lancashire

lancashire
blackpool

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

first day... i hate when school starts

well as you can tell the fun is over for a little but as i start my classes. i just want to check out how hard they will be this week and then next week maybe plan a trip somewhere. i had my first class today and the professor didnt even turn up, instead we had a history administrator give us an introduction to the course and also give out all the information that is need. well apparently for this course you dont need a text book, there is no test (which i actually like) as there is only a document analysis - a presentation and an essay (seems easy so far), the only thing i have a problem with is it seems like i have gone back to elementary school or high school as they take mandatory attendence which seems a bit harsh seeing how i payed for the class i should be able to turn up if i want to as it is my money. but what ever i plan to attend all my classes anyway.

one thing i picked up today that i will taking home with me is the idea of student power! student power is almost non-existent at kwantlen. the students dont have a say it is the students in the student union and the board of directors that have a say. that doesnt really repressent the masses. at uclan they do a bit different as the student union and the board of directors of the school and students that are elected to represent each division of studies at uclan all sit equally on a panel and discuss issues on every last detail of univerisity and student life. this gives the people that are not in the classes the insite into how the student body feels regarding the teaching, the courses, the time tables and any other issues that are prevellent to student life and in the whole - THE SUCCESS!

Monday, September 20, 2010

things i have left you that might be useful

well with things being so crazy at the moment i have left out alot of vital information that might be useful to international students when they are either coming to uclan or going to another foreign institution.

first thing i can tell you is to plan how to travel with money as i assure you you will spend alot. when i arrived i luckly had a place to stay before going to uni accomodation (by the way the best way is just to pay and get university accommodation as private is alot more work is sorting out contracts and rent payments and all the hassel that you dont want to deal with). accommodation is very small. so dont expect much and you will have to buy cutlery and pots and pans and everything. and depending where you go (country and store) it can get really expensive. when i first met my room mates i really like them, they are funny although they are young as they are just starting university but that can be a good thing as they want to meet people and all the people i have met so far are nice and are fun and really outgoing and like to drink and have a good time and include everyone. although i have heard horror stories of other peoples flatmates. i find that all the people here and the university attitude is more student orientated. they direct more of an effort in to the students having an experience which i dont find the same at kwantlen. uclan and pretty much all british universities have a freshers week in which the student union gives out free stuff that you need, coupons and puts on events at low prices and has parties in our own student club so that people can have a good time and meet other individuals. it is an atmosphere which forces you to join and be outgoing even if you arent. also the university encourages sports and other activities as it has many clubs, the school even has a half day on wednesdays so that NO CLASSES ARE PAST THE AFTERNOON as this encourages people to join clubs and participate and again meet new people. i though this was a brilliant idea. which i hope universities in canada adopt.

one of the most important rules is to have alot of drinking money to spare as that is mostly what you will doing during your spare time :) also just experience everything possible, join in, even if you look stupid as no one will make fun of you cos they are all having a good time and making a fool of themselves anyway.

at uclan the most helpful center is the "i" center they help with all information that you need, all in one place and hires older students as some times what is needed is a student perspective. (that is key) . they also have a futures department and student union that is always active around campus.

one major problem i have found was that classes are really hard to enrol in it is really difficult to get the information you need to first find if classes are offered and then to see if you can take those classes and then to find out where and when they are and what you need for the class. it has been quiet a headache. i only just found out what classes i am taking and it is the 20th of september and i only just start class tomorrow, some classes dont even start to mid october to it is very unique situation which is one thing i like about kwantlen is you find out ahead of time the schedule and plan around that, NO LIMBO.

well if i think of anything else more useful i will be sure to point it out. now i am going for a pint :) student life!

Friday, September 17, 2010

I AMSTERDAM ( I - AM - STERDAM )

i just got back from amsterdam ! the best city in the world !

friday:

so today i got back from amsterdam. we woke up this morning early to catch our flight home. we took easy jet - so we pretty much had to run on the tarmack to get on the plain. the amsterdam weather wasnt much help. it could be sunny one second and pouring rain another, not much different from vancouver weather. well had to get on the train (double decker train) from amsterdam city where our hostel and the main city center and "the red light district was to the airport which was about a 30 minute train ride. got through security with easy only to find out, our plane was delayed and then when we got on the plain delayed again because one of the passengers lost there passports ( that was stupid it took them 30 minutes to decide to kick the guy off the plane and to catch another one ) well an hour plane ride back and or i guess a 0 hour plane ride back due to the time difference. anyway got back to liverpool where we left at and got a bus to the train station and then had to go (indian train style) back to preston where i then crashed until deciding to write this.

