Birmingham, UK; The University of Birmingham; and A Royal Day Out at Buckingham Palace

Birmingham, UK

Birmingham is such a diverse city. There are so many different kinds of people and languages; there are SO many different kinds of foods and restaurants; there is quite the variety of fashions; and there are different architecture styles throughout the city. I love this diversity. I see it everyday. Not just because I live with Australians, but because there is so many new, different, and wonderful things apart of my day that its hard to miss! I am loving taking in differences. Different foods and words and fashions (well I'm not dressing like they do, but I see it). I like learning about other peoples' cultures and I love seeing how other people live. Walking about the city, I've really been able to explore how big- city- people live, especially here in England. I walk everywhere! I go to the left when people walk past. I have to look right for oncoming traffic. I have to queue (just simply 'Q') to buy a train ticket. I have to carry my groceries home (let me just say, I 'm not throwing things into the cart like I did when I was a kid because I don't want to have to carry all that extra stuff home). I have to ride a train and mind the gap. I have to push a button in the morning to heat the water. I have to travel to Uni instead of being right on campus. There are so many new things that I'm doing differently, but they are not bad, or hard, or annoying, they are the things I have to do to get through this big city. And I think it is so fun to take part in it! 

Here is some of my city!

The old church in the Bullring

The mix of old and new! The old church next to the new shopping mall.

This building won an architecture award back in 2004 when it was built. It is so beyond modern and it adds contrast to all the old buildings around it.
 

That's right!! Mine! :)


The University of Birmingham
The Sunday Times names it the University of the Year 2013- 2014

This is the clock tower on our campus. It is modeled after the clock tower in Sienna, Italy. It is the tallest, free- standing clock tower in the world!

Our Great Hall! (like in Harry Potter)

Uni is huge!!! There aren't many pictures up because I haven't taken many, yet. There is so much to see and explore on my campus alone, that I need a specified time for myself to take pictures. Uni is simply beautiful! It is the only place in town where I feel like I'm breathing fresh air. There are tons of tress and plants and flowers and so many other different types of foliage. Its beautiful to still see flowers and at the same time see the leaves changing colors and falling.

As of today, I have a full timetable with all my classes! (A timetable is just a schedule, they just say it weird). Funny thing is, is that it was super easy! Yesterday when I was stuck at the train station for two hours without any way to contact anybody, I prayed that everything would be alright and that things would work out and that it wouldn't be a super hard and difficult day (and I prayed this over and over!!!). At the time, I knew that these prayers were not being answered (it was a bad morning at the train station). But this morning when I was swiftly and easily going through the process of arranging my timetable and getting all my classes situated and figured out and as I was leisurely walking and not running around campus, I realized that my prayers were answered. God works in funny ways! He knew this was more important and stressful to me than yesterday was and He made today easy and wonderful! For that, I am thankful! So here's the easily figured out timetable: Mondays I have Medieval and Renaissance Music from 11- 1. Today I didn't have that class because the music department, as a whole, doesn't start teaching until Thursday; so my first Monday class won't be til next Monday. Tuesdays I have a FULL day! I have Introduction to the History of Christianity from 10- 12, Perception and Attention (one of my psychology classes) from 12- 1, and Cognitive Neuropsychology (a second psychology class) from 2- 3. On Wednesday, I have History of Modern Britain from  1- 2. And Thursday I have Introduction to Social Psychology (my third psychology class) from 1- 2. I will also have workshops for a few weeks for each class. Its not like at NMSU where I would need to go to a lab every week, but just a separate amount of time to do work for each class. There are many different times for workshops and I still need to decide when to take which workshop. Seeing as today was my 'first day of school', but I didn't actually have class, I still feel like it hasn't started yet! I am so ready to actually go to class and learn something! I am very excited for all of my classes to start! I'm even more excited that they will all transfer to NMSU. Not all my classes here are psychology classes, but they will count as elective credit back home; so nothing is getting wasted!!

