More Pictures!

The River Cam

Webb's Court (where I'm staying :))

The Round Church 

The Coffee Shop! 

The Library

Alleyway of shops

Jesus Green Park!

Pictures!

Keep off the grass!

My Future Car

Beautiful Every Day 

Out for a stroll

Lunch :) 

Walking the streets

Made it to Cambridge!

Seriously, so beautiful here. Ima do a quick post because I need to sleep to get up for an early breakfast and welcome orientation! Just wanted to let y'all know that I made it. Dad's been a good sport about it all--helping me with the public transportation, carrying my luggage, keeping me safe and keeping company. He's great. :) He even did all that in the rain/cold when he forgot his jacket and umbrella! He's a good dad. We took the underground subway to the train, which took us to Cambridge. Took us about an hour... It was a pleasant ride. Then, we hopped on the bus, which took us to the city center. From there, we walked to King's College in Cambridge! After checking in and getting my welcome packet, we went across the street to buy Dad a jacket and umbrella. We walked the town a little bit, took some more photos, and said our goodbyes at the gate. Not gonna lie, I cried when he left. :') It was such a good week with him and I hate goodbyes. But, after that I met a lot of new people and mingled! It was fun. So many students from all over the world, many different colleges and majors. There's a lot of friendly people and everyone seems very excited to be here. Not long after, we had our welcome dinner in King's College Dining Hall. It was nice. :) Such a beautiful hall. Huge, too! Afterwards, a few other students and I walked the town! It started to rain a bit but it was bright outside until after 9pm. (It gets dark late here). That's pretty much it. :) I'm looking forward to breakfast and meeting more people! God bless.

Oh! And I'm really liking my room on campus. It's pretty sweet. :) Thank you, Grandma, for financially covering this trip! I am so grateful. Xoxo.

Days 4 & 5 (Cotswold, etc.)

 

Yesterday, Dad and I had our last tour. We went to the Cotswolds in England. It was so beautiful! There, we visited 4 villages: Bibury, Burford, Bourton-on-the-Water, and Stow-on-the-Wold. Cool names! Our first stop was Bibury. There, we had a short walking tour. So beautiful. We got to see the little cottages made of limestone. (Every building in Cotswolds has to be built of limestone). It was charming. English designer/poet William Morris called the town "the most beautiful village in England." I would probably agree with that, although I haven't seen all the villages... Our next stop was Burford. There, we had lunch at The Cotswold Arms. It was a cozy little place. Then we did some window shopping. Burford was a busier town with many shops along the main street. After, we made our way to Bourton-on-the-Water. I loved this place. Again, very beautiful. Cute and quaint. It's known as the "Venice of the Cotswolds." Quieter than Burford, but still a tourist attraction. The perfumery where the Queen of England gets her perfume is actually located in this village. There was also a really nice candle-shop there. :) Smelled soooo good inside. Lastly, we made a stop at Stow-on-the-Wold. Here, we did some more window shopping and sat on a bench and enjoyed coffee together. England's first inn is located here. Today, Dad and I slept in (yes!!) and enjoyed a late breakfast together. Afterwards, we walked to the National Gallery but there was a parade going on there so we weren't able to get it. :( It was a bummer, but we still enjoyed a nice walk together. It's crazy how fast the week went. But I'm really glad I got to spend it with my dad. I'm really looking forward to going to Cambridge tomorrow. It's been a busy week. London is crazy, busy, and a bit overwhelming considering how much there is to do, learn, and see! It's been a good week but I'm ready to be going to Cambridge. God bless.

London Day 3 (Touring England!)

Today was fun! Dad and I woke up around 6am, had breakfast, walked to the coach station, and headed out for a tour of England. :) We got to see places such as Stratford, Cotswold, Bath, and other cities in between. It was super neat! It took the whole day but was definitely worth it. Stratford was our first stop. There, we went to William Shakespeare's birthplace! We actually got to walk inside the house he was born in. We also got to try some delicious strawberry scones while watching someone act out some of Shakespeare's works. After that, we got back on the coach and headed for Bath. On the road, we saw and learned about the different architecture in the different parts of London. For example, we saw the limestone buildings in Cotswold and "thatched" (straw) roofs in some parts of England. Our next stop was the city of Bath, which was my favorite! The cobblestone roads were pretty and the architecture was magnificent. It was a pleasant and beautiful city. There, Dad and I had pasties for lunch, which are savory pastries with a variety of fillings. I also had my first latte abroad! It was delicious. Creamy and tasty. After our visit, it started raining so we head to our last stop, which was Stonehenge! Ah! It was so cool. Apparently, there are multiple Stonehenges, which I was completely unaware of. But our tour guide said that the one we visited was the most famous and sophisticated out of them all. It really was a neat experience. Although we couldn't touch them, it was still very cool to be able to view such an old, historic, and famous landmark. Stonehenge concluded our day tour and we were pretty tired after such a long day. On the way back to London, we rested while learning more about the English countryside. Grateful for my time with Pops. Love him. Will post more photos/updates this week. :) God bless.

 

London Day 2 (Tour of the city!)

