the worst winter in thirty years...welcome to England!

Well here I am! Chester, England is now home for me until July 4th. This is my third day here and it's been both exhilarating and exhausting.

The first two days were pretty rough. I felt jetlagged and lonely and a little scared. I didn't expect the English culture to be so different from my own, but it is! Silly me to think that just because people speak my language they would be very similar.

Just so you know, a shopping cart is actually a "trolley," a car trunk is actually a "boot" and "yall" isn't exactly a proper form of communication, but some of my friends from different parts of the US could tell you that one!

Here is a picture of my flat and my side of the room that I am sharing with my nice roommate, Brynn, from North Carolina.

I've happened to have arrived in the middle of the worst winter in thirty years. How about that, mate? IT IS FREEZING.

Oh the up side, though, the snow is soooo beautiful!! I don't think I've seen more than a couple snowflakes in about seven years and I'm absolutely enthralled with all these big, fluffy flakes. Today I was making snowballs, catching snowflakes on the tongue, and having the best time. Needless to say, today has been much better than the previous two.

Chester is the most charming town I have ever seen. It is so lovely with its ancient Roman wall (that I walked along today in order to go to the grocery in the snow with some of the other American students!), big cathedral, and stone walkways. At night, it is all lit up with small white lights and I feel like I'm living in a dream. If you ever want to come visit the loveliest town in England in the next six months, come visit me!

I should be starting classes pretty soon, but I think they are cancelled tomorrow because of the pretty pretty snow. I guess that means I'll be frolicking through the cobblestone streets making snow angels and sipping hot cider. Oh goodie!

In all honesty, it really is a challenge adjusting to life here, but I think I'm going to like it. I'm ready to get on a regular schedule and meet some English friends in addition to the other American exchange students. The Americans are a lot of fun and we've had a very much "we're all in this together" mentality, which has been good for everyone. We've also met a couple of English guys who've been very nice and helped us around a bit.

My classes are Crime Fiction (sounds pretty cool, huh? I saw an Agatha Christie book in the bookstore and I'm hoping it's mine!!), Encountering Islam, Art History, and Paul & 1 Corinthians (which is not actually a class, but a one on one tutorial with a professor).

Well, I best be going mates. I'm going to a pub tonight! Cheers, yall ♥