Today we met outside the LLC (we being a group of internationals and INTAPP (International Appalachian, Americans who help out with the international students). We were taking three vans up to Grandfather mountain, which is above a town called Linville which is where they filmed a lot of Last of the Mohicans, and also where Forrest Gump was shown running (they have a corner called Forrest Gump corner to commemorate this). The drive took about 25 minutes from Boone, and we drove up to the visitor's center where we met a nice guy who introduced us to the mountain and told us that his family were some of the original shepherds of the mountain dating back to the 1880s.
We then had some food and looked around the gem museum, where they had BIG rocks including gold nuggets the size of my palm and an amethyst the size of a coffee table. The nature exhibit was good, we saw a bald eagle, two otters and four black bears. They were extremely cute, my favourite was the one who had streaks of red along his back and ears. You could feed them a special food, and they sat there on the ground looking just like Yogi bear.
We then drove up the mountain a little bit more to the Black Rock Trail parking lot. We then walked the Black Rock Nature Trail, which was about a two hour round trip, although we actually walked one hour there and had to come back the same way. It was rocky and hard going at certain points, but a very enjoyable, if muddy, walk. The internationals all returned muddy and tired but happy, and then we got back in the vans to head home. We drove a different way, along the Blue Ridge Parkway which is one of the most scenic drives in America. It was beautiful, green and lush. I can tell that in the Fall it's going to be even more spectacular.
Sunday 30 August 2009
Wednesday 26 August 2009
The One with MLK Jr.
Today I didn't have a class until 5, so I hung around in my room and showered in our shower FINALLY!!! I had a couple of errands to run, so I walked down to the Convocation Center to pay my accommodation and meal plan bill, which involved me signing numerous travellers cheques for about ten minutes. Then I had to change my name, as they had spelt my middle name Rebeca with one 'c', and it's with two c's.
When that was done, Becca called me and asked if I wanted to meet for lunch. We went to the cafeteria and ate lunch, then she went back to East to finish some work and I went to check my post, buy post-its at the book store, and to the library to see if a book one of my professors had put on reserve was available (which it wasn't).
I went back to the LLC, and tidied up a bit. Then at half past four I set off for my Popular Culture class in Chapell Wilson Hall. It was once again full, with no spare seats once everyone was sat down. The professor walked in, a guy named Larry Keeter. He was one of those people that had a presence the moment he walked into the room. He came in, set down his bag with a picture of Elvis on the front and sat cross-legged on the desk. He then proceeded to tell us the story of how he started the Popular Culture class, and how App was one of the first colleges to do it as a course. After talking for about half an hour, he announced we were going on a little field trip. He took us to the Students Union, to the International Cultural Center, and we all sat down. We had a talk from the assistant director of the center, and then Larry talked some more about his life. Whilst the assistant director was talking, Larry had donned an Obama baseball cap and a large stars and stripes tie, complete with a picture of Martin Luther King Jr. It's hard to describe him in words but his character is just amazingly dynamic and fun, he has a real energy about him.
He told us the story of how he was at Colombia University in NYC, and then he transferred to Harvard. Whilst he was a student, the year before he married his wife, he went to Washington and was at the front of the crowd when Martin Luther King Junior made his 'I Have a Dream' speech. He went on to speak incredibly passionately about MLK, and Obama, and it didn't feel like a lecture, I actually felt privileged to be able to sit there and listen to amazing stories from him. He tells stories in a modest way, making light of it, but some of the things he did were admirable, and the stories had such incredible meaning. I can't praise this guy enough, even though he went on 45 minutes longer than was timetabled, I didn't mind because I felt like I was learning so much already. I can tell it's going to be an amazing class. I got a sub to go, then walked back to my room to finish my reading for tomorrow.
When that was done, Becca called me and asked if I wanted to meet for lunch. We went to the cafeteria and ate lunch, then she went back to East to finish some work and I went to check my post, buy post-its at the book store, and to the library to see if a book one of my professors had put on reserve was available (which it wasn't).
I went back to the LLC, and tidied up a bit. Then at half past four I set off for my Popular Culture class in Chapell Wilson Hall. It was once again full, with no spare seats once everyone was sat down. The professor walked in, a guy named Larry Keeter. He was one of those people that had a presence the moment he walked into the room. He came in, set down his bag with a picture of Elvis on the front and sat cross-legged on the desk. He then proceeded to tell us the story of how he started the Popular Culture class, and how App was one of the first colleges to do it as a course. After talking for about half an hour, he announced we were going on a little field trip. He took us to the Students Union, to the International Cultural Center, and we all sat down. We had a talk from the assistant director of the center, and then Larry talked some more about his life. Whilst the assistant director was talking, Larry had donned an Obama baseball cap and a large stars and stripes tie, complete with a picture of Martin Luther King Jr. It's hard to describe him in words but his character is just amazingly dynamic and fun, he has a real energy about him.