A Royal Day Out at Buckingham Palace

Yesterday, Sunday the 29th, was the last day of the season to visit Buckingham Palace, as guess who got to go! ME! A huge THANK YOU to Kiersten and Jared for giving me the best 'Welcome to England gift' and girl could ask for! We had planned months back to go to Buckingham Palace together and those dreams finally came true! We met up in London at the Euston Station (its pronounced like Huston (Texas) but without the 'H'). From there we took the Underground to another station and then walked the famous road straight to Buckingham Palace. It was a beautiful stretch lined with parks and ponds and trees all over. We first went to The Queen's Gallery (pictures another time) and saw a special exhibit about early Tudor style and paintings. It was a good exhibit, but I really wanted to see her whole collection of art and not just a small, specialized part of it. She has one of the best private art collections in the world. Then we headed to the Royal Mews and saw one of the finest working stables working today. At the Royal Mews, there are horses, carriages, coaches, and cars all owned by the Queen. It smells like home! We then headed to our last leg, Buckingham Palace! It was a dream come true! I couldn't take pictures inside the palace, but I will cherish my memories always! This probably sounds sentimental and silly, but I really love the Queen and Royal Family and all that good stuff! We came in through the side of the palace, which is the Ambassadors' Entrance and walked past The Grand Entrance and The Grand Hall. We made up the Grand Staircase to the first floor. From the staircase, we walked through The Guard Chamber. It was a little tiny room where the guards would be seated guarding the state rooms and too, where people would wait before entering into The Green Drawing Room. The Green Drawing Room had the windows open and a breeze was coming through and it was just simply picturesque. We then moved to The Throne Room, where there is a set of thrones for both Her Majesty and Prince Philip. They were the ones made for her coronation and they each have their personalized monograms on them. From there we walked through The Picture Gallery. It was a beautiful, long room with, you guessed it, pictures. There were portraits of family members, including Queen Victoria, Rembrandts, Rubens, and a ridiculous amount of paintings of Venice. I was really taken aback as to why there were so many paintings of Venice. I know it really doesn't matter, I just thought it was weird. Anyway, The Picture Gallery was a light pink and the walls were lined with long, striped, beautiful pink couches and arm chairs. I wanted them! We then walked through The Lobby and The Silk Tapestry Room and into The East Gallery. Because of the Queen's 60th Jubilee this summer, there was a special exhibition about her coronation. This exhibition took place in The East Gallery, The Ball Supper Room, and The Ballroom. It was an amazing exhibit with black and white video from the day; radio news all over the world; a Technicolor film of the actual coronation (it was actually her idea and wish for her coronation to be filmed and broadcast live around the world). In The Ballroom were actual pieces from Coronation Day back in 1953! Programs and the Bibles she used ; a prayer book and a devotion book; her dress and robe and crown; her anointing dress and canopy; her start of coronation crown, necklace, and earrings; the Queen Mother's dress, Prince Philip's attire, Princess Margret's dress, the Duchess of Kent's dress (I think; I also think that was her cousin), and Prince Charles and Princess Anne's attire. It was the best exhibit I have ever seen. I seriously almost cried! Judge me if you will, but it was simply so amazing and so beautiful and so full of history that I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was marvelous! Seeing that exhibit and getting a feel for that day sixty years ago was a dream come true! I did not spend nearly enough time in there and I could have stayed until they kicked me out, but I moved on. Even though the exhibit took up most of the space in The Ballroom, we could see the pipe organ and boy was it magnificent! We then walked through The State Dining Room. There were tables set like they were on the day of the Queen's coronation. There were many nights of dinners and celebrations and it was lovely to see just how idyllic those nights would have been! The color scheme was soft pinks and whites and there were carnations and rose and it was lovely! We then walked through The Blue Drawing Room. The Queen meets many people in The Blue Drawing Room and she has her very own secret entrance. When I heard this on my audio guide, I was already out of the room. I spun around as quick as I could, almost running into someone else, and literally ran back into the room listening to the audio guide for directions as to where to find the secret door. And I saw it! Its almost the entire portion of the wall! It was ajar, for obvious reasons- they talked about it in the audio guide. It was so cool! Like things you see in a movie cool! I ran back to catch up with my friends. Jared, Kiersten's husband, was listening to that section of the audio guide at the same time as me and knew exactly what I was so excited about! From there we walked into The Music Room. There is a baby grande in this room and small performances have happened in this room. The Queen's first three children and Prince William and Prince Harry were christened (baptized) in this room. It will also be the room where baby Prince George will be christened. Next was The White Drawing Room. This was one of the first rooms that Victoria has redone when she decided to make Buckingham her official residence. It is white and gold and breathtaking! Much of the palace is modeled after the white and gold of this room. Queen Victoria had a huge chandelier put right in the middle of the room. It reflects all of the incoming light and the room sparkles! We then walked down The Minister's Staircase, through The Marble Hall, and The Bow Room out onto the gardens. From here we turned in our audio guides and pull out the cameras to take pictures of the back of Buckingham Palace. After walking through the gardens, we were back on the streets of London. We did head back to the front of the palace to take pictures, however! It was an amazing day!! One of the best experiences of my life! I am so thankful and grateful for the opportunity to have gone! Thank you again Kiersten and Jared!!

