents or at least slang phrases.  Yesterday, I was introduced to an excellent new phrase that definitely has a meaning that I did not guess: Taking the piss. Urban Dictionary defines it as: 
Making fun of something or someone

Hey, Jim, you're fat.
No, I'm not!
Naw, you're not really fat; I was just taking the piss.

The example is really the best. May not recommend using that phrase in Alabama/Tennessee but I thought this blog post would be most helpful for Kelsey & #friemds when they come for a visit in January. 

Miss y'all <3

Lady Gaga & London Problems

LadyGaga

Halloween in the United Kingdom is somewhat a different holiday than it is in the United States. When I stumbled upon the Halloween section at the large grocery store in early October, I knew it was going to be celebrated in a different manner. The Halloween section consisted of a 3 ft. shelf area. On the top, it read, "All Your Halloween Essentials" and consisted of pumpkin stickers, a few bags of random candy, and a banner! Not quite the rows and rows of costumes, candy, pumpkins, witches, etc, that one might find at a Walmart or Target. Halloween, here, also is about being scary! Costumes are worn only by adults (aka No trick or treating for candy) and about 90% of costumes consist of blood! For example, my flatmates & their friends' costumes the first night. 

(Above: Marc Antoine as a sheep's death, Dario as a dead Elvis, Clarissa as herself, & Bianca as a zombie flapper)

Besides being asked about all of my best costumes in the past, I was also asked my best 'trick'? Personally, I have never tricked someone on Halloween. Not sure if it is common or perhaps used to be. If not, where did we get "Trick-or-Treat"? 

Since there are no pre-created costumes in a bag that you can buy at any store, I decided to be cost-effective and create a costume from my clothes. That got me with Lady Gaga. Bianca, my roommate, suggested that I just buy meat from the grocery store and wear that but I figured no one would be my friend for the night. 

 (Above: Lady Gaga & my American friend, Carolyn, as a football player)

(Above: My absolute favorite costume and picture of the night! The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge)

The Apocalypse 

That night, when we were leaving the party, the cash machine was not working. We got a cab and just figured we would get cash at the next machine. After trying 7 cash machines with different bank cards (None Working), our cab driver asked us to leave the cab! It was honestly, somewhat creepy. I thought the world was ending. It was the first time that I seriously had 0 money & no way to get any. We called the bank in the cab and they told us that ALL BANKS in London were not working. NO debit, NO credit, NO cash machines! Luckily, Carolyn's boyfriend said that he had a check in his flat. Come to find out, that morning was "daylight savings" in London and the time changed. With the time change came all bank systems shutting down. You would think that in the year 2011, they would figure how to fix that. 

#London Problems

The next morning Bianca and I decided that we wanted pancakes for breakfast. We talked about our love for American pancakes and eventually decided to get up and make pancakes. Luckily, my Italian roommate knew how to make American pancakes or at least attempted. I, on the other hand, only know how to make pancakes from the mix. Anyways, we set off to the first grocery store to buy the ingredients. Sadly, No syrup! We ended up going to 5 grocery stores ALL without maple syrup. The closest thing they have is 'Golden Syrup', which is actually corn syrup in a tin can. We did not buy any but the pancakes were more like crepes anyways so we just ate them with jam!

Anyways, we are going to buy maple syrup on Amazon so no worries. 

Cheers!