He told us the story of how he was at Colombia University in NYC, and then he transferred to Harvard. Whilst he was a student, the year before he married his wife, he went to Washington and was at the front of the crowd when Martin Luther King Junior made his 'I Have a Dream' speech. He went on to speak incredibly passionately about MLK, and Obama, and it didn't feel like a lecture, I actually felt privileged to be able to sit there and listen to amazing stories from him. He tells stories in a modest way, making light of it, but some of the things he did were admirable, and the stories had such incredible meaning. I can't praise this guy enough, even though he went on 45 minutes longer than was timetabled, I didn't mind because I felt like I was learning so much already. I can tell it's going to be an amazing class. I got a sub to go, then walked back to my room to finish my reading for tomorrow.
The One with the First Day
Yesterday was my first day of classes. First was Sociological Theory II, the one that I didn't take by choice but had to take because it's what they're doing this semester at Keele. My professor for this class is called Brad Nash, which makes me think he should be a country singer. It started with him just going over the course syllabus and textbook, and talking about the assessment methods.
We then left, and I went to my next class which was US Latin American Relations in Old Belk Hall with Rene Horst. He grew up in Argentina so he knows his stuff. We did pretty much the same thing, going over the course outline and then we watched a video about Latinos in North Carolina. It was set in a town called Siler City, which has a reputation of being very conservative, and they have strong views on immigration. Horst is a weird character, but I think this class should be fun as well.
Next I went for lunch, and then went to the library to print off some things. I then had History of North Carolina with Karl Campbell. This was an eye opener. He did some demographics of the class by asking us to raise our hands. When he asked all the democrats to raise their hands, there were three of us. When he asked all the people who were pro-choice to raise their hands, there were about seven of us. When he asked how many of us were atheist or agnostic, there were two of us. I don't know why I found this so surprising, I guess I just thought there was going to be more diversity being at university. This class was also fun, but I think it will be quite challenging.
I went back to my room, went for dinner with Meagan, Liz and Cody, then came back and took my garbage to the trash compactor. We watched some TV before going to bed.
We then left, and I went to my next class which was US Latin American Relations in Old Belk Hall with Rene Horst. He grew up in Argentina so he knows his stuff. We did pretty much the same thing, going over the course outline and then we watched a video about Latinos in North Carolina. It was set in a town called Siler City, which has a reputation of being very conservative, and they have strong views on immigration. Horst is a weird character, but I think this class should be fun as well.
Next I went for lunch, and then went to the library to print off some things. I then had History of North Carolina with Karl Campbell. This was an eye opener. He did some demographics of the class by asking us to raise our hands. When he asked all the democrats to raise their hands, there were three of us. When he asked all the people who were pro-choice to raise their hands, there were about seven of us. When he asked how many of us were atheist or agnostic, there were two of us. I don't know why I found this so surprising, I guess I just thought there was going to be more diversity being at university. This class was also fun, but I think it will be quite challenging.
I went back to my room, went for dinner with Meagan, Liz and Cody, then came back and took my garbage to the trash compactor. We watched some TV before going to bed.
Monday 24 August 2009
The One with the Awful Smell
Today I woke up at 8.00 in order to get to the bookstore for 8.30. If you'd have seen the queue at 12 this afternoon, winding three times around the store, you'd understand why I went early. I had to rent three textbooks, then purchase seven which cost me an insane amount of money. My wallet is still in severe pain.
I then took the Appalcart back to my room with my heavy bags, and dumped them on my bed. Meagan was still asleep so I went downstairs to the computer room to check my emails and such. I then arranged to meet Becca and Yukino for lunch. We sat with a load of the other international guys in the cafeteria, then headed to the Club Expo (like the freshers fair at Keele where you join clubs etc.) We then wandered round finding various professors to get timetabling issues sorted, then went back to the LLC to chill for a bit. I skyped some people, and took another shower in Coleens room (hopefully my last). The maintenance guys were in when I got back, and they have sprayed the shower with some awful stuff which smells like a mixture of glue and nail polish, and it gives you a headache if you're in the room too long. We've had the windows and doors open all day and thankfully the smell seems to be clearing away now. We should be able to use our brand spanking new shower tomorrow. YAY!!!
