Hellloooo, it's time for another blog entry - if you leave it too long, there's far too much to write about so I need to write at least two per week to keep up with it.
So, on Friday morning we departed for the mall and Walmart to buy our tennis stuff and essential supplies. The trip didn't really go to plan though cos we spent far too long clothes shopping which meant that we didn't have time to go to Walmart. I spent quite a lot of money, especially in Banana Republic but I got a $10 hoodie in Forever 21 which was a great bargain.
In the afternoon, we went to a baseball training session so that we understood the rules and how to play as we were going to a match on Saturday evening. I have absolutely no hand-eye coordination so I was absolutely rubbish at it but I learned the fundamentals of the game at least. Afterwards, I went to play tennis with Emma and Josh. Having not played for a good five years, I was really bad and could barely return any shots - but I aim to get better over the year that I'm here!
On Friday night, we went to a party at our French friend, Aimelyne's house. She lives with two older American men so they had a few friends there as well. I experienced beer pong for the first time which was very entertaining. American beer tastes so weak but definitely leads to a very bad hangover! Basically all of the international students showed up besides the Asians - we've all became quite close over the first week. Highlights of the night included a huge traffic jam outside caused by an insane taxi driver (leading to us shouting GET OUTTA THE WAY ASSHOLE in our best NY accents) and the police showing up to complain about noise levels - all in all a very good night. The alcohol laws made me feel like I was 17 again.
Most of Saturday was a write-off due to bad beer hangovers but at 5 p.m. we went to the downtown campus to get on the bus to go to a baseball match - Tri-City Valley Cats (Tri-City being Albany, Schenectady and Troy) vs. Hudson Valley Renegades. The quality of the match wasn't great as the league the two teams played in was apparently 4 down from the MLB where the likes of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox play. It was a completely different experience compared to a British sporting event - it lasted the best part of three and a half hours due to the constant breaks and the amount of advertising was ridiculous! Every couple of minutes or so, a strange event took place to entertain the crowd as the actual sporting event was pretty boring. The most memorable of these was a man dressed as a hot dog on a tricycle being chased by people dressed as mustard and relish on a car and motorbike and people with huge plastic heads having a race pretending to be local mayoral candidates. As we soon discovered, it was easier not to ask why these things were happening but to ask why not? After the match, all of the women who attended the match were invited on to the track to dig with spoons for a pair of diamond earrings that was buried - it must have been quite degrading for them as a crowd of men ogled them bending over and digging in the dirt but Aimelyne beat at least a hundred other women to win the earrings and hasn't taken them out of her ears since!
After the match, we went to another house party with lots of the international students. We played beer pong again and an American/French adaptation of ring of fire which wasn't very good for me as I ended up being violently sick in the toilet and having to get a taxi home by myself. In the taxi, the driver and his wife (who was in the front passenger seat) interrogated me over my thoughts on Barack Obama for about 10 minutes. I'm not entirely sure what I said but it probably wasn't the best time to talk to me about politics!
Sunday morning and early afternoon was used by most people to wallow in their hangovers but I felt fine as I must have thrown up all of the alcohol I'd drank! Later on, we went to a block party at a nearby halls, which was kind of like Freshers Fayre at English uni's - I signed up to the university TV and radio stations, newspaper and, more randomly, the ski club - as I'd like to learn but have never had the opportunity, apparently they go on trips every Saturday later in the year. There was another barbecue which was nice, then we went to the downtown campus to watch an open air film on a big screen. The film happened to be The Exorcist which I thought was an inspired choice! I actually found the film pretty freaky and I think if I watched it alone, I'd be terrified - but everyone laughed at all the scary parts so it wasn't too bad really.