Thursday:

after a busy night last night we decided to take a canal tour first thing in the morning. we used our i am|sterdam cards as the tour was then free. we got to go on an hour and a bit tour of the canals and take photos from a different angle then biking or walking or traming. you really get to see amsterdam in a different view. the houseboats in the canal are really cool all though i dont think i would ever consider living in one. i would be scared i would go out one morning and miss the first step and land in the water, (the canal water isnt that clean as it is all murky). from the canal boats you can see that alot of the houses are leaning and slanted due to the fact that they were built on woden poles supporting underneath. i kept on wondering if you put either a watermelon or orange on a table in the house it would roll off! i wonder if there best utensil is a saw to cut the legs down on one side of the table? along the way we also saw "nemo" which is the science world of amsterdam. which actually looks like the captin nemo ship from the movies :) we did not have time to go in an see it. :( we also ran out of time to go see the dutch resistence musuem which i was sadly disapointed by but we had seen so many musuems this week, we were kind of musuemed out.

after the canal tour ( i have lots of pictures on facebook ) we went to breakfast / lunch / dinner. :) (only some one on a low budget can do that) then we went to the anne frank house. i have pictures of outside of the house but non from within as alot of the museums would not allow you to take photographs on the art or items inside the buildings. but all the same the anne frank house was excellent and it really fills in all the pictures from when you read the diary (book). and also hit of the flower market which had interestering varity of flowers although there wasnt much actual flowers on display just bulbs. as it was our last night in amsterdam and we wanted to just enjoy the city for once and not go wandering to museums and events. so we met up with mikes friend brett who has been living in amsterdam for 3 months and knows the city more that we do. so we went to a couple places ( some i wish not to mention ) and then headed for some bars of the locals and that added more than the touristy places. and i had an early night as i wanted to be fresh for the trip back. although there was still a few people in our 10 bed hostel dorm that kept we awake with their snoring.

wednesday:

wednesday was a busy day. we woke up late after hardly getting enough sleep due to the fact that people snored very load. part of the experience of traveling cheap and staying hostels. the bathrooms were okay though so that was a surprise. and alot of americans traveling around. probably doing the same as us before school starts. we first travelled to the train station to get our i am|sterdam cards as they were 45 euros and gave you free transport for 3 days and free musuems and discounts all over the city. after that we hit up the musuem district where we wend to the diamond museum took some interesting photos there (see on facebook) and then right across the street to the rijksmuseum amsterdam. where we saw paintings buy rembrandt (sorry pictures not allowed) in this big park across from the musuem is what i think is the bigest tourist attraction which is the big I AM|STERDAM sign ( just by the way if you dont get why i put | in the amsterdam you will if you look at the pictures) took loads of pictures there. i also got a number of pictures of people using bikes and mopeds as they are the quickest way around the city besides using the trams. and everyone has a bike as they have there own path and are always given the right of way even by pedestrians apparently very few crashes occur and with all the bike in amsterdam i was wanting to ask the question why have they not one many tour de france? i kept quiet and got some really nice action photos. the van gogh museum was next on our list ( again no photos ) but they didnt have alot of his more famous work anyway. but some of his lesser known work was still amazing. the house of bols was amazing which was our next place of visit. because we got 25% entry and then got 3 free highly alcoholic drinks by the end i was hammered. bols is the original creater of gin (the english created gin) the dutch created the better and more powerful version of genever, which my god is it strong. and they also create many different time of liquers their newest one is natural yogurt. ( how cool is that ) by the way it was awesome. so i picked up some different stuff there because hey it said amsterdam and it is alcohol. i also took a video of the bartender (there is actually a bartending school at bols) of hime making the drinks. what did we do next... we had dinner and strolled the street of amsterdam for a bit an then went back to bretts house in another district which we hadnt been too for so good conversation and to meet some of his room mates (rick). brett also played us some of his music as that is what he does and he has been playing some local gigs while he was here in amsterdam for the 3 months. it was awesome although a late night we didnt get back to a snorring hostel until 3.