Lectures start at 9.30 for me tomorrow, which I'm quite excited and nervous about. Once I get into a regular schedule I'm sure everything will work itself out. So off to bed, because I'm getting up at 8. My room mate has 8AM classes on four out of five days, and I kind of feel bad for her. She chose to do a major in Geology with a minor in Paleantology which I think is really cool Off to bed now.
I then took the Appalcart back to my room with my heavy bags, and dumped them on my bed. Meagan was still asleep so I went downstairs to the computer room to check my emails and such. I then arranged to meet Becca and Yukino for lunch. We sat with a load of the other international guys in the cafeteria, then headed to the Club Expo (like the freshers fair at Keele where you join clubs etc.) We then wandered round finding various professors to get timetabling issues sorted, then went back to the LLC to chill for a bit. I skyped some people, and took another shower in Coleens room (hopefully my last). The maintenance guys were in when I got back, and they have sprayed the shower with some awful stuff which smells like a mixture of glue and nail polish, and it gives you a headache if you're in the room too long. We've had the windows and doors open all day and thankfully the smell seems to be clearing away now. We should be able to use our brand spanking new shower tomorrow. YAY!!!
Lectures start at 9.30 for me tomorrow, which I'm quite excited and nervous about. Once I get into a regular schedule I'm sure everything will work itself out. So off to bed, because I'm getting up at 8. My room mate has 8AM classes on four out of five days, and I kind of feel bad for her. She chose to do a major in Geology with a minor in Paleantology which I think is really cool Off to bed now.
Sunday 23 August 2009
The One with the Three Cups of Tea
Today we had a schedule of events planned specifically for people living in the LLC. First was a cookout, with burgers, hot dogs, salad, brownies and home made lemonade. This was fun because we all swapped tables and generally mingled with others in the LLC. Next was a discussion about the differences between high school and college, led in small groups of about fifteen (my group was led by BR Hoffman, who is part of the Wautauga college and extremely friendly). It developed into a discussion about a book the freshman had to read called Three Cups of Tea, which is about an American called Greg Mortenson who set up schools specifically designed to educate women in places like Pakistan and Afghanistan. The discussion grew until we were debating the merits and disadvantages of military aid versus humanitarian aid. It got political, which was fun for me because I was the only International in the group and liked hearing the American perspectives on things.
We then had about an hour break and headed down to the Broyhill Music Center which is where a meeting was held between all of the people living in the LLC, to introduce staff members and RA's (Residential Assistants, of which there are three on each of the four floors of the LLC). We talked about setting up a fund to help Greg Mortenson set up more schools, and that ended the meeting. I headed to King Street, which runs through the centre of Boone, and got myself a yummy turkey sub from Jimmy John's. I headed back to the room and sorted out some stuff and talked to some people on Facebook. I've got to be up early tomorrow to get in line at the bookstore, because it will get crazy if I leave it too late.
We then had about an hour break and headed down to the Broyhill Music Center which is where a meeting was held between all of the people living in the LLC, to introduce staff members and RA's (Residential Assistants, of which there are three on each of the four floors of the LLC). We talked about setting up a fund to help Greg Mortenson set up more schools, and that ended the meeting. I headed to King Street, which runs through the centre of Boone, and got myself a yummy turkey sub from Jimmy John's. I headed back to the room and sorted out some stuff and talked to some people on Facebook. I've got to be up early tomorrow to get in line at the bookstore, because it will get crazy if I leave it too late.
The One with the Crawdad
So today was baseball :) I did nothing all day, except lie in and then go on Facebook. I did stop briefly to get food, then at five we were met by the bus to take us to Hickory, which is about a mile away from Boone. The drive was amazing - gorgeous and beautiful, because we were so high up in the mountains.
We got to the L.P. Frans stadium on the Appalachian bus (one of many regularly seen around campus running various sportspeople to games and classes to trips). We got a special mention from the announcer who noticed our bus and welcomed the international students from Appstate!! WOOT WOOT!!! The game itself started off with the national anthem being sung, whereby everyone stood up and the men took off their hats and placed them on their hearts. It sounds corny but being there with an entire stadium singing together was pretty special. The baseball begun with the Asheville Tourists batting first (a baseball game usually lasts for ten innings). Once we had figured out which team were which (both wore red t-shirts, but the Crawdads wore white trousers whilst the Tourists wore grey), we cheered at the appropriate times. It was quite fun, although there are lots of breaks and pauses for adverts and random messages from the announcer. One of the highlights of the evening was when they catapulted hot dogs into the crowd (yes, they actually got a catapult onto the pitch and fired foil-wrapped hot dogs into the cheering people). Everyone rushed to get them, and James (another English international) got it, pushing children out of the way and spilling beer on them in the process).
