Finally in Liverpool!

Well after a twelve-hour layover in Philly and a seven-hour flight we finally made it to Liverpool! Although it has only been our first day it feels like we have been here forever! We arrived in Manchester around 8:45 on Sunday morning and then drove about an hour and a half to Hope University where we unloaded our stuff and got settled in and which we only had fifteen minutes to do so. We were disappointed to discover that we where all spread out pretty far from one another and that many of us did not receive internet cords in our room that we where told we would. Without access to cell phones it’s been difficult for us to communicate with each other but we have been told once the other students on campus move out for the summer we will be able to move onto the same flats with each other, which will be nice! I also plan on purchasing an Ethernet cord tomorrow during our trip tomorrow ASDA (Walmart), which will also make communication hopefully a little bit easier.

Other than that little set back, Liverpool so far has been amazing! The scenery is simply beautiful although the driving on the opposite side of the road was a little weird at first (haha). We have not yet traveled downtown Liverpool but the part we have seen has been very nice. The campus is small and quiet and the houses in the area are so cute! After we arrived we got a chance to walk down always from campus and grab some food at a little shop to tide us over until dinner. We must have been screaming tourists walking around Liverpool because it seemed like everywhere we went people would stare at us. I didn’t think it would be that obvious that we where Americans but apparently it is. Our accents are probably one dead give away but other than that I don’t really think we look any different than those that live here. Another giveaway is probably our lack of knowledge of European currency. Going to purchase food off campus was funny because none of us really knew what we where doing. When I was told the price of my items I just kind of handed the girl what I had in my hand lol. She gave me a bunch of bills and coins back but I have no idea what half of them are worth. By the time we leave Europe I hope to have mastered their currency, wishful thinking!

After the food trip we came back to the campus and were shown the library. We were allowed to log into the computers and email our family at home. We also received a tour of the education resources in the library which was very neat and that I am excited to take advantage of during my practicum. After the library we went back to our room for a couple hours to sleep, shower, or what ever else we wanted to do until dinner. For dinner we all walked down to a local pub. It was a neat experience and I am sure we will make several more trips there before we leave. On the walk back we stopped at an old perish church, which we were told was one of the oldest that still exists. The pastor let us come inside and take pictures of the beautiful building. The pictures however do not do the building justice of its true beauty and sanguinity. We also received a lot of historical background on the building that was truly amazing. Apparently John Newton, the author of Amazing Graze preached in that building and people such as the owners of Titanic are buried in its cemetery.  I’m so glad we decided to take a closer look at the little church. A few of us plan on attending service there on Sunday.

Tomorrow we begin classes and I’m hoping that all gets off to a great start! After class a lot of us are heading to ASADA, which is like a Walmart, to get some things we need for the rest of our stay. The rest of the day will probably be spent planning more weekend trips. Next Monday the whole group is taking a trip to London for a couple days, which I’m extremely excited about! From there we will have the rest of the week to travel wherever we chose. Some other girls and I have decided to spend a few days in Paris! But until then we have a full week of a lot of work to make up for the time we lost.

It is now 9:00 Sunday night and the sun is just now going down which is SO weird but kind of nice at the same time. Overall I am LOVING England and can already picture myself living here. Who knows maybe someday! J

I’m now off to bed to prepare for tomorrow and the rest of the week. Thanks for following and I’ll try to keep this updated as much as I can, hopefully I can access Internet soon!

Cheerio!