 

One of the Queen's carriages

Her favorite Rolls- Royce. It was specially made so that she can fully stand up in the car, on either side of the car,  before she gets out.

This is an older carriage, but it has recently been renovated. The windows roll down and there is heating and air conditioning on the inside. It is said to still be rather uncomfortable because it is an older carriage, but it is now more accommodating.

 This is the Australian coach. It was a gift to Her Majesty a few years back. It was paid for by fundraisers and donations. It is decorated with the Australian emblem; on it is the kangaroo and the emu. Both the emblem and the top of the coach are decorated with plants and flowers from Australia. There is also a crown on the top of the coach. 

 This is the Scottish State Coach. It has the Scottish version of the Royal Coat of Arms on the side. You can see the Scottish Unicorn with the flag of Scotland and the English Lion with the flag of England. The Queen rides in this State Coach when she is in Scotland. 

 Here we have a working harness room. It is used today for the Mews and obviously the horses in them. 

Horse whips

 These are pictures of the stables. Each stall has a name plate above it with the horse's name and the year they were born. The Queen personally picks each horses name and takes a certain interest in all her horses. 

This horse is real!

 This is just a model. The Gold State Coach is very much real, but the mounted horses are not. The Gold State Coach was the coach used in Queen Elizabeth's coronation. It is extremely large and ornate. As you can see the gold detail is immense. You probably can't see however, the painted sides of the coach and the red velvet inside. It was breathtakingly beautiful!! And some what gaudy (no offense)!  

 The Gold State Coach

The back of the Gold State Coach

 From my pamphlet: Home to the Royal Collection of Historic Coaches and Carriages. One of the finest working stables in existence and a living part of Britain's heritage, the Royal Mews is responsible for all road travel arrangements for The Queen and members of the Royal Family. The Mews staff and their families live on site. 

 The entrance to Buckingham Palace. We sadly could not take pictures inside. I don't need pictures because I got to see it, but I am sorry for you! Go to Buckingham Palace for yourself and see the beauty that is inside! 

 Here are pictures of the back of Buckingham Palace from the gardens. The amount of land that is the gardens and grounds of Buckingham is very large and right smack- dab in the middle of busy London. It is very serene and wonderful. Just to think if I were only there as a guest to one of Her Majesty's Garden Parties..... But going inside was enough wonderfulness for me!

 That is the famous front (but really more of a side angle) of Buckingham Palace. It is massive! 

I did not doubt that the guards in red with the funny hats were real, but it was still very cool to see them standing guard of the Queen's home. 

 I was really taken aback at how black the gates are. Because they are so large, that is most of what you see and it is almost too much! Its very dark and in your face. The gold on the top and on the symbols of the Queen and palace don't give much contrast to the darkness of the black gate. 

Below is a more infamous site of Buckingham Palace. 

 This was the main gate of the gates around Buckingham Palace. There were three altogether and they were all decorated the same. Straight behind this gate is the gate to the palace and the balcony where the Royals stand and wave to the people. 

Chi Omega love!

The gates into the palace! They lead into the courtyard. When the Queen came through these gates after her coronation, she made a circle around the courtyard before entering the palace. 

Sadly, the Union Jack was flying above Buckingham Palace and not the Royal Standard. On second thought, it was probably a good thing that the Queen wasn't in the same building as me because I would have peed my pants and fallen over!