We got food and drinks, and sat around at the top part of the stadium overlooking everything. We met the mascot (a crawdad is kind of like a lobster) and had pictures. It started to rain so we all took cover, but the baseball continued through the rain. When it eventually slowed to a drizzle, the English ventured out whilst everyone else stayed under cover. We left early, at around the sixth inning, because there was a party that everyone wanted to get back for. But it was a really fun night. We got free beach towels emblazoned with the Crawdads logo, and all the way back on the bus we listened to a radio station from Charlotte (which played lots of British music including Sting, Elton John and Natasha Bedingfield).
We got to the L.P. Frans stadium on the Appalachian bus (one of many regularly seen around campus running various sportspeople to games and classes to trips). We got a special mention from the announcer who noticed our bus and welcomed the international students from Appstate!! WOOT WOOT!!! The game itself started off with the national anthem being sung, whereby everyone stood up and the men took off their hats and placed them on their hearts. It sounds corny but being there with an entire stadium singing together was pretty special. The baseball begun with the Asheville Tourists batting first (a baseball game usually lasts for ten innings). Once we had figured out which team were which (both wore red t-shirts, but the Crawdads wore white trousers whilst the Tourists wore grey), we cheered at the appropriate times. It was quite fun, although there are lots of breaks and pauses for adverts and random messages from the announcer. One of the highlights of the evening was when they catapulted hot dogs into the crowd (yes, they actually got a catapult onto the pitch and fired foil-wrapped hot dogs into the cheering people). Everyone rushed to get them, and James (another English international) got it, pushing children out of the way and spilling beer on them in the process).
We got food and drinks, and sat around at the top part of the stadium overlooking everything. We met the mascot (a crawdad is kind of like a lobster) and had pictures. It started to rain so we all took cover, but the baseball continued through the rain. When it eventually slowed to a drizzle, the English ventured out whilst everyone else stayed under cover. We left early, at around the sixth inning, because there was a party that everyone wanted to get back for. But it was a really fun night. We got free beach towels emblazoned with the Crawdads logo, and all the way back on the bus we listened to a radio station from Charlotte (which played lots of British music including Sting, Elton John and Natasha Bedingfield).
Friday 21 August 2009
The One with the Freshers
Today I woke up at half past eight when Meagan left, and couldn't seem to get back to sleep so I watched a film and went on Facebook for a bit. Becca asked me if I wanted to go for some lunch so we met at the Cafeteria and took advantage of our last day of free food, getting chicken sandwiches, fries, salads and large soft drinks. We then walked up to the post office where I checked my post box (which has a complicated combination turny-thing which I couldn't figure out). When I did i got a lovely postcard from Cat, along with some other stuff from the university and a Dominos student deals menu, complete with magnetic strip on the back so we could stick it to our fridge :)
I then went to the bookstore to get my books, but then decided the queue was way too long. We observed the freshers moving in with their families bringing boxes and bags and fridges and kitchen sinks, and marvelled at how little we had brought in comparison.
Then I took the Gold Route Appalcart which went right up the mountain behind us to the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center, and past Appalachian Heights which is accommodation for students. It was very pretty. I then returned to the room where Meagan was taking a nap, so I left her and went downstairs to the computer room for a bit. I then came back up and talked to a few people on Skype. Baseball tomorrow!!! I did my first laundry in America yesterday, which made me feel quite accomplished. Quarters are like gold dust around here though, because the machines only take quarters. The vending machines however take your Student ID cards which is extremely useful.
I then went to the bookstore to get my books, but then decided the queue was way too long. We observed the freshers moving in with their families bringing boxes and bags and fridges and kitchen sinks, and marvelled at how little we had brought in comparison.
Then I took the Gold Route Appalcart which went right up the mountain behind us to the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center, and past Appalachian Heights which is accommodation for students. It was very pretty. I then returned to the room where Meagan was taking a nap, so I left her and went downstairs to the computer room for a bit. I then came back up and talked to a few people on Skype. Baseball tomorrow!!! I did my first laundry in America yesterday, which made me feel quite accomplished. Quarters are like gold dust around here though, because the machines only take quarters. The vending machines however take your Student ID cards which is extremely useful.
Thursday 20 August 2009
The One with the Tic Tacs
Today I had my meeting with the academic advisor called Jeanne D'arc Gomis - she's lovely. Me and Becca went together because we're the only ones from Keele, and we got very excited in the office when there were folders with all the itnernational partner universities on - and Keele was the biggest one! - just like the international office at Keele. It reminded us of home...