Classes started today, which was quite strange because it was around 35 degrees so it felt like I was on holiday. My first class was History of American Foreign Policy which was far less interesting than it sounds - the lecturer mainly talked about corn - so I decided that I would drop it. The second class was American Political Theory, which was actually more interesting than it sounds so I'm going to keep it. The lecturer reminded me of Tina Fey, which has to be a huge plus point. My third class was Topics in American History, which is based around the 1970s and the emergence of Ronald Reagan which sounds very suitable as it fits in with what I'm thinking about doing my dissertation on. After classes ended, I went to Walmart with Emma to buy some much needed bits n bobs then popped into the mall as I ordered some trainers from Footlocker last week and they were due to be collected, but they'd completely messed up my order and sent the wrong trainers so I had to re-order them and I'll have to wait another week for them to arrive. So annoying!!!
I have three more classes tomorrow: The World at War 1939-45; American Social History and American Legislatures - one of which I'm intending to drop, as we only need to do 4 courses per semester to fulfil our visa requirements.
Anyway, I've blabbed on enough so I'll update you of more significant events in a few days time. The weather is supposed to be even hotter tomorrow which might be a bit unbearable cos my room is still too hot at this time of the day (00:16) even with the fan on!!!!
Monday, 30 August 2010
Thursday, 26 August 2010
Yeah! New York
Hey guys, how y'all doin?
The last few days have been very fun. After Monday's intense induction, the pace has calmed considerably and we've just had a few bits and bobs to go to since then. A major part of the fun is everyone's growing aptitude to mock the New York accent. Any noise at all can be turned into some stupid New York drawl. The downside of this is that occasionally your accent randomly changes - I said thanks to a man on the bus the other day in a full on accent.
Anyway... On Tuesday we went for an international students party at a downtown sports bar called Jillian's. It was quite fun, they made us do lots of bonding exercises which varied in degrees of success. For one game, you had to write down 3 interesting facts about yourself on a piece of paper which was put in a bag. Everybody then had to pick a piece out of the bag and find the person who wrote the three facts. The facts on the piece I pulled out were: 1. My blood type is O; 2. I have one brother; 3. I don't like American food. As it could have been absolutely anybody in the room, I gave up and played air hockey. A better exercise was a pub quiz (or trivia as they're known in America) - every team member had to be of a different nationality but we cheated and had two English on our team. We only finished second so I was raging!
After the party fizzled out we went to bar called Professor Barley's which was a stereotypical American bar - dimmed lighting, booths, buffalo head on the wall, lots of clutter, waitress service. It reminded me of the bar in True Blood, although it was a lot smaller. Most of us couldn't drink cos we didn't have ID but it was a fun experience nonetheless.
Me, Alex, Greg and Emma booked a taxi to take us back to the university campus and had another insane taxi journey! When it pulled up, Alex went round to get in the front but there was already a woman sitting there who looked like the crack addicted double of Whoopi Goldberg. The taxi driver proclaimed "Come and get in, we're all friends here" so we all basically sat on top of each other as he proceeded to explain that Albany's taxi system runs on zones and not meters so it's in their interest to pick up multiple passengers. He also explained that most taxi drivers are "assholes" but that he wasn't.
Yesterday, we had a fun trip to Walmart, It has absolutely everything that you could want! So we managed to get loads of stuff that we needed for our rooms. When you wanted to go up or downstairs, you put your trolley on a conveyor belt while you went down the escalator! I found this amazing, even though it's probably pretty standard in America. At night, we went to the mall to get American phones. The phone system is ridiculously overcomplicated - you can pay daily, top up monthly or get a contract, but if you get a contract you have to give a $500 deposit if you don't have a social security number so we went with topping up monthly. We chose an option where you pay $15 a month for unlimited texts and then you pay for your calls. As I said, very complicated!!!!! The big plus point was that we got to buy lovely retro phones. I chose a Samsung SGH-t239 which is a very basic slidy phone, but it's very nice anyway!
