So the start of Fresher’s Week has been pretty crazy. There have been some cool people who have moved into my hallway. There is this guy Tane who is Welsh, but lives in Zimbabwe. He is freaking hilarious. There has also been this guy named Jack who doesn’t live in my hallway, but he is just always here and it’s kind of funny. So that first night I ended up going to Stuart’s room and we were pregaming. We then went to Falmer Bar and I had a pint and a bomb bacon cheeseburger. We then managed to make our way down to East Slope Bar and that was pretty cool. I ended up seeing some of the people who had moved in my hall and they were pretty sick. I sat down with them and hung with them for a couple of hours. Then we went back to Tane’s room and hung out for a little while then I went to bed. Overall it was a pretty sick night. The next day there was this event called Unite. It was in the student union and they had all kinds of “clubs” set up everywhere. When we first got there it was mad early and there was not that many people, so me and Mitch decided to once again go to Kebab No. 5. We came back and it was finally popping off in Unite. We ended up just going around trying to talk to everyone we saw, then got kind of tired and split. I ended up seeing Tane when we got back so I went and chilled with him in his room for a little while. The next day there was not really that much going on, and we were just hanging out at East Slope Bar for a little while and having a few drinks. Then I got a text from Edie, who is Taylor’s friend who she introduced me too. Mitch and I ended up meeting her at a bar called Varsity. The bar was pretty sick before 11:30 there was £1 pints. We were hanging out with her and a couple other dudes for a while. Then we decided to go to a club, Coalition. We got there and got into the club, but it was only me and Edie. So we wandered around thinking that Mitch and the rest of them might have got into the club after us, but then Edie got a text saying they never got in. We finally met them at another bar called Oxygen. That place was pretty cool too, they were playing the Red Sox game. We ended up calling it a night after the epic club failure and as usual went to Kebab No. 5. Then today I woke up at like 10 am and it was awful. I couldn’t fall asleep again because the beds are so uncomfortable. I went and tried to buy tickets to the pub crawl, but it ended up selling out so Mitch and I ended up going to Mike’s pad in Swanbourgh. We drank some beers and ordered some pizzas. It was a pretty low key night, but mad fun. Now I need to get ready for Dublin tomorrow!! I am so pumped to go!
So the next Saturday I had was pretty boring as well, I did nothing really all day then I worked on finishing up my presentation for about 6 hours. I had managed to finish all of it by 2 am. It turned out to be really relieving to have of that done and I had about 4 days to completely focus on my essay. Sunday I started to focus on my essay, but was easily distracted. I ended up going to a comedy club called Komedia, and the 3 acts that performed were hilarious. One of my favorite jokes was “Do you think a narcissistic pedophile wanks it to pictures of himself as a baby?” I was dying laughing. I ordered a pitcher of beer there too, and they are nothing like the ones in the US. There was like 6 pints in this pitcher compared to the ones in the US where there is only 40oz. I also got a pitcher of Long Island Iced Teas, which was headies. Then as doing what has become somewhat of a routine for me I went to Kebab No. 5. I am absolutely in love with that place. It rivals some of the late night food in Amherst. Joao and I wanted to go out to a club, but since it was Sunday night nothing was really going on. We ended up going home and hanging out in the 3rd floor kitchen continuing our drinking there until about 2 am. The next day I was working on my essay even more, but still didn’t finish it. I went to Asda and went grocery shopping and yet again Joao says one of the funniest things I have ever heard. We went to McDonalds and as we were leaving he sees a clearly mentally disabled person eating ice cream and wearing a helmet. He then tells me “Hey I didn’t know it was so dangerous eating ice cream.” I almost died laughing, and the worse part about it was we were like 30 ft from them. That night I kept it low key, but then the following night we went back to karaoke. I didn’t realize that I drank so much, but apparently I went to help all the Americans sing “Closing Time” because this was the end of the Sussex in September program. Yet again after that we went to Kebab No. 5, which was legit as usual. The next day I finished my essay and was ready to go crazy, but it seemed kind of lame because everyone else had yet to finish their work. I found my party buddy Joao and we ended up going out with a decently sized group of people. We went to Oceana and when we got there I swear we were like the only