We finished that, then went to meet Marcella at East Dorm for breakfast. It was nearly eleven, and seeing nothing we liked very much, Becca and I decided it was ok to eat pizza for breakfast. Technically it was brunch. The univeristy have very kindly provided all internationals with free meals until Friday, so we're taking advantage of that and trying out all the different eating places. We then went to the bookstore to see which books we needed for our courses. Appstate has a rental system here where you rent the hardbacks you need free of charge and bring them back at the end of term - very handy so we don't have to buy loads of heavy books we couldn't take back with us anyway. The merchandise shop here is immense - everything from Appstate t-shirts, to flip flops, to mugs and fluffy Josef golf club covers (Josef the Mountaineer is the Appstate mascot - he's immense).
We then decided to catch the Appalcart (the free public transport system) to the Wal-Mart to get some supplies like laundry detergent and i needed a comforter for my bed. We also got some fake Sprite (called Twist Up) and fake Dr Pepper (called Doctor Thunder). Also we found Tic Tacs that were pink grapefruit flavoured, which got us very excited because they are also pink in colour :). We went back to Becca's room to chill for a bit (although we couldn't really chill because there's no air conditioning in East Hall). Then we went to meet some internationals for a bit, then went back to our rooms. The new season of Project Runway starts tonight so hopefully we'll be watching that on Meagan's TV :) Skyping the family is really cool, because it's like a free phone call. Missing them and all my friends but am having such a cool time, everyone here is so friendly and welcoming.
We finished that, then went to meet Marcella at East Dorm for breakfast. It was nearly eleven, and seeing nothing we liked very much, Becca and I decided it was ok to eat pizza for breakfast. Technically it was brunch. The univeristy have very kindly provided all internationals with free meals until Friday, so we're taking advantage of that and trying out all the different eating places. We then went to the bookstore to see which books we needed for our courses. Appstate has a rental system here where you rent the hardbacks you need free of charge and bring them back at the end of term - very handy so we don't have to buy loads of heavy books we couldn't take back with us anyway. The merchandise shop here is immense - everything from Appstate t-shirts, to flip flops, to mugs and fluffy Josef golf club covers (Josef the Mountaineer is the Appstate mascot - he's immense).
We then decided to catch the Appalcart (the free public transport system) to the Wal-Mart to get some supplies like laundry detergent and i needed a comforter for my bed. We also got some fake Sprite (called Twist Up) and fake Dr Pepper (called Doctor Thunder). Also we found Tic Tacs that were pink grapefruit flavoured, which got us very excited because they are also pink in colour :). We went back to Becca's room to chill for a bit (although we couldn't really chill because there's no air conditioning in East Hall). Then we went to meet some internationals for a bit, then went back to our rooms. The new season of Project Runway starts tonight so hopefully we'll be watching that on Meagan's TV :) Skyping the family is really cool, because it's like a free phone call. Missing them and all my friends but am having such a cool time, everyone here is so friendly and welcoming.
Wednesday 19 August 2009
The One with the Blimpie
Today, we went over to the Great Hall for breakfast, and had more talks from random people, including outdoor clubs and culture shock. We had free lunch from Blimpie which is a sub shop. They were delicious. Then everyone else went for a library tour, and I came back to my room where there were some random maintenance guys working on our shower (which apparently is not going to be fixed until at least Friday... lame!!!)
I spent quite a lot of the afternoon in the computer room, and I had to go to our RA's (Residential Assistant)room to shower. We had a barbecue dinner in the Great Hall with all the other LLC residents (it was packed!) Most of the evening was spent talking to random people and watching Ghost Hunters International, because the new season started today. Four of us are sitting in our room now, watching TV and talking.
I spent quite a lot of the afternoon in the computer room, and I had to go to our RA's (Residential Assistant)room to shower. We had a barbecue dinner in the Great Hall with all the other LLC residents (it was packed!) Most of the evening was spent talking to random people and watching Ghost Hunters International, because the new season started today. Four of us are sitting in our room now, watching TV and talking.
Tuesday 18 August 2009
The One with the Broken Shower
So today we had to be downstairs by half past eight. I woke up at random intervals during the night because I was freezing cold. I literally slept in my hoodie because I was that cold. I had a shower (more about that later) and went downstairs where some lovely people from a local church had set out free breakfast for us. We then had a full day of talks about various boring University things such as taxes and visas. We had a break where we were given free lunch (pizza, chips (crisps) and cookies) by the local people from Boone. We then had more talks, then went down the millions of steps to the OBL (Old Belk Library) to get our internet sorted out. I then walked back up the millions of steps, and my room mate had moved in. She's called Meagan, and she seems really nice. We like all the same TV shows (plus she has a TV which i can watch), and we have a lot in common. I got some really really bad news earlier, so it brightened up my day that my room mate was really nice. We're just hanging out in our room now, and generally having a fun time. Oh, about the shower, we got to the room and there was a note saying not to use the shower, and apparently water was leaking through to the room downstairs, so hopefully someone will come to fix it tomorrow.