Today we played basketball, which was a nice experience despite the fact that I'm absolutely shit at it! Then we had to go the candlelighting ceremony that officially signifies the beginning of the new academic year. Lots of academics spoke about how today is the beginning of the rest of our lives and other silly cliches, then we all lit candles and watched some fireworks. There's a weird chant where someone shouts "UAlbany" then everyone shouts "You know" back - no one seemed to understand why. There was a 'party' afterwards which consisted of some loud music and glowsticks but absolutely nothing else, in other words, IT WAS WACK!
The dining room in our halls opened last night and my suspicions that I'll have put on twenty stone by the time that I return to England have been more or less confirmed. There's Subway-style wraps and Domino's-style pizza at every mealtime and pancakes and waffles for breakfast - it's very nice but you can feel yourself getting fat as you eat it!
Tomorrow morning, we're going to Walmart again as me and Emma have decided to start playing tennis and the local sports superstore "Dick's Sporting Goods" (no joke) is a bit on the pricey side. Then at night, we're going to our first house party which is all very exciting!!! The fact that I legally can't drink makes me want to drink so desperately and tomorrow my wish will finally be granted!!!!
See ya soon!
(P.S. I hate ranch!)
Monday, 23 August 2010
Big Yellow Taxi
I'm finally in Albany after one hell of a journey - at times I felt like we would never actually get there! Overall, it took about 28 hours from checking in at Heathrow to arriving at Albany.
All was going well until we boarded our connecting flight in Madrid and were told there was a computer fault and we would be delayed by half an hour or so. Eventually, the whole system needed replacing and we'd been sitting on the plane for about 3 hours before we finally left Madrid. The flight was already scheduled to take 8 hours but torrential weather in New York City meant that we spent an hour circling the airport and another hour sitting on the runway after landing, waiting to be assigned a gate for us to leave the plane.
The actual airport experience was actually much better than expected. Our baggage arrived fine and we were dealt with by a very nice lady called Bishop at the customs and immigration counter - she told us that Albany is a party college and that our parents were silly for letting us go and spend a year there, she also laughed at me because I looked nervous...
We thought that all was well and that we would be able to make it to Manhattan in time to catch the train from Penn Station at 23.50 (our flight had been due in at 17.10!), but the bad luck curse struck again, as the heavy rain had led to flash floods meaning that many roads around the airport had been closed and taxis were few and far between. After waiting for the best part of an hour, we eventually got a taxi driven by a man called Frank who was a stereotypical New York taxi driver. He badmouthed all the drivers around him for irresponsible driving despite being just as bad himself, and he also took great pleasure in laughing at the cars stranded in the flood water!
New York City has always been the one place in the world that I've wanted to visit and driving into central Manhattan was an absolutely amazing experience! I'm so excited to go back in just over a weeks time, when I'll be spending more time there.
Anyway, Frank dropped us off at Madison Square Garden and we walked down into Penn Station, believing that there was a train to Albany at 2.10 - however we were completely wrong and the next one was actually at 7.15. Considering it was only 12.45 and the station was full of roughies, we made the absolutely insane decision to get a taxi to Albany - a journey of just under 150 miles and two and a half hours. We asked a wise-looking old taxi driver and he told us it would be at least $550 but we were offered $200 by a younger driver. All the older drivers told us not to trust him and one even gave me his number to call him if we were conned, and he promised he'd ring the police if anything happened.
About ten minutes, the realisation of the absurdity of the situation dawned on me. We were trusting this man, who came across as a bit crazy and looked like he might be a member of the Yakuza, to take the three of us with all of our luggage to a destination hours away. In hindsight, it was probably very stupid.
We tried to take turns in staying awake and making sure that he was following the signs to Albany but it was very difficult. His driving was absolutely ridiculous - highlights included him running over a skunk, texting and phoning someone despite the awful rain and Alex having to shout at him to stop him from heading off the road!
