Sunday, August 31, 2008
Week 1: 4.3 miles of consumer fun!
Hello again from the Cheese State!
In recent news, I have been to Mall of America, rearranged my dorm room, eaten cake and been scouted for the Women’s Rugby team... I know, obviously for my build and general athletic talents!
Orientation week finished on Friday, after which we were collected by the Meyers (host family), and went out for dinner. We tried some Wisconsin delicacies such as ‘cukes’, which are deep fried pickles. Surprisingly they weren’t too bad! I decided to skip the starter and main course and just have dessert (not kidding!) and as you can see in the pictures, I had the Strawberry Pie with Cream Cheese topping! So tasty!
We stayed over at the Meyers house on Friday night and watched Jimmy Kimmel which was fun, not to mention taking a shower in a bathroom with a door (luxury)! On Saturday morning we left bright and early for the Mall of America.
I didn’t spend too much money but did get a nice tracksuit from Victoria’s Secret. I thought it would be good to wear for classes instead of pyjamas, which is what most people favour (again not kidding)! Supposedly someone came to class wearing a one piece pyjamset with the footsie bits attached!
In the mall I soon became a fan of the Nestle Tollhouse cookies which could be found dispersed throughout the stores, they're quite possibly better than Millies Cookies!
The mall has 4.3 miles of store front and it would have been great if we took a pedometer with us to see how far we walked, because it was a really tiring day. Still, nothing a Red Bull and 2 lattes couldn’t manage!
The highlight of the day however was discovering an eyebrow threading bar hidden on the 4th floor as we were leaving. I now have beautifully shaped eyebrows at last!
Today I slept in until 9.30 and then got breakfast with Annie, there’s a really nice smoothie bar on campus where I get breakfast every morning now! I ate breakfast while watching Gossip Girl, which I have now finished in time for Season 2’s premiere tomorrow night! I do love my boxsets!
In the afternoon I went to a Mexican Fiesta thing which wasn’t much of a Fiesta, but did have free dinner which was delicious! Tacos, Chilli, Salad, rice, beans and the like!
So far, it’s proving to be really difficult to find food that isn’t really processed and disgusting so luckily tomorrow the gym opens where there are classes everyday which I’m planning to go to. I’m signed up for Butts and Guts (because I liked the name!) Kick boxercise and aerobics! Not to mention my first rugby practice on Tuesday! I'm going to be so fit, I refuse to become like Michelle McManus so I'm going to do aerobics everyday!
I’ll put up some pictures of my newly rearranged dorm room once it’s finished, we got in trouble for taking the bunk bed down ourselves! One of Janesa’s friends, Jon did it for us which we later found out is against the rules! Hopefully there won't be any nasty repercussions.
Nothing planned for tomorrow except watching movies and getting ahead on some reading for my classes as on Tuesday all the classes start.
Also, note to mother, I’m in the midst of sorting tickets to see Rascal Flatts! YAY!
Hannah
xxx
In recent news, I have been to Mall of America, rearranged my dorm room, eaten cake and been scouted for the Women’s Rugby team... I know, obviously for my build and general athletic talents!
Orientation week finished on Friday, after which we were collected by the Meyers (host family), and went out for dinner. We tried some Wisconsin delicacies such as ‘cukes’, which are deep fried pickles. Surprisingly they weren’t too bad! I decided to skip the starter and main course and just have dessert (not kidding!) and as you can see in the pictures, I had the Strawberry Pie with Cream Cheese topping! So tasty!
We stayed over at the Meyers house on Friday night and watched Jimmy Kimmel which was fun, not to mention taking a shower in a bathroom with a door (luxury)! On Saturday morning we left bright and early for the Mall of America.
I didn’t spend too much money but did get a nice tracksuit from Victoria’s Secret. I thought it would be good to wear for classes instead of pyjamas, which is what most people favour (again not kidding)! Supposedly someone came to class wearing a one piece pyjamset with the footsie bits attached!
In the mall I soon became a fan of the Nestle Tollhouse cookies which could be found dispersed throughout the stores, they're quite possibly better than Millies Cookies!
The mall has 4.3 miles of store front and it would have been great if we took a pedometer with us to see how far we walked, because it was a really tiring day. Still, nothing a Red Bull and 2 lattes couldn’t manage!
The highlight of the day however was discovering an eyebrow threading bar hidden on the 4th floor as we were leaving. I now have beautifully shaped eyebrows at last!
Today I slept in until 9.30 and then got breakfast with Annie, there’s a really nice smoothie bar on campus where I get breakfast every morning now! I ate breakfast while watching Gossip Girl, which I have now finished in time for Season 2’s premiere tomorrow night! I do love my boxsets!
In the afternoon I went to a Mexican Fiesta thing which wasn’t much of a Fiesta, but did have free dinner which was delicious! Tacos, Chilli, Salad, rice, beans and the like!
So far, it’s proving to be really difficult to find food that isn’t really processed and disgusting so luckily tomorrow the gym opens where there are classes everyday which I’m planning to go to. I’m signed up for Butts and Guts (because I liked the name!) Kick boxercise and aerobics! Not to mention my first rugby practice on Tuesday! I'm going to be so fit, I refuse to become like Michelle McManus so I'm going to do aerobics everyday!
I’ll put up some pictures of my newly rearranged dorm room once it’s finished, we got in trouble for taking the bunk bed down ourselves! One of Janesa’s friends, Jon did it for us which we later found out is against the rules! Hopefully there won't be any nasty repercussions.
Nothing planned for tomorrow except watching movies and getting ahead on some reading for my classes as on Tuesday all the classes start.
Also, note to mother, I’m in the midst of sorting tickets to see Rascal Flatts! YAY!
Hannah
xxx
End of first week and Mall of America!
A t shirt I wanted to buy!
