4 AM, all students in Bedford House is soundly sleeping and dreams of mushrooms, boats and economic principles. Well, at least one of them, when suddenly the most distrubing sound possible at 4 AM penetrates the sleep. The bloody fire alarm. Shoes and jacket on och off we go, everyone skipping down the stairs in their PJ's and out. Happy people who still are up walkes by and excited shouts "Pyjama party!" and gives thumbs up.

Apart from the cold it's fine, no one really thinks it's a fire going on. So instead we all get to know our neighbours a bit more, and I can now conclude that Augusta, as her name turned out to be, is from Nigeria. Nothing bad that doesn't bring some good ;)

Another "warning" you can find in England. I took this one in London and I can't for my life figure out why it says "Stop cock" on it.

Firstly: The launderette is utterly odd. First of all, compared to our beloved Swedish system, you do certainly not have to schedule a time or sign up on a list – you can simply go there. And not just on special times, because the launderette is open 24 hours. As in Sweden, it’s free of charge which is as awesome as can be. Perhaps it’s just me but they don’t have a little pocket/box for the washing powder, but you just throw it into the machine. Efficient yes, but very confusing the first time you try it by yourself…



Another notion is the tea here, with this I mean the kind you buy in the stores. It is very rare to see which kind of tea: it doesn’t often tell if it’s red, green or black, and furthermore which flavour the bags have is even rarer. And when you then manage to get a hold of your tea, the bags do not have a string, oh heavens no, you just place the bag in the cup and fish it up with a teaspoon once you’re done. This is one of the things I’ve seen around Europe, in Poland for example they had the same system. It’s cutting down on the number of items used for a teabag, which means less waste which is always good for everyone. Sweden, watch and learn!

Okay, time for some blogging. I’ve now been in England for 2 weeks, out of which 1 night in London. This time, compared to 2010 when I went to the capital for holiday and it was awesome, it was…not my most impressive experience. It turned out to be somewhat difficult to find a place which was night open to wait at, and when I finally did this oddball of a lady was speaking about her mother’s sore throat with me…for four hours. No offence to people who are talkative but, ugh. After the night I finally managed to get to the Euston station, where the train was waiting, left on time, and arrived on time. The Swedish railways have so much to learn for the UK. Due to my early arrival in Wolverhampton (8-ish, after two hours of sleeping on the train) I couldn’t check in to the hotel yet, so five more hours of walking around without any real plans until 13 and finally got some sleep after 30+ hours awake. I stayed 5 nights at this hotel while I managed to fix my accommodation, the enrolment and most importantly got a hang of the city.  It is very many bricks. But the University seems fine and I think I can really come to like it. Though I must add, when I stepped of the train my first thought was “Why the HELL did I want to go here?”


 - Hotel room

So, after speaking with the accommodation service which was very helpful I moved in to my room, in a corridor which was empty. For days. The exact amount of 5 days I lived somewhat isolated in the room, because hey, I had explored the centre, no school activated yet, no dorm mates… internet, I was so happy to have you. However the day before the school’s welcome meeting one other girl, which I have not seen since, moved in to my delight.

 - Dorm room
   

At this welcome meeting (which wasn’t  anything special at all.), the first thing I hear is my own language. I’m now very glad to have my new acquaintances Helen and Jimmy to attack the English culture with, which is very much needed because there are some  culture clashes to be expected. Like how the tap water tastes chloride, the lamps lit up by pulling strings, the penny system, transportation systems, the fact that they only sell fried chicken in the supermarket … it is similar but you know, not quite THE SAME!

The first trip outside Wolverhampton was the 21th, when we travelled by bus for about 1 hour to Stratford-upon-Avon, known for the birthplace of a bloke called William Shakespear, you might have heard of him? It was an adorable place, as you picture UK to be with little cafés and pubs. We kicked off right away in the awful weather, windy and cold, for a 2 hours guided tour about Shakespear  and the town itself (as well as an definition between city, village and town) we hurried into a cozy restaurant before we froze the toes off. Fabulous food later we strolled around the charming streets to various stores, before finding and equally cozy café with equally fabulous offers (we hit the jackpots of food places I dare say!) before getting on the bus and back home.

 '- Hamlet, Jimmy and Helen

    
- The Garrick - A candy store - The Stratford theather - W.S. Birthplace


- awesome little store which sold butterbeer and only played Harry Potter Music <3

 

- FIKA!

So in conclusion, after an annoying night and many dull days the university life is finally starting, and it seems like it’s going to be some great months here in England <3