Sunday 16 August 2009
The One with the Family Holiday
Okay, so I've been on holiday with my parents and Adam for a week. Here's what we did :)
Day 1 - August 9th
We arrived at JFK airport in New York after a delay at Heathrow and then another delay landing which meant we were about half an hour late landing. We were all absolutely exhausted so we took a taxi to the Jolly Madison Hotel in New York, on the corner of 38th and Madison. It was quite a fun ride, NY has an atmosphere immediately as you step out of the airport. We had an hour's rest at the hotel, then wandered down 5th Avenue to find somewhere to eat. We ended up at a kosher deli called Ben's - i had a delicious turkey burger. We then wandered back to the hotel to shower and collapse into bed. The humidity in NY was ridiculous - permanent frizzy hair = not a good look!
Highlights
- a Spanish spiderman wandering around near Times Square
- a car with bullet holes in it driving around near the airport
- a very nice customs officer at the airport who let me into the country asked if we were from 'dur-bee' which made me giggle because he had only heard of us because of our failure of a football team
Day 2 - August 10th
Cleansing your face at the end of a day in NY is a scary experience - I was thinking that the filthy cotton pad was how the inside of my lungs would look like from breathing in all the pollution. We started the day by going up the Empire State Building. It was amazing to be so high up. I didn't expect the architecture in NY to be so diverse, I always imagined it would be skyscraper after skyscraper with no character, but each building is unique and different. We then went on the open top bus to Battery Park, but the queue for the Ellis Island ferry was too long so we went to the Rockefeller Center instead. We didn't go 'up the rock' but we walked around the underground mall with shops etc. We went back to the hotel for a rest, then went on the uptown bus which went around Harlem and Central Park. We took the night bus which gave us night views of Manhattan, but also went over the Manhattan Bridge to Brooklyn, where we stopped at a lovely ice cream factory. NY has a different atmosphere at night. I just liked all the pretty lights. Times Square looks amazing lit up. Our bus then proceeded to break down - cue angry Chinese bus driver arguing with our tour guide - then we had to wait half an hour to get a new bus. We were all zonked so we went straight to bed...
Day 3 - August 11th
We had breakfast at the Moonstruck diner - chocolate chip pancakes and OJ :) then we walked to the port where the Ellis Island cruise left from. The indoor air-conditioned seating was much appreciated after walking about ten blocks to get there! The cruise was very nice, saw the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, then we took the bus to Central Park, getting off at the place where John Lennon was shot, where there' a memorial which Yoko Ono set up called Strawberry Fields. We then went through the park to Bethesda Terrace where they were practising for an opera the next night. The singer was extremely painful to listen to. We lay on the grass by the fountain to watch the world go by. We then caught the bus back to Times Square, and walked back to the hotel after stopping at a diner for a sandwich. We put on the Discovery channel, and on came 'How It's Made' which is an awesome programme. We learnt how to make donuts, golf carts, pepperoni, baloney and BLIMPS!!! We went straight to bed as we had a long drive ahead of us the next day to Niagara.
Highlights
- an Elvis impersonator dressed in full glittery white jumpsuit in the diner sitting behind us, eating a banana and polishing his guitar. We left before he started singing though...
- friendly squirrel named Sam and a pigeon called Percy in Central Park
Day 4 - August 12th
Woke up early for breakfast, then took a taxi to Newark Airport to pick up our rental car. We went on the New Jersey Turnpike which is in lots of songs, so i proceeded to sing them to everyone :) We got to Niagara Falls (the Canadian side) after about ten hours with horrendous traffic coming out of NY, and lots of stops along the way. It was misty and dark when we arrived but we could see the outline of the falls, everything was wet from the spray.
Highlights
-'Welcome to Canada' sign
- a crazy guy who owned the diner we ate at talked to us at length about how he thought a civil war was going to break out because of Obama and his 'Socialist Takeover'. He told us he was going to but a shotgun (but only a small one so his wife could use it too). We nicknamed him Chuck. He had scary eyes...