Serendipity would have it that this is the entrance to the mall in The Parent Trap! This is where the mother and Hallie, pretending to be Annie, go shopping and come out of into the rain! 

 Macaroons from Laduree!!! 

This past week has been so wonderful! I am so excited to do more and see more! This adventure has been amazing and I can't wait to see what it has in store for me!! I am so thankful for my support back home!! I'm glad I get to Skype with my family and friends! Special shout to to Shelby! Happy to see your face today! I feel everyone's love and I'm so very grateful!!

Until next time!

Oh How Wonderful This Is

Today is my forth day in Birmingham! I have learned so very much in the last four days and I'm so ready to learn much more! I am almost fully, completely, and comfortably set in my room; I have purchased an iron and hair dryer, 'normal' food, and towels! Its like I've started school all over again!! Oh, that's one specific  thing I've learned- they don't call it college, they call it Uni. And the Canadians are very particular about the difference between college and university! I'm over here just calling it school! Well, I've been to Uni three days now and I've got a good grasp of the campus and just how to get there. My group of friends and I walk no more than five minutes to our train station- Five Ways. We have to buy a 'return ticket', that means you get two tickets printed- one to go and one to return. (I still haven't figured out a long term option like a pass, but I am working on that!) We take the train to the very next stop and get out at University Station. After turning left and walking past many large buildings we come to the heart of campus with even more large buildings. There is a Great Hall (yup, like Harry Potter), a VERY large library, a HUB with food and student services and silly things like a barber and an eye glasses store, a bar (yes a bar on my campus- you have to remember that I'm in England), and the Gild of Students buildings. The Gild is our student government. They have put on a lot of this weeks' events. We also have the largest free- standing clock tower in the world right in the heart of our campus! It's modeled after the one in Sienna. Its said that if you walk under it as it is chiming, you will fail your major. I check my watch before I walk under EVERY TIME!! Right now, that's my only worry! Earlier this morning, I went to Uni and talked to a couple people in my psychology department and they helped me and gave me some literature to help me to prepare for my classes. I still haven't finalized which classes (they call them modules) I will be taking, but I'm no longer worried about getting the ones I want and need. Everything is going great!

For those of you that didn't know, I am living off campus in private student housing. I am in a flat on the third floor with five other people. There are four Aussies and two Americans. Maddie and Matt actually go to the same Uni in Australia. Mehd and Dalyna are also from Australia and Elizabeth is from Cincinnati, OH. They are all wonderful and very laid back! We get along very well! I have also made more really great friends, Derek, Rachel, and Elaine! They are in different flats, but still in the same housing. They are all from the US. Funny enough, Derek and Elaine go to the same school and have mutual friends and didn't even know each other! Stuff like that is so cool to me! It really shows us how diverse we are, but also how connected we are! I know that many of these people are new lifelong friends! And its only been a couple days! We are all excited for this adventure together!! I do really want to meet more British people though.

My new friends and I are already talking about traveling and its very exciting! A lot of us want to see the same things and go to the same places and I'm glad I'll have people to go with! I really do just want school to start already though. I want a schedule and want a good flow of how my days are supposed to go! I'm always up for fun and adventure, but structure is good too!

Until later,
Jamie

I Figured This Out!

I figured this out!!! I created a blog, added a photo, and I will learn the hang of this!! I felt it an appropriate time to do so- seeing as I leave in five days! 

Leaving on Friday is so much more exciting than scary! I am so ready for my journey to begin! If you didn't know, I am going to study abroad in the United Kingdom. I will be going to the University of Birmingham in Birmingham, England. Birmingham is the second largest city in England, after London. Its located in the West Midlands, just an hour and a half northwest from London. At Uni (that's what the Brits call it), I will be studying psychology. All of the classes that I take will go toward my major and will transfer as a pass/ fail transfer credit to my home university- New Mexico State University. I will be living in student housing off campus with four or five other flatmates. I'm not sure if they will be British or international like me. I'm excited either way. I'm ready to learn about different cultures and lifestyles! I can't wait to meet new people and be in a new environment! 

Now, I need to go continue packing. Hope this blog thing is really going to work!