tuesday:

tuesday was a busy day. as we were flying out that day. 9 am we had to be on the train from preston to liverpool to catch a bus to the airport ( john lennon airport is so crappy ) a shack in the middle of a field would have been nicer. well anyway. we got on the plane it was half empty which made it nice we could spread. and headed for a fun 3 days in amsterdam. got to amsterdams airport which is outside the city center and then had to find a train to the city. thank god people in amsterdam no how to speak english. it made everything so easy. and they bike which is awesome if one of the bikers wants you to move out of the way, they ring this cute bell to let you know. our first night we just want to get to the hostel and check it out. it was called the white tulip hostel and it was about 22 euro a night which wasnt bad as alot of the other ones were full and we got 25% and the bar downstairs which helped with food costs. we met up with mikes friend brett. and he showed us the city. we strolled the streets of amsterdam and the red light district and the coffee shops, and the other shops. and stopped in at a local pub when the rain came pouring down and we all forgot our umbrellas this was the start of how the rest of the weeks weather would be. but overall a fun first night and if you read from this bottom to top as i notice i have done it the opposite way, you will understand the fun that we had.

bye for now.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

the beatles, the kinks, gerry and the pacemakers and now Simon Edwards





last night i joined the elite collection of people that have performed at THE CAVERN. yes that is right last night it was simon and cavedwellers. hahaha. but lets start from the beginning. yesterday our group decided to go to liverpool. so we took the train from preston to wigan to liverpool. got to liverpool lime street station and started to walk to the docks to see the beatles museum and go on the magical mystery tour. well being england it wasnt the greatest weather to be walking in as it was massive pouring rain and then breaks of sunshine in between. made it to the docks after seeing alof of liverpools museum halls and parks from the outside. stupid me i forgot my camera so i had to rely on others to take pictures.

when we arrived at the docks we walked along the mersey before buying our tickets for the mystery tour and going into the beatles story museum which had changed from the last time i was there. it was fun as the others had never seen this. i bought these sweet john lennon small glasses for 3 pound so that wasnt bad and got to have pictures taken with them on all day. then we went on the beatles mystery tour. the tour guide neil " who also announced and performed at the cavern" had a real laugh with me because i was a united fan. the tour was unbelievable because we saw all the major beatles sites. like strawberry fields and penny lane.

after the tour. neil said we should all go to the cavern club for some entertainment when first this guy was performing on his guitar hits from the 60's, the second people were the cave dwellers who invited people to come sing on stage of course neil pushed me to go on but it was really fun. its not like karoke cos it is a live band and you dont have lryics and you get about a few second to talk to the band to tell them what you are going to do and what key and all. well it was great i had a good time. i sand needles and pins by the searchers which is one of my favorite songs. some people were really good and played the guitar as well. others were rubbish and couldnt sing at all.

after the club it was late and we were sweaty from being in what is essentialy a cellar. with all brick work so it is like an oven. and made it back to our hostel. the everton road hostel was quiet nice. there was nine of us in a room with one other guy who turned out to be from canada so that was a unusual. well he was nice and the hostel was really good for how cheap it was.

when i got home i met my new flatmates who are so much fun, and we have all bonded really well, really fast, we even went to go see a match on tv and go clubbing again. they are all from the uk and they are all 18. but they seem like fun people to have around. and will always be great for a party.

well it is 2 in the morning and i have to get up early and wednesday i am flying to amsterdam so i will talk to you when i get back.

Friday, September 10, 2010

53 degrees

party party party... that seems like all we do here. as school doesnt start to till 20th we have so much time to explore and go on trips. wednesday night we had an international party at 53 degrees our on campus club. sorry no pictures because i was having too good of a time. so that was that night. thursday was a good night as well. me and my group of friends did a big dinner that we cooked in there flat and we again had alot to drink and then went to a pub. on that day we also had some more international meetings, and i decided that i think i will take german language as a course, as i have some new german friends it will be easy as they can help me if i get stuck, i have already learned how to say hello, my name is ----, and how are you. along with other words that are very close to english. on saturday we are going to liverpool to go to the magical mystery tour and also party in the cavern where the beatles first played. and next week as we get another week off we booked our trip to amsterdam... that is going to be alot of fun although i may not post some pictures to facebook and this site as i am worried about the content and how much trouble i can get in :)