When we finally reached Albany, he charged us $420 - the $300 that we agreed, plus $75 for tolls (including those on his journey back) and a $45 tip. We tried arguing but we were far too tired to put up a fight and we submitted to his demands. As much as I can complain, I felt more sorry for Greg as it was his 20th birthday and he'd spent the whole day sitting on planes and having to worry about getting to Albany.
A nice man who works in our halls let us into our rooms at 4.30 a.m. which woke up Alex's room mate Jacopo, who surprisingly wasn't annoyed, and we managed to get around two hours sleep before we had to get up to begin a full day of inductions, which weren't as bad as they sounded. I had a full-on idiot moment when I was posing for my photo for my SUNY card and I didn't understand when the flash was going off and the eventual photo was off me shrugging with my hands in the air - this even made the hardnosed woman behind the counter laugh - but she luckily let me have another one taken.
Tonight we went to the mall in Albany which was absolutely massive - like Trafford Centre style, and bought a few essentials but we only had an hour cos we were escorted by some older foreign students who took the whole thing very seriously.
I expected to have some sort of culture shock or homesickness but so far it hasn't been very different from being at Nottigham. The room mate situation is a bit odd but me and Greg get on well so it's been fine. We have more induction stuff for the rest of the week before the American students arrive and I think another trip to the mall is in order cos everybody kind of forgot what they went for.
I'm looking forward to the next few days and weeks and I'm most looking forward to going to the US Open - just over two weeks to go!!!
All was going well until we boarded our connecting flight in Madrid and were told there was a computer fault and we would be delayed by half an hour or so. Eventually, the whole system needed replacing and we'd been sitting on the plane for about 3 hours before we finally left Madrid. The flight was already scheduled to take 8 hours but torrential weather in New York City meant that we spent an hour circling the airport and another hour sitting on the runway after landing, waiting to be assigned a gate for us to leave the plane.
The actual airport experience was actually much better than expected. Our baggage arrived fine and we were dealt with by a very nice lady called Bishop at the customs and immigration counter - she told us that Albany is a party college and that our parents were silly for letting us go and spend a year there, she also laughed at me because I looked nervous...
We thought that all was well and that we would be able to make it to Manhattan in time to catch the train from Penn Station at 23.50 (our flight had been due in at 17.10!), but the bad luck curse struck again, as the heavy rain had led to flash floods meaning that many roads around the airport had been closed and taxis were few and far between. After waiting for the best part of an hour, we eventually got a taxi driven by a man called Frank who was a stereotypical New York taxi driver. He badmouthed all the drivers around him for irresponsible driving despite being just as bad himself, and he also took great pleasure in laughing at the cars stranded in the flood water!
New York City has always been the one place in the world that I've wanted to visit and driving into central Manhattan was an absolutely amazing experience! I'm so excited to go back in just over a weeks time, when I'll be spending more time there.
Anyway, Frank dropped us off at Madison Square Garden and we walked down into Penn Station, believing that there was a train to Albany at 2.10 - however we were completely wrong and the next one was actually at 7.15. Considering it was only 12.45 and the station was full of roughies, we made the absolutely insane decision to get a taxi to Albany - a journey of just under 150 miles and two and a half hours. We asked a wise-looking old taxi driver and he told us it would be at least $550 but we were offered $200 by a younger driver. All the older drivers told us not to trust him and one even gave me his number to call him if we were conned, and he promised he'd ring the police if anything happened.
About ten minutes, the realisation of the absurdity of the situation dawned on me. We were trusting this man, who came across as a bit crazy and looked like he might be a member of the Yakuza, to take the three of us with all of our luggage to a destination hours away. In hindsight, it was probably very stupid.
We tried to take turns in staying awake and making sure that he was following the signs to Albany but it was very difficult. His driving was absolutely ridiculous - highlights included him running over a skunk, texting and phoning someone despite the awful rain and Alex having to shout at him to stop him from heading off the road!
