Getting International

Heyo,
The other night our flat had a wicked international dinner party. At first my idea of the night was to invite a few girls from Italy over and try to impress them with my pasta making skills, but when dinner time rolled around there were about 20 people in our kitchen and a full on multi-national potluck. Personally, I have never seen a group of 5 guys clean an apartment so quickly and so thoroughly, but I guess all it takes is the incentive of creating a good first impresson to a group of hot euro-girls.














above: Martina-Italy, Florence-France, Julia-Hungary, Silvia-Italy, Jolene-Canada, Tiina-Sweden

Scotland is a no-go for this weekend because it takes more than a few days to organize the trip for a small group, so we decided that we will check out Edinburgh from Feb 23-25.

Tessa should be coming to Birmingham to visit on Friday which will be a good time, hopefully she will give me some tips on how to answer the English greeting, "You alrigh'?" because I can't really figure out the best way to respond yet.

Here are some pictures from the other night.









































Above: Me, Andrew-England, Sven-Germany, Alan-Poland, Angplos-Cypress, Arri-Austria, Joe-United States of Americuhhh
Below: Ben-England sits on Germany's shoulders while I enjoy a Carling, an excellent brew that serves "The Great Balance of Taste and Refreshment" with every sip.

Arrival of the Fittest

Hey Canada,

So, I'm in England and happy to say that everything is really awsome so far. The trip over was easy enough, consisting of a plane, a bus and a taxi. I'm living in an apartment style house on the ground floor with an American guy Joe from Chicago, Arri the Austrian, and Ben, Andy and Joel from England. There are tons of international students, I actually know less British people than internationals, which I find funny. When we walk down the street I feel like a miniature United Nations.
Birmingham is a really wicked city, it used to be super industrial, but over recent years it has been getting a major overhaul. There are canals running throughout the city and the downtown core is pretty much entirely pedestrian. I'll post some pictures soon enough, but I'm at the school library right now. Speaking of the school(UCE), it is almost a copy of Ryerson, old, ugly and concrete. Right across the street is a greyhound racing stadium, which I'm definately going to check out, maybe win a few quid.
On the weekend a group of about 10 internationals travelled about 40mins by train to Stratford-Upon-Avon, the city of William Shakespeare's birth. It is a fairly small city and a bit of a tourist trap as well, but definately worth the visit. We saw the house where he was born and also his grave inside of a local church (which I think is the best place for him, and I think that most people who had to read his stuff through high school will agree with me).
Everything is rolling pretty well so far, and after less than a week here I can confidently say that it will be a good time. Thats it for now, I might be going to Scotland over the weekend, we'll see what happens. See ya

Preparing to Pond Hop

I'm writing to keep friends and family updated on my happenings and experiences in Birmingham England. I am participating in an exchange from Ryerson University in Toronto to the University of Central England (UCE). I leave in one week (January 24th) and make my return to Canada on June 15th. My goal is to travel a good deal within Europe, meet some new people and .....study. As of now my unknowns heavily outweigh what I know about the coming months. I know that I have a plane to catch and room in residence to stay in once I arrive. Other than that it seems that things like choosing classes, exploring Birmingham, meeting my 5 new roomates and everything else that might come along with English culture will be picked up as I go. Im pretty excited to get going and equally nervous when I realize what is being left behind.

I was in Toronto over the past weekend for a last visit, I stayed at Stef and Carina's house and had a wicked weekend consisting of mexican food, dance-offs at Mick E Fynns, breaking into an abandoned brick factory to take pictures, lots of pizza and a meeting with my prof Dr. Kosny who has put the exchange together.

Next time something gets written here, I will be in England unpacking (the bags that I haven't started packing yet), wondering what the hell a "lorry" is and most likely having a meal of bangers and mash.

I think that I can post pictures on this in a gallery of some kind. We'll see if I can figure that out. See ya.