Day 5 - August 13th
Wow - what a day! We woke up at 8 to Mum jumping up and down with excitement. She'd found a bus tour that took you round the main attractions at Niagara (on the Canadian side). First was the walk behind Niagara Falls. This was amazing, to be standing a few feet behind a massive wall of water was incredible. We then drove around the area while the tour guide told us about the area and the few people who have survived going over the falls - not many. We went to a butterfly conservatory, which was very pretty but i couldn't stay in there for more than 20 minutes before I got freaked out. There were some cute poison arrow frogs though. We went on the Maid of the Mist boat, which was absolutely amazing. Standing there while water crashed down all around you was pretty awesome. We came back to the hotel very wet but happy - the boat trip was what we called 'Ultimate Refreshment'. We went to one of my favourite diners called Denny's for dinner, then went souvenir shopping and watched the falls because they light them up all different colours at night - beautiful. We have nicknamed Niagara Falls 'Fallsvegas' because of all the hotels, casinos and shops lighting up the touristy area.
Day 6 - August 14th
We went to see the falls one last time in the morning, getting soaking wet in the process. The water's got loads of minerals in it, so it tastes pretty good. We drove from Niagara back through a little bit of NY state, then into Pennsylvania. We got onto route 6, which is a famous road in Pennsylvania which is beautiful and has lots of little quaint towns along it. It was extremely pretty and green, and there was lots of nature to look at including elk, moose and squirrels. We drove pretty much all day, then stopped at a motel in Port Allegany for the night - free wi-fi - yes!!
Day 7 - August 15th
We drove to a place where you can feed deer with your hands, apparently they like to eat Graham Crackers :) They looked just like Bambi - so cute! We stopped at Pennsylvania Grand Canyon which was beautiful. After many more stops and the help of my superb map-reading skills we ended up back at a hotel near JFK so I could catch my flight to Charlotte in the morning.
Highlights
- talking to a very nice pastor we met at the canyon who had visited Scotland 16 times
- stopped at an amazing diner which was all chrome and leather seats - like the proper old-fashioned 50s diners. I love quirky places like that - especially when the restrooms are labelled 'Guys' and 'Dolls'
Day 8 - August 16th
We got up early so I could finish packing. We then took the shuttle bus to Terminal 3 where I checked in my bag. We had a Starbucks, then I went through security and did a little bit of souvenir shopping before boarding the plane to Charlotte. It was a tiny plane- two seats on the left aisle, two on the right - so i was nervous about turbulence because it freaks me out, but it was actually a pretty smooth flight. I was met by two guys from Appalachian along with two girls and Bob the leader. They all seem really nice, so I'm now sitting in the Quality Inn. We're leaving at nine tomorrow to go on the two hour bus ride to Boone, where my ASU adventure will begin :)
Day 1 - August 9th
We arrived at JFK airport in New York after a delay at Heathrow and then another delay landing which meant we were about half an hour late landing. We were all absolutely exhausted so we took a taxi to the Jolly Madison Hotel in New York, on the corner of 38th and Madison. It was quite a fun ride, NY has an atmosphere immediately as you step out of the airport. We had an hour's rest at the hotel, then wandered down 5th Avenue to find somewhere to eat. We ended up at a kosher deli called Ben's - i had a delicious turkey burger. We then wandered back to the hotel to shower and collapse into bed. The humidity in NY was ridiculous - permanent frizzy hair = not a good look!
Highlights
- a Spanish spiderman wandering around near Times Square
- a car with bullet holes in it driving around near the airport
- a very nice customs officer at the airport who let me into the country asked if we were from 'dur-bee' which made me giggle because he had only heard of us because of our failure of a football team
Day 2 - August 10th
Cleansing your face at the end of a day in NY is a scary experience - I was thinking that the filthy cotton pad was how the inside of my lungs would look like from breathing in all the pollution. We started the day by going up the Empire State Building. It was amazing to be so high up. I didn't expect the architecture in NY to be so diverse, I always imagined it would be skyscraper after skyscraper with no character, but each building is unique and different. We then went on the open top bus to Battery Park, but the queue for the Ellis Island ferry was too long so we went to the Rockefeller Center instead. We didn't go 'up the rock' but we walked around the underground mall with shops etc. We went back to the hotel for a rest, then went on the uptown bus which went around Harlem and Central Park. We took the night bus which gave us night views of Manhattan, but also went over the Manhattan Bridge to Brooklyn, where we stopped at a lovely ice cream factory. NY has a different atmosphere at night. I just liked all the pretty lights. Times Square looks amazing lit up. Our bus then proceeded to break down - cue angry Chinese bus driver arguing with our tour guide - then we had to wait half an hour to get a new bus. We were all zonked so we went straight to bed...