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

tuesday at uclan

2nd full day at uclan and the first thing i do is sleep through my alarm clock...woops. luckly i only missed a bit of some saftey lectures. and as you can tell by the first sentences it was a pretty boring day. i met a new friend from bulgaria (turkey) svetli who is studying for 4 years at uclan. and besides that i signed up for a party at the uclan club 53 degrees and then went to this meeting about photography project and signed up for our trip to BLACKPOOL !!! :) i just came from there !!! (we were supposed to go to liverpool but apparently that changed) but oh well blackpool is nice and if everyone else is going i might as well go. then at night we went to the pub and saw the england match. so a boring day. but tomorrow is going to be a long one, so better get more sleep. i will be posting more pictures soon.

monday monday






monday was another long day as we had to get our welcome packages meet more new people get our student cards, find out how to use the internet, and go shopping. so i guess you could call it an expensive day. but i got everything i needed like food and drinks and my favorite things in the world - the all mighty jaffa cake - i got 4 packs for 2 pound which i think is a sweet deal - now i just have to limit myself to just one.

so that was the day and then at night our group went down to the pub for drinks.

so here are some pictures of my room and also of the pub and the new friends i have made

Monday, September 6, 2010

first day










so as you probably can see i havent posted anything in the last couple of days this due to the fact that i didnt not have internet at the school untill now so i will be doing a whole bung of posts on days at onces.

where we left off i had just come to england on a long flight from vancouver. i was now staying at a house next door to my cousin nikki and her husband paul and my second cousins ( i hope i have that right) chelsea and liam. nikki was nice enough to pick me up from the poulton railway station when i first arrived and allow me to use the house next door for a couple of days untill my accomodation at uclan was ready. i have a few pictures of poulton that i will be posting to this post. poulton is just up the coast from backpool and in some of these pictures you probably can see blackpool tower from.

when i arrived at uclan on the sunday and got my residence, the room and the place is very small and at this moment i still dont have any flat-mates so i guess they will either be all locals of people who are in temp rooms at the moment.

i when on a campus tour the first night and met my new friend mike from california ( there are 12 people from california going to uclan. so alot of americans. also alot of people think i am american as apparently i dont talk canadian what ever that is! i guess i dont say eh! enough after every senetence ). we now have a group of people that we do everything with. there is beth, andrea, mike, kate, natasha from the states and there is lina from germany. so we have a pretty good group and we meet alot of other people from other nations as well. i have met alot of germans that are going to uclan.

got distracted from the point. what i ment to go on about is how big the campus is, and alot of the buildings are situated around peoples houses and other school buildings are being built. uclan has alot of solar energy panals that reduce the consumption of energy the school uses.

on sunday we then had a dinner, it was okay, nothing special and also had an international quiz on which we got to know more people.

that was about it for sunday. i will posting the pictures i took and related to this topic.

Friday, September 3, 2010

made it!




me after 2 flights and a train about 16 hours of travel time (above)

vancouver to heathrow to manchester to poulton is a very long trip. so yesterday was the start of my trip, i left vancouver airport at 8:00 at night as immediatly ran into trouble. well first of all when i got to the gate, my mom wanted to me to call to ensure i got through security, only problem was, she had not given me enough change and to boot the wrong number to call. well figured that out! when i went to find my seat, which was in the back of the plane as that was all i could afford, there was a lady sitting in my window seat. well she was east indian and couldnt speak a word of english ( which is stupid cos you should speak a little english if first you are travelling from vancouver, canada, a country that speaks english and going to england another country that speaks english!!!!) well after about 15 minutes me and the cabin crew finally got her to understand that she was in my seat. only problem was the seat she then sat in was another persons seat which cause more confusion and trying to point out the obvious!!! 8 hours on a flight with no leg room and a woman that does not speak english, takes up alot of room and has CURRY for dinner ( god did the flight smell after that ). got to heathrow and now had to go find what gate and go through customs. one thing i will tell you is a uk passport is a god sent. i flew past security, no questions at all even though the passport says i was born in canada. :) the manchester plane was half empty or i guess half full depending on how you look at it, which was great as it meant extra leg room. before i forget, i love flying in to the uk because from the view as you are flying over country sides i swear it looks like play mobiles from the top. little tiny trees and trains :) okay now back on topic. after arriving in manchester, i had to find the train the would take me to blackpool. not hard to find but a very long walk when you have a sweater and a leather jacket, 2 carry on luggages way over filled, and then a big overweigh suitcase. the train took a long time from manchester to poulton, where i am staying a couple nights before residents with my relatives, who also picket me up from the station. it was a very drainging day or maybe 2 days depending on the time difference. but i am looking forward to getting into the uk life. i will update you on more tomorrow. now is time for sleep.