Cadbury World and Projects

It dawned on me that I failed to mention my trip to Cadbury in my last post. It was a fun experience and honestly a great deal! it cost 12 pounds for the student ticket. With admission you’re given 4 candy bars and also a melted chocolate sample later in the tour. You walk through and read about the history of Cadbury and chocolate in general. There are a couple short movies and even a ride for part of the tour. Once you’re done you also have the option of watching a 4D short film, which was pretty cool! They had some pretty awesome chocolate sculptures on display too. (I also went back to the German markets with flat mates and tried one of the half meter bratwursts, it was filling.)

I’ve been busier than ever these last couple weeks working on and preparing for my final assessments and exams. There’s only 10 days until the semester is over. Theres a lot to do in those ten days.

The great struggle will come next week as I’ll desperately try to pack everything in 2 bags to bring back home.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

German Markets

The 8th week of classes just wrapped up. Concluding just over 10 weeks total in Europe. It really hit me this week how accustomed to England I’ve become. When I first arrived it seemed as if there were some things that I’d never get used to, let alone have them be second nature. However, now I’m at the point where I’ll actually have to readjust to certain things back home. For example; cars driving on the left side of the road, not tipping at restaurants, referring to pop as “fizzy drink” and readjusting to saying dollar instead of pound (which was the hardest habit to break upon arriving here.) These are just a few of the things that I’ve grown accustomed to seeing and doing.

With the risk of sounding like some click bait article I thought at this point I’d share 5 tips of advice for living and traveling in the U.K.

Tips

1. Book trains in advance! This is a big one that I’ve learned a little too late. (Sometimes this isn’t possible when taking last minute trips.) We all know that booking in advance on anything usually saves a few dollars, but with the trains it can save far more than that. For example, when I was going to London I checked the fast train prices at the train station and they cost 60 pounds if I were to buy them on the spot. However, getting the same train to the same place cost me only 11 pounds when I booked online a month in advance. Even if you book a week in advance you can pay less than half the price! Just to put that in perspective. I cut the price from the equivalent of $80 to $15. This can be a real money-saver.
2. Get a pay as you go phone. If you’re concerned about having data while in England then I suggest getting a pay as you go phone, especially if an overseas plan isn’t possible with your carrier. Now of course this depends how long you’ll be in the country but the options are fairly cheap. I went with a carrier called vodafone. I bought a very basic smartphone for around $70 and then got data/text/call plan for $13 / month. No credit card or anything is required, cash works just fine, and you only pay for the next month if you want to continue using it. There is no contract. An even better option is to bring your own unlocked smartphone and then all you have to pay for is whatever data bundle you choose.
3. Get Uber, if you don’t have Uber (which you might not if you’re from a smaller area) then be sure to get the app. Uber is essentially a taxi service, you link the app with a credit card and you’re good to go. It’s the simplest, fastest and cheapest way to get around in most cities aside from just walking. You might even get a talkative driver that can give you insights on places to go and see.
4. Bring an umbrella. This may seem like a small and disappointing piece of advice, but trust me, you’ll thank me later.
5. Be aware of lingual differences. For example if someone asks “Are you alright?” they aren’t implying that somethings wrong. It’s just another way of saying “How’s it going?” It’s worth googling a few of these before coming

 

P.S. Sorry for the low quality pictures of the German markets, the crowds and night time didn’t help haha.

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Week 9

Week Nine was a fairly relaxed week here in Birmingham. Exam time in England is after the spring semester (Yes, even for classes that are taken in the fall.) That being said, I’ve mostly been trying to line up early exams since I won’t be here in the spring. I haven’t left Birmingham in 4 weeks. I’ve been using my time to hang out with flat mates and other friends. However, I am hoping that I can squeeze in another weekend trip before my time’s up here.

Next weekend the German Christmas Markets are coming to the Birmingham City Centre. It sounds like it’s going to be a pretty big event and a great experience! The markets open on November 16th and continue up until Christmas. There’ll also be a Ferris Wheel and an ice skating rink.

The weather is starting to get chillier, ranging between 35-45 degrees. I’m sure this temperature will seem warm by the time I get back home in mid-December!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Reading Week, Halloween and the Vale Fireworks.

The end of October and beginning of November has been a fun yet hectic time here in Birmingham. This was the 6th week of classes at the University, and for many departments it is reserved for “Reading Week.” This is essentially a week where many people don’t have lectures and it’s meant to be a time for students to catch up on course work and have a little bit of a break from the regular schedule. I’m in classes from a wide variety of departments. Therefore, some of my lectures were cancelled while others were not. the schedule I did have was light, so it was enough of a break for me.

Along with being Reading Week it was also the week of several other events including Halloween! The decorations came out halfway through October. But now people were starting to line up costumes and on Halloween the dining center had a Halloween themed meal. My flat went all out with decorations, face paint, costumes etc. Oh, and we also got a pumpkin named Patrick. (He’s still hanging around.)

After Halloween on November 2nd there was a big event in the accommodation village where I live. Carnival rides, games, and food trucks were all brought in. For the main event there was a fireworks display held. The streets were filled with people and it went well into the night. It was the sort of festival that one would expect to see in the summer, nonetheless it was a fun time!

Now that October is gone, and Thanksgiving isn’t celebrated in the UK, everyone is gearing up for Christmas. My flat took all of our Halloween decorations down. We plan to go shopping to replace them with Christmas decorations this weekend. Including a tree of course! Too early? Nahh.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.