people there at that point it was kind of weird. Soon though the dance floor began to fill up. We spent about the first hour in the Ski Lodge and had £2 beers until midnight. Then we went to the Ice Room and the 80s room for the rest of the night. At the end of the night we went to Kebab No. 5 again. I think the guy is starting to know my name. So the last night of the Sussex in September program was here. They had a leaving dinner with FREE BEER. It was awesome. So since we had all the free beer we were all good and ready to go out to a club. I really wanted to go to Digital, but for some reason every time I want to go to a specific club here it is closed this is the 3rd time it’s happened. I don’t get why they are closed on random nights. So we went to Oceana again. I am kind of already getting over that place. I want to see more than just that in Brighton. It was still a great time though. I went home a little early. Then the next day I woke up and Mitch and I went into town and ate at this sick burger place called Gourmet Burger Kitchen. It was crazy too, the cashier there was from Long Beach so he was all excited when he saw my license. We then left and I went and got some sick gear at Primark for mad cheap. We then tried to find this Milkshake place called “Shakeaway” with bomb ass shakes. It took a little while, but I was able to and I got a Reese’s Cup shake, which was headies. I then came home and watched TV for like 8 hours, then I booked my flight to Amsterdam. I am SOOOO excited to go to Amsterdam it is not even comprehendible. Now today is the start of Fresher’s Week and it is going to be insane so stayed tuned for details.
So this week was a wild one! Tuesday night was Karaoke again and boy do I know how to pregame. When we got to Ye Olde King and Queen I was already good to go! But since there was a special on drinks I could not help myself. I also had managed to sneak some vodka in so I was good to go for the rest of the night. I ended up going on stage with a couple of people and singing probably the worst version of “Killing Me Softly” by The Fugee’s in the history of mankind, but it was still really fun. The rest of the night is pretty much a haze. So I woke up the next day in my bed with my pajamas on, alarm set for class, and I was good to go. But Stuart came into my room around 9 o clock and was like, “What happened to you last night, you ended up disappearing” and I told him I had no idea. Everyone all Thursday was just asking me what happened and where I went so I have no idea what happened, but I made it home safe. So I woke up Wednesday and actually went to the first class of the Sussex in September program that I enjoyed. We talked about Europeanization, and the blending of the European cultures, which I found very interesting. Then that night people were trying to go out to Oceanaa so I was down. I was pre gaming with Mitch and Annalisa, but they didn’t want to go to the club, so it ended up being Joao, Stuart, Thea, Joya, Lewena, me and I think a few other people. That was probably one of the best nights that I have had because I finally didn’t get to crazy and just overall had a good night. That was a very late night. I ended up getting home really late, and then I saw that Rudy was on Skype so I talked to him for like an hour and half. It was funny we were having a Skype party. After that I started talking to Ian and Paul on aim too, so I didn’t end up going to bed until a little after 7 am. I woke up really late the next day and was just being extremely lazy all day. Then that night people were trying to go out clubbing again, so it was the start of another crazy night. We started out going to East Slope Pub because Kai the activities coordinator for the program was doing Trivia. I showed up towards the end and did not participate, but then everyone wanted to go back and drink more so we were all hanging out in my hallway and left to find a club. We got into town wandered to like 3 clubs and 2 wouldn’t let us in because I think they didn’t want to let 40 Americans in the club a little past midnight. I ended up seeing that guy who I met on the bus Monday night. He turned out to be a little eccentric. He wanted to go this club Poo na na, but we ended up going to Kebab 5, which was incredible. While we were in Kebab 5 this guy Chris was being really weird talking about how someone was going to pay 20 pounds for me to go to this club and I was like no thanks and when he stepped outside we all literally ran away from this kid because we were all so sketched out by him. We got home and called it a night. Then everyone woke up Friday and pretty much left and because I have so much homework this weekend I decided not to go up to London with people so I could stay and finish all my stuff. I did a miserable job of doing work though. I took about 3 pages of notes and then went into the kitchen and ended up hanging out with Joao, Silvana, and Kelly until maybe 1:30 am.