The giant lego place!
The theme park in the centre of the mall!
Me and Melanie and Audrey Hepburn.
Pumpkin Cheesecake pie!
Outside of the mall (famous picture)
Mall from far away (however still can't fit whole mall in one picture) 4,3 miles long!
Marching band!
Pecan Pie!
My Strawberry pie with cream cheese on top!
Apple crumble
Me, Annie and Annies roommate Lindsay
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Hi Everyone!
Hi everyone,
For those of you reading this who aren't Mum, Dad or Benj, I hope this will be a good way of letting you know whats going on in Wisconsin despite not speaking to you as often.
So starting from the beginning! I arrived on Friday August 22nd and for the next 3 nights I stayed with Annie (another Winchester student) and our host family.
Our host family live in Eau Claire and are Cheryl, Jim, their 11 year old daughter Melanie and 2 cats, George and Jake (who eat waffles!).
During the time we spent with the host family we went shopping for school supplies and things for our dorm room and saw a movie. Cheryl and Melanie also took Annie and I around Eau Claire and drove us around the University campus. They were absolutely lovely and it was really fun, helping us settle into the area.
On the Monday morning Cheryl took us to our halls of residence and helped us move our things in. I have a top bunk bed which I'm not keen on, however they're having it taken down so its not staying that way thankfully! I got all my bedding and stuff in Wal-Mart so I've settled in nicely and feel relatively at home in my room. Its still not the same without being woken up by Ellie in the morning though!
After we moved our things in, orientation week started which is just for the international students as American students didn't move in until today.
The orientation stuff was really boring, especially for the English students who have already completed a year of university. There are students here from Malaysia, China and Japan to name but a few countries, so for them, all the talks about cultural differences are probably quite useful, but for the Brits its just plain dull!
There are trips and other events planned out for the international students throughout the semester such as going to Chicago for Thanksgiving, football games and trips to Mall of America too which is nice.
On Tuesday night, Annie and I went for dinner with our host family which was really fun. Some host families don't have much contact with their students after they've moved in, but our family is taking us to the Mall of America on Saturday and is planning plenty for us while we're here which is great.
Yesterday we registered for all of our classes, my classes were already sorted out but I changed some modules after reading some less than favourable reports on one of my tutors on ratemyprofessor.com!!! It went something like this
'He is condescending and it's hard to get good grades. He isn't helpful at all, doesn't understand his students and seems to be a prof because he likes the status. I was always bored and he turned me away from sociology. I will never take another class from him. Listening to him makes me want to cry.'
So I no longer have a class with this guy which I'm most pleased about!
I will be taking classes in North American Indians, Mass Media and Popular Culture, Indigenous Religions of the Native Americans and also Ancient Mexico and Central America.
My classes start on Tuesday so once all the orientation things are over and done with I should be able to chill out until then.
In early September we have a fair to join organizations and I'm going to play Lacrosse which I think will be fun!
Hopefully this has made you feel in the loop and isn't too complicated for those of you who are less than computer literate! I'm also going to post my pictures on here aswell as Facebook so people without Facebook can enjoy some visual aids!!!
Hannah
xxx
For those of you reading this who aren't Mum, Dad or Benj, I hope this will be a good way of letting you know whats going on in Wisconsin despite not speaking to you as often.
So starting from the beginning! I arrived on Friday August 22nd and for the next 3 nights I stayed with Annie (another Winchester student) and our host family.
Our host family live in Eau Claire and are Cheryl, Jim, their 11 year old daughter Melanie and 2 cats, George and Jake (who eat waffles!).
During the time we spent with the host family we went shopping for school supplies and things for our dorm room and saw a movie. Cheryl and Melanie also took Annie and I around Eau Claire and drove us around the University campus. They were absolutely lovely and it was really fun, helping us settle into the area.
On the Monday morning Cheryl took us to our halls of residence and helped us move our things in. I have a top bunk bed which I'm not keen on, however they're having it taken down so its not staying that way thankfully! I got all my bedding and stuff in Wal-Mart so I've settled in nicely and feel relatively at home in my room. Its still not the same without being woken up by Ellie in the morning though!
After we moved our things in, orientation week started which is just for the international students as American students didn't move in until today.
The orientation stuff was really boring, especially for the English students who have already completed a year of university. There are students here from Malaysia, China and Japan to name but a few countries, so for them, all the talks about cultural differences are probably quite useful, but for the Brits its just plain dull!
There are trips and other events planned out for the international students throughout the semester such as going to Chicago for Thanksgiving, football games and trips to Mall of America too which is nice.
On Tuesday night, Annie and I went for dinner with our host family which was really fun. Some host families don't have much contact with their students after they've moved in, but our family is taking us to the Mall of America on Saturday and is planning plenty for us while we're here which is great.
Yesterday we registered for all of our classes, my classes were already sorted out but I changed some modules after reading some less than favourable reports on one of my tutors on ratemyprofessor.com!!! It went something like this
'He is condescending and it's hard to get good grades. He isn't helpful at all, doesn't understand his students and seems to be a prof because he likes the status. I was always bored and he turned me away from sociology. I will never take another class from him. Listening to him makes me want to cry.'
So I no longer have a class with this guy which I'm most pleased about!
I will be taking classes in North American Indians, Mass Media and Popular Culture, Indigenous Religions of the Native Americans and also Ancient Mexico and Central America.
My classes start on Tuesday so once all the orientation things are over and done with I should be able to chill out until then.
In early September we have a fair to join organizations and I'm going to play Lacrosse which I think will be fun!
Hopefully this has made you feel in the loop and isn't too complicated for those of you who are less than computer literate! I'm also going to post my pictures on here aswell as Facebook so people without Facebook can enjoy some visual aids!!!
Hannah
xxx
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