For the First Time...La la la...

1 July 2013

Getting ready to be “orientated” and “informed” about spending a term at Cambridge.

Myself and MariaChristina, Jada, and Valentina. Three amazing girls from Milan, Italy that I have bonded with since the moment we met.

Today I woke up with my mind spinning in a million directions. I am at Cambridge University. I am a student studying at Cambridge? Still I cannot seem to grasp the reality of what is happening. After meeting all the people that I have met and getting a sense of what this summer is going to be like studying at Cambridge, I am so so so SO SO SO glad that I decided to choose this path. Already I can feel the great opportunities that are going to arise from this summer. I know that I am among people who are going to be the world’s next leaders, executives, and Noble Prize winners. When you are surrounded by those types of people everyday, you can’t help but learn and grow in every way possible.

I cannot believe that it is already July! I have already been in Europe for nearly two full months… Thinking about that just blows my mind. Just a short year ago I never would of dreamed that I would be in Europe doing what I am doing now. Yesterday we received our welcome packets giving us all the access cards and information that we will need for Cambridge University.

A photo taken of the sculpture outside of the library inside Pembroke college.

Another photo inside of Kings College.

I am a part of Pembroke College. Cambridge works similar to that of Oxford as far as the University and College departments go. Students apply to a certain college and wait to hear back about whether they are excepted or not. In my case I applied to Pembroke and Kings, and was accepted to study this summer term at Pembroke. Pembroke is the only college to have buildings built in the 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, and it has the oldest gatehouse still standing in all of Cambridge. There are 31 colleges within Cambridge, and they all have little perks and unique factors about them.

The Eagle is a very famous Pub here in Cambridge. It is one of the oldest along as the place where the double helix of DNA was discovered.

Plack above the table where DNA was discovered. Cool!

Scavenger hunts really do get you to go out and see things that you probably wouldn’t otherwise. Pembroke and Kings organized a “photo” hunt for all of the international students coming to study at Cambridge for the summer allowing us to sight see most of Cambridge as well as meet many new people. India, Egypt, Italy, Paris, etc… There is just so much to see and so much to do here, it truly is miraculous.

The pub scene in England is one you do not want to miss out on regardless of whether you drink or not. After long days of work and school, the social scene is shifted over to the pubs. This is just a part of their culture. It has been interesting to note all the differences between England and the United States because there are OH SO MANY. I still cannot use my curling iron or straightener because I do not have a voltage converter that will step down the voltage from the typical UK 240 socket to my 120 voltage electronics. It has been one of the most frustrating thing I have faced since being here. You cannot find step down converters anywhere!

We recieved extra points for any planking that was present in our photos during the scavenger hunt. Spencer sacrificed on multiple occasions so that we could get lots of points!

Kailey and I met up with our Italian friends that we introduced ourselves to today in the Eagle pub right between Kings college and Pembroke college. The Eagle is a very famous pub for many reasons, but the main two being that it is the oldest in Cambridge and that the double helix of DNA was discovered inside its walls. No big deal, DNA was discovered in the place where I spent my evening. What is that? There is no possible way that something like that would ever happen in the United States. I love my homeland, but there is just something that is felt in Europe that cannot be felt anywhere else in the world. The history and the culture cannot be duplicated.

The dining hall in Pembroke College. I really feel like I am in a Harry Potter Movie everytime I eat lunch or dinner.

Myself, Leslie, and Honor. Three girls from different schools, BYU, Berkley, and Harvard.

We spent several hours chatting in the pub over THEIR alcohol and OUR water. I want to emphasis that I do not drink but that I still love being in the pubs. I have felt that the pubs have given me an opportunity to have conversations with some of the most incredible people I know. MariaChristina Georgo, Valentina, and Jada have already become some of my close friends and I have only known them for less than 24 hours. Being with such great company dearly makes me miss Italy. Italy has some of the nicest and humblest people I know and some of the most beautiful sites and scenery to see. It was interesting to be able hear all their stories about living in Milano and also to hear what it was like for them to grow up in Italy. They are all very fun and very loud. Those are two characteristics I have found quite typical to most Italians. They love to have fun and so do I, and I am thinking is