It has been over one week, and we have managed to get a lot of important things accomplished such as getting a flat, cell phones, a landline, Internet, television, a bank account, library cards, oh....and finding out that Kate's classes don't actually begin when the information from BCU said they would. So that's nice. We've also started cooking our own meals again as we have located a Sainsbury's and a Aldi a half a mile from our flat.
Beyond this, some very exciting things have happened. The other day, we received a phone call from our good friend Kirk Zimbelman. It was sincerely refreshing to hear from him as Kate was beginning to feel kind of lonely as she looked at her cell phone with only two numbers in it, one of which was her own. Kate is the kind of girl that likes to have a full address book in her cell phone as well as several text messages, and not just text messages from the phone company asking her to rate their service on a scale of 1-5. In fact, Kate struggled the first few nights in the flat as she realized where her life had taken her. No more big fish in a little pond. Also, she missed everyone. However, the ever-steady Andrew kept it together and comforted her whenever she needed it...which was a lot.
Things got better after the first two nights as Kate and Andrew began to really enjoy their surroundings. This enjoyment was undoubtedly brought on by the fact that they live .5 miles away from Cadbury World. Another glimmering moment was when Andrew bought a £5 phone card that contained 5,000 minutes on it. We thought it was a fluke, but were overjoyed that we had endless time to call home. And as we got off the phone with our mothers, we realized that it sucked up all of our cell phone minutes. Not so magical after all. However, it won't suck up any minutes when we use it with a landline, of which we will get on Oct. 6th along with Internet.
As always, the quest for Internet is ever-present. Right now we are both sitting in a shopping mall on shady computers. Oh! I almost forgot one of the most exciting things- we received our first mail! Kirk & Cynthia were so kind to send us a gift of a Scotland travel guide. Now we have to go there. For sure.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
First Impressions
We arrived safely in Birmingham around 3:30 p.m. yesterday and had no trouble getting a taxi to take us to our little hotel. And when we say "little"...we mean absolutely tiny. The rooms are about as big as a king-sized bed, but are surprisingly comfortable and swank. After arriving at the hotel last night, we decided to explore the city centre and find a eatery. We were both extremely hungry, but managed jet lag very well. We were going on 30 hours without sleep and feeling just fine.
The next day, we woke up to find that it was 12:30 p.m. We got ready and went back out into the city. Our explorations included the beautiful city canals, a million shopping centers, and Millenium Pointe, which is where the Birmingham School of Acting is located. That building is insane. Inside there is the acting school, the Thinktank, which is a sort of science/technology activies museum for children, and an IMAX theatre. It is a strange place to be attending school. We also got to briefly explore the art museum, which contained many paintings, our favorite being the Pre-Raphaelite ones. Luckily for us, it is currently Artfest in Birmingham so we witnessed several art booths and live musicians.
Our first impressions are many. We wanted to live in a city, and here we are. Birmingham really is how it is described....urban and industrial. It's no London. If you are looking for a quaint, romanticized, English town, this is not your place. That town is 30 miles south in Stratford-upon-Avon. However, as far as innovation, progress, and modernity, there is a lot to be found here. Some of the buildings are absolutely amazing, especially the Thinktank and the Bullring. While we are admittedly disappointed by the lack of "typical" English ambiance, we are confident that there are many hidden gems in the city that are left to be discovered.
Tomorrow we will hopefully move into our apartment, which will be a whole new exploration all it's own. We miss our friends and family. This whole adventure still seems like a vacation.
The next day, we woke up to find that it was 12:30 p.m. We got ready and went back out into the city. Our explorations included the beautiful city canals, a million shopping centers, and Millenium Pointe, which is where the Birmingham School of Acting is located. That building is insane. Inside there is the acting school, the Thinktank, which is a sort of science/technology activies museum for children, and an IMAX theatre. It is a strange place to be attending school. We also got to briefly explore the art museum, which contained many paintings, our favorite being the Pre-Raphaelite ones. Luckily for us, it is currently Artfest in Birmingham so we witnessed several art booths and live musicians.
Our first impressions are many. We wanted to live in a city, and here we are. Birmingham really is how it is described....urban and industrial. It's no London. If you are looking for a quaint, romanticized, English town, this is not your place. That town is 30 miles south in Stratford-upon-Avon. However, as far as innovation, progress, and modernity, there is a lot to be found here. Some of the buildings are absolutely amazing, especially the Thinktank and the Bullring. While we are admittedly disappointed by the lack of "typical" English ambiance, we are confident that there are many hidden gems in the city that are left to be discovered.
Tomorrow we will hopefully move into our apartment, which will be a whole new exploration all it's own. We miss our friends and family. This whole adventure still seems like a vacation.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
I'm on my way/ I don't know where I'm going
Welcome to our blog. We were very excited to discover that this blog came with a photo of parliament and Big Ben. How appropriate.
In short, this is going to be a blog about our experiences and adventures in the United Kingdom. As many of you know, Kate will be attending the Birmingham School of Acting for her masters and Andrew will be going on many cultural adventures and looking for his dream job. We depart for the airport on Friday afternoon where we will board a flight from Cedar Rapids to O'Hare to Dublin and into Birmingham. We have a seven hour layover in Dublin and the Barnolds have been in discussion about whether or not it would be feasible to leave the airport and explore Kate's motherland before the plane boards for Birmingham.
We will arrive in Birmingham and be staying at the Nitenite Hotel, which is a tiny-roomed hotel inspired by luxury yacht cabins, downtown for a couple of nights as we are not able to move into our apartment on Monday. Speaking of our apartment, we chose a crazy, tiny little nook located above a thrift store and across from a dress shop and eatery called "Emma's Pantry". From the looks of Googlemaps and Bing, it seems like quite an interesting little shanty.
Today we also discovered that Birmingham comes equipped with a bus, train, and metro which will be very useful to us as we travel about the city.
We will be spending the next few days getting ready and wrapping up any last details. Everything seems like a mystery still. We wish we were already there to get things prepared for all the festive events to come!
Kind Regards!
In short, this is going to be a blog about our experiences and adventures in the United Kingdom. As many of you know, Kate will be attending the Birmingham School of Acting for her masters and Andrew will be going on many cultural adventures and looking for his dream job. We depart for the airport on Friday afternoon where we will board a flight from Cedar Rapids to O'Hare to Dublin and into Birmingham. We have a seven hour layover in Dublin and the Barnolds have been in discussion about whether or not it would be feasible to leave the airport and explore Kate's motherland before the plane boards for Birmingham.
We will arrive in Birmingham and be staying at the Nitenite Hotel, which is a tiny-roomed hotel inspired by luxury yacht cabins, downtown for a couple of nights as we are not able to move into our apartment on Monday. Speaking of our apartment, we chose a crazy, tiny little nook located above a thrift store and across from a dress shop and eatery called "Emma's Pantry". From the looks of Googlemaps and Bing, it seems like quite an interesting little shanty.
Today we also discovered that Birmingham comes equipped with a bus, train, and metro which will be very useful to us as we travel about the city.
We will be spending the next few days getting ready and wrapping up any last details. Everything seems like a mystery still. We wish we were already there to get things prepared for all the festive events to come!
Kind Regards!
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