Day 3 - August 11th
We had breakfast at the Moonstruck diner - chocolate chip pancakes and OJ :) then we walked to the port where the Ellis Island cruise left from. The indoor air-conditioned seating was much appreciated after walking about ten blocks to get there! The cruise was very nice, saw the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, then we took the bus to Central Park, getting off at the place where John Lennon was shot, where there' a memorial which Yoko Ono set up called Strawberry Fields. We then went through the park to Bethesda Terrace where they were practising for an opera the next night. The singer was extremely painful to listen to. We lay on the grass by the fountain to watch the world go by. We then caught the bus back to Times Square, and walked back to the hotel after stopping at a diner for a sandwich. We put on the Discovery channel, and on came 'How It's Made' which is an awesome programme. We learnt how to make donuts, golf carts, pepperoni, baloney and BLIMPS!!! We went straight to bed as we had a long drive ahead of us the next day to Niagara.
Highlights
- an Elvis impersonator dressed in full glittery white jumpsuit in the diner sitting behind us, eating a banana and polishing his guitar. We left before he started singing though...
- friendly squirrel named Sam and a pigeon called Percy in Central Park
Day 4 - August 12th
Woke up early for breakfast, then took a taxi to Newark Airport to pick up our rental car. We went on the New Jersey Turnpike which is in lots of songs, so i proceeded to sing them to everyone :) We got to Niagara Falls (the Canadian side) after about ten hours with horrendous traffic coming out of NY, and lots of stops along the way. It was misty and dark when we arrived but we could see the outline of the falls, everything was wet from the spray.
Highlights
-'Welcome to Canada' sign
- a crazy guy who owned the diner we ate at talked to us at length about how he thought a civil war was going to break out because of Obama and his 'Socialist Takeover'. He told us he was going to but a shotgun (but only a small one so his wife could use it too). We nicknamed him Chuck. He had scary eyes...
Day 5 - August 13th
Wow - what a day! We woke up at 8 to Mum jumping up and down with excitement. She'd found a bus tour that took you round the main attractions at Niagara (on the Canadian side). First was the walk behind Niagara Falls. This was amazing, to be standing a few feet behind a massive wall of water was incredible. We then drove around the area while the tour guide told us about the area and the few people who have survived going over the falls - not many. We went to a butterfly conservatory, which was very pretty but i couldn't stay in there for more than 20 minutes before I got freaked out. There were some cute poison arrow frogs though. We went on the Maid of the Mist boat, which was absolutely amazing. Standing there while water crashed down all around you was pretty awesome. We came back to the hotel very wet but happy - the boat trip was what we called 'Ultimate Refreshment'. We went to one of my favourite diners called Denny's for dinner, then went souvenir shopping and watched the falls because they light them up all different colours at night - beautiful. We have nicknamed Niagara Falls 'Fallsvegas' because of all the hotels, casinos and shops lighting up the touristy area.
Day 6 - August 14th
We went to see the falls one last time in the morning, getting soaking wet in the process. The water's got loads of minerals in it, so it tastes pretty good. We drove from Niagara back through a little bit of NY state, then into Pennsylvania. We got onto route 6, which is a famous road in Pennsylvania which is beautiful and has lots of little quaint towns along it. It was extremely pretty and green, and there was lots of nature to look at including elk, moose and squirrels. We drove pretty much all day, then stopped at a motel in Port Allegany for the night - free wi-fi - yes!!
Day 7 - August 15th
We drove to a place where you can feed deer with your hands, apparently they like to eat Graham Crackers :) They looked just like Bambi - so cute! We stopped at Pennsylvania Grand Canyon which was beautiful. After many more stops and the help of my superb map-reading skills we ended up back at a hotel near JFK so I could catch my flight to Charlotte in the morning.
Highlights
- talking to a very nice pastor we met at the canyon who had visited Scotland 16 times
- stopped at an amazing diner which was all chrome and leather seats - like the proper old-fashioned 50s diners. I love quirky places like that - especially when the restrooms are labelled 'Guys' and 'Dolls'
Day 8 - August 16th
We got up early so I could finish packing. We then took the shuttle bus to Terminal 3 where I checked in my bag. We had a Starbucks, then I went through security and did a little bit of souvenir shopping before boarding the plane to Charlotte. It was a tiny plane- two seats on the left aisle, two on the right - so i was nervous about turbulence because it freaks me out, but it was actually a pretty smooth flight. I was met by two guys from Appalachian along with two girls and Bob the leader. They all seem really nice, so I'm now sitting in the Quality Inn. We're leaving at nine tomorrow to go on the two hour bus ride to Boone, where my ASU adventure will begin :)
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