Today, Dad and I went on a tour of the city. :) It was really neat. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and hilarious. We got to go on a bus, which they call "coach." From the coach we got to see Big Ben, the London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and other landmarks. We also got to get off the coach and walk through St. Paul's Cathedral, which was amazing! Sadly, we could not take photos inside... But it was still amazing. :) After, we got to walk by Prince Charles' home (Clarence House), which was right near Buckingham Palace. We saw the guards right outside the gate, which we learned they have to stand there for two hours at a time. We saw horses walk down the main street and later bagpipers, which was cool. After a few hours of touring, we returned to our hotel and relaxed. Later, we walked the city and had a late lunch at a local pub -- fish and chips! I'm finally getting used to where things are around here but still have lots to learn. Dad and I are having a great time together and are looking forward to more tours this week. God willing, I'll be off to Cambridge on Sunday where I'll begin my summer school program! God bless.

Here!

Hey guys! My dad and I landed in London today. :) Everything went smoothly for the most part. Our flight was delayed since one of the passengers had a heart attack right as we were about to take off. :( We had to turn around so the ambulance could take him. Be praying for him. After about an hour we were on our way. The flight was about 10 hours. We landed around 4pm here (8am pacific time). Once we landed, we had to wait in line for 45 minutes for immigration. Then we got stamps in our passports! After, we found our luggage and the driver who would be taking us to our hotel. The cars drive on the opposite side of the road and the steering wheel is on the right side of the car. The license plates are different here (they're yellow)! Driving around, we got to see the architecture of some homes, hotels and city buildings. For the most part, it did not look different from the USA. But the houses did look quaint and charming. It took us awhile to get to our hotel due to traffic. Our driver said that there is always traffic in London, no matter what time of the day it is. We got to drive through the city -- it was so busy! Buses, traffic, people walking everywhere, cute little stores, coffee shops, restaurants, fashion... After settling into the hotel, I took a nap and after that, Dad and I took a little walk to McDonalds. It was almost midnight at this time. Not many stores were open but still there were a lot of people out and about. Tomorrow, Dad and I get to go on a tour and hopefully get to walk around to see all the stores. :) Hopefully we get used to the pedestrian rules around here. It looks confusing and we saw people almost get hit by a bus. :( It was scary. Anyway, it's about 1:30am here so Ima get some shut-eye! Goodnight. :) God bless.

Dad's first selfie, my first flight. :)

The Countdown! (Four more days!)

In four days I'll be leaving on a flight to England. :) I've never travelled by plane; I've never left the country! I'm excited. There's a lot of effort that goes into studying abroad--much more than I had thought. But it will all be worth it. Right now I'm sitting at Peet's Coffee UCI, researching traveling tips and things to do in Europe. I definitely plan to visit museums while I'm there. I hope to visit a few nearby countries, too. But I'm mostly excited just to enjoy the English countryside--taking walks, looking at the different architecture, enjoying the landscape... Perhaps my trip will be just that. Perhaps it won't. Either way, I hope for a time of restoration and rejuvenation.

So, many people have asked me why I chose England (especially since I'm a Spanish major). Well, it was actually my last choice! Not saying I didn't want to go there, but I had other countries in mind. I wanted to study abroad this summer and since I couldn't find a Spanish program that suit me, I decided to look at other countries that offered courses that would count toward graduation. At Cambridge, I'll be taking three arts and humanities courses--one philosophy class and two art classes. The philosophy class, called "Truth," will be about whether truth is relative or not. It will address the relation between truth and beliefs. One of the art classes, called "The Marriage of Spirit and Matter through the Study of Drawing and Painting," is an art studio class about combining thought/intellect with feelings/passion. The second art class, called "Privilege, pleasure and the picturesque: Painting in England from Van Dyck to Turner," is an art history class about the influences of old English art. For this course, we will be going to Fitzwilliam Museum as well as the Tate Britain art gallery in London to see different artworks. That should be fun. :) As many of you know, I love art!

If any of you have recommendations on things for me to do while I'm away, please let me know! God bless.

15 days and counting!

Hey everyone! So, I leave for England in 15 days! Woo! I'm new to this blogging stuff so I thought I'd start early. :) First of all, I did NOT know what I was getting into when I applied to the Cambridge summer program. I thought: "This program looks nice..I'll apply and see what happens!" It wasn't until I saw people's reactions to the news of my acceptance that I knew I was going to a good place. I'm really grateful to have this opportunity and I thank everyone who's been so supportive during the application process. Thank you Mom and Dad for encouraging me to do my best and pursue my dreams. I wouldn't be in my position if it wasn't for your push. So, thank you. Thank you, Grandma, for financially supporting me on this trip and for sharing in my excitement! You've made me look forward to this trip a whole lot more! Thank you to all my friends for encouraging me with your words and prayers. Thank you Professor Schwegler for writing the letter of recommendation for me. I appreciate it a lot! I would not be going if it were not for your kind words and support. Thank you to the faculty of UCI for encouraging me to participate in study abroad. I would not have applied if it were not for your enthusiasm! And thank you, God, for opening the door for me and making a way! Here's to a summer I won't forget. :)
God bless.

Cambridge bound