Holidays in Brighton

I can't believe Christmas is in 9 days! It hasn't really felt like it, but I think that's because I know I won't get to spend it with family as usual. :( At least Brighton has holiday decorations around town and that helps! It's quite pretty. I think it may have snowed today too! I'm not sure...maybe it was hail? This California girl isn't really an expert in these things. :P

So, a little over a week ago, I finished my classes for my first term of graduate school. Crazy how time flies! I'm not super relieved though because we don't have our final exam or final term paper until the beginning of next term in early/mid January. We do have a month off though, so I just came back from the Andalucia region of Spain and Paris for about a week. In Brighton for these two days, then off to Egypt! I come back New Years Eve and then, I will really focus on this school work!

These photos are from around Brighton and at two holidays parties - one for our Global Political Economy Masters group and one hosted by my friend, Veronica.

Happy holidays, everyone!!!

Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes...Beatlesmania in Liverpool!

My goodness where has the time gone! Only 2 more weeks left in the term until I am done with my first graduate school term! A couple weeks ago in early November I took the train up to Northern England to Manchester to visit my friend from California, Thoai. I looked at the map and saw that Liverpool was fairly close so we decided to take a day trip there.

The day started off pretty well...until we managed to get on the wrong train. To Blackpool. Since I already had my train back to Brighton booked, I had to make some adjustments to make sure that we would still be able to get to Liverpool and spend some time there. What is the fun if everything goes right?! 

Liverpool. The Beatles. What a Beatles adventure it was! I love the Beatles and got to see where one of the largest groups of all time grew up and began their conquering of the world! Started off with a visit to the Beatles story - a museum dedicated to everything Beatles. So much to see there! Then, we had a booking for the Magical Mystery bus tour - taking us around to the places where John, Ringo, Paul and George grew up and were inspired by all around Liverpool. The Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, the Cavern Club (where they performed over 200 times), the house that Paul McCartney grew up in, the church they were in choir in, among much more... Overall, really enjoyed Liverpool!

British Summer Time Ends...and It's my Birthday!

I found something to do on my first birthday abroad! Since British Summer Time (daylight savings) ended on Sunday, the town of Brighton was having an all night arts/music event. We met up at my flat where we had some drinks and I got 2(!) cakes with these cute candles. It was nice. :) Then, we headed into town. There was plenty going on for the mix of White Night and Halloween (yes, they do celebrate it here). Lots of interesting costumes (they go more for gory here than the skimpy outfits I'm used to seeing) and interesting exhibits around town. We stayed most of the time at this "Alternative Village Fete" where we danced and watched this really colorful French band play...and there was this zombie walking around...and cha cha cha lessons...and random snacks being thrown into the crowd at us. Oh Brighton, what an eclectic mix of people!

Oh, and I guess I should say - HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Stay safe and have fun. Oh, and I love seeing everyone's Facebook posts with their halloween costumes!

Surprise!

Look what I got from my friends near and far! This year was my first year spending my birthday away from California and my friends, but it was like they were there with me. :) :) On Thursday, I got a notice that I had packages (2!!) waiting for me in the Porter's office. I thought to myself, that's weird, I hadn't ordered anything online recently. Anyway, so I patiently waited until 9pm (the time the porter is in) and hurried downstairs to pick them up. One package was from LA and one was from Santa Barbara. The one from LA was a photo book full of messages and photos from a bunch of my friends and one was a box of chips and snacks and a photo frame and necklace from Myley. Sooo exciting. I love surprise packages. That made my day!!! It's nice to know that I'm far away but I have amazing friends that still think of me. I was scared they'd forget me by now since it's been one month since my departure from Cali... :P

Places I want to visit while in the UK...

• St. Andrews University, Scotland (where Prince William met Kate!)
• Edinburg and Glasgow, Scotland
• Stonehenge and Bath, England
• Stratford-upon-Avon, England
• Manchester, England (going next weekend!)
• Liverpool and the Beatles museum, England (going next weekend!)
• Cardiff, Wales
• Loch Ness, Scotland?

Yay for my young persons discount railcard for 1/3 off most fares. 

Photo: View outside my window towards the West Pier.

Have a lovely day!

Cheers!

Eating abroad

Ok, so last weekend I was walking around Brighton and found an Asian Supermarket called "Yum Yum". I was very excited. The pictures are of how I'm trying to feed myself without eating out every meal (quite the change from life in LA). You never know how much you miss things until you don't have it, so yes, I was very excited to find the Mi Goreng noodles that I made with eggs and some leftover black bean sauce chicken. The photo on the top right is of my kitchen that I share with my 5 other flatmates. Oh, and of course, there are fish and chips which are in view of the window from my room (basically they're everywhere though!).

The Town of Brighton

Brighton is a cute town, and we live right in the heart of it. On the walks I've had around town, I've taken a couple of pictures of the buildings and the varying architecture. I have to start just walking around and exploring more! Too bad the weather is getting colder! Other than that, started my first classes this week. They were good and I'm actually really excited to be learning again. :) There's just a TON of reading. 

University of Sussex

I've been on campus 2 days now. Since I live off campus in the town of Brighton, it takes about 30-40 minutes to go to campus by bus. I've really enjoyed the campus. Locals all say that this is uncharacteristically warm weather. Whatever it is, it feels so nice to be surrounded by so much greenery...and sun! My intro meetings have been about 20-30 students and we actually have time for everyone to go around and introduce themselves. It's definitely refreshing to be in such a small, intimate learning environment. I'm actually excited to start learning and to officially start classes on Tuesday!

Brighton shore!

Brighton shore! This is the lovely view from my room in the flat. So fun to say flat. Hehe

SFO to LHR!

My mom took me to the airport this morning - 2 large suitcases, a small carryon bag, a purse, and a backpack. Thanks Mom! Packed with space bags which are awesome! But, I did have weight issues so I had to do some rearranging. Ended up having to leave the little rice cooker at home, but that was the only sacrifice made. :D