When we finally reached Albany, he charged us $420 - the $300 that we agreed, plus $75 for tolls (including those on his journey back) and a $45 tip. We tried arguing but we were far too tired to put up a fight and we submitted to his demands. As much as I can complain, I felt more sorry for Greg as it was his 20th birthday and he'd spent the whole day sitting on planes and having to worry about getting to Albany.
A nice man who works in our halls let us into our rooms at 4.30 a.m. which woke up Alex's room mate Jacopo, who surprisingly wasn't annoyed, and we managed to get around two hours sleep before we had to get up to begin a full day of inductions, which weren't as bad as they sounded. I had a full-on idiot moment when I was posing for my photo for my SUNY card and I didn't understand when the flash was going off and the eventual photo was off me shrugging with my hands in the air - this even made the hardnosed woman behind the counter laugh - but she luckily let me have another one taken.
Tonight we went to the mall in Albany which was absolutely massive - like Trafford Centre style, and bought a few essentials but we only had an hour cos we were escorted by some older foreign students who took the whole thing very seriously.
I expected to have some sort of culture shock or homesickness but so far it hasn't been very different from being at Nottigham. The room mate situation is a bit odd but me and Greg get on well so it's been fine. We have more induction stuff for the rest of the week before the American students arrive and I think another trip to the mall is in order cos everybody kind of forgot what they went for.
I'm looking forward to the next few days and weeks and I'm most looking forward to going to the US Open - just over two weeks to go!!!
Wednesday, 18 August 2010
Leaving So Soon
The time is almost here.
In just over 78 hours I'll be boarding the plane to Madrid, where I'll have to endure a four hour wait in the airport before I finally leave for New York! The summer has flown by and I have very few goodbyes left to say. After Saturday's Arabian Nights leaving party which didn't go quite according to plan, I have bid adieu to all of my grandparents and my dad, and tonight was mine and Alan's farewell meal with our friends before we both go off to spend the next year abroad.
I probably came across as quite heartless as I wasn't massively upset to say goodbye to everyone but to be honest I'm just too excited and I still haven't really gotten my head around the fact that I'm going away BUT I'm definitely going to miss everybody more than they can imagine, even though I refused to make a speech to tell them that!
Tomorrow is going to be a day of packing and tidying so that I can spend my last day in Workington relaxing - although that's probably wishful thinking considering I haven't got a clue what to pack yet! I'm travelling to London (or a hotel just off the M25 to be more accurate) on Saturday with my mam and Brian before my very early flight on Sunday morning.
I'm ridiculously excited to get to America and hopefully this blog will inform my many followers - only two as of this moment (thank you Sarah and Hannah) - of what I'm doing and of all the fun I'm having!
See you in New York!
(P.S. Thank you for the diary Justine, it will act as a perfect companion to this blog)
In just over 78 hours I'll be boarding the plane to Madrid, where I'll have to endure a four hour wait in the airport before I finally leave for New York! The summer has flown by and I have very few goodbyes left to say. After Saturday's Arabian Nights leaving party which didn't go quite according to plan, I have bid adieu to all of my grandparents and my dad, and tonight was mine and Alan's farewell meal with our friends before we both go off to spend the next year abroad.
I probably came across as quite heartless as I wasn't massively upset to say goodbye to everyone but to be honest I'm just too excited and I still haven't really gotten my head around the fact that I'm going away BUT I'm definitely going to miss everybody more than they can imagine, even though I refused to make a speech to tell them that!
Tomorrow is going to be a day of packing and tidying so that I can spend my last day in Workington relaxing - although that's probably wishful thinking considering I haven't got a clue what to pack yet! I'm travelling to London (or a hotel just off the M25 to be more accurate) on Saturday with my mam and Brian before my very early flight on Sunday morning.
I'm ridiculously excited to get to America and hopefully this blog will inform my many followers - only two as of this moment (thank you Sarah and Hannah) - of what I'm doing and of all the fun I'm having!
See you in New York!
(P.S. Thank you for the diary Justine, it will act as a perfect companion to this blog)
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