So far I have been in England for 10 days and I think this might be one of the best experiences I have ever had in my life. I seriously don’t think that I have ever had. I have met so many cool and new people from all over the place. Sussex in September is such a great program and I am so glad that I got to participate in it. Starting from the beginning of the program I have done so much. On the first day I got here I flew from Boston to Iceland, which was just so weird I never thought that I would ever go to Iceland in my entire life. Everything went smooth all my flights were on time. Then from Iceland I flew to London Heathrow. As soon as I landed I knew this was going to be the journey of a lifetime. I got off the plane went through customs and got my luggage real quick, but then problems began. I go to the bus station and try to catch a coach down to Brighton. I had literally just missed one by like 5 minutes so I had to wait another hour for the next one. I had had nothing to eat because I thought I would be able to get better food when I got to Brighton. I ended up missing another bus because the stupid prompter in the lobby told me to wait there because my bus was delayed when in fact it just left without me. So finally I got on my bus, but because I had only slept a little on the plane I fell asleep as soon as I got on the bus. When I woke up 2 hours later I thought that I would have been almost there or should have been there already, but turns out we were still at Heathrow Airport because of some crazy car accident. So after 6 hours on the bus I finally got to Brighton. Not even caring about anything I just got in a cab and told them to take me to York House. I get to York House and am immediately greeted by a group of people all going to East Slope Bar so immediately put my luggage in my room and go to the bar. I had only a couple beers, but enjoyed mingling and hanging out with everyone. The next day I woke up and went on a campus tour, then that night was a reception with free food and free beer it was awesome. I ended up getting pretty buzzed. I met one of my good friends so far Mitchell. He is an awesome dude, from Mass and loves to party. We end up having a little party in his room then try and get everyone to go out that night. So that night we all went out on the town. Mitch, Annalisa, Thea and I ended up going to a club called Oceana. It was honestly one of the sickest places I have ever been too in my life I had so much fun. Then the next day I had to wake up and go to London. I woke up at 7 am, which was crazy because of all the alcohol that I had consumed the night before. London was amazing we went around on a walking tour and hit up all of the main spots such as Buckingham Palace, Parliament, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Big Ben, etc. After the walking tour we went on a cruise in the Thames River. I was so tired I actually fell asleep for a couple minutes. So we got back that night and I think we just hung out. The next night everyone took it easy as well because we all started classes the next day. The next day I went to my Politics of the European Union class, which was boring. That night I went on a tour of Brighton and it was so sick. We went out to dinner for Sushi and it was so good. There was like 10 of us and we did Saki Bombs that were so good. It was so funny too at the dinner we ended up doing speed dating and I learned a lot about everyone and it was hilarious the server told us to quite down so we just left. After that we ended up going to some pubs. It was so cool just hanging out at the pub with everyone. We were allowed to take our beer out and sit on the beach. There was a group of like 20 of us on the beach. Once that Fortune of War closed we went to another club called the Fish Bowl. We stayed there until 2 am it was awesome. We ended up playing this game called Thumper, which was so fun. We all had to do a sexual sign, which made it hilarious. So after that we called it a night and went home. Class again the next day and then that night we all went out to Karaoke. Mitch and I were the first people in our group to go up and we sang “Ice, Ice Baby” I didn’t know any words so we sounded like fools. I also got up and sang “Sweet Caroline” with all the New Englanders. That night I went home had a great night ;). The next day I took it easy again, but Thursday night was insane. I was blackout drunk before we went to the club. I don’t remember the bus ride there at all, but for some reason I remember the rest of the night. Honey Club was cool, but Thea and I decided to leave and as we were walking to the bus, we saw a club called Vavroom. We had no idea what it was so we went in. Turns out it was a gay bar. We spent about an hour in there. Once all the gay people found out I wasn’t gay they shunned me, but whatever it was still a funny story. The next day I was hanging out with people and we ended up going to a BBQ at East Slope it was really cool. I finally got to meet more British people. The next morning I woke up at 6 and we got ready to go to Stonehenge and Bath. Stonehenge was pretty cool, but the tour was kind of boring.Then we drove to Bath, which is one of the oldest places in Britain. The ancient Romans would come there on Pilgrimage’s and use the natural springs. It was seriously gorgeous. As soon as we got there Annalisa, Mitch, Amanda, Lewena, Thea, and I all tried to go find somewhere to eat. We ate at this little café inside a mall. Then we walked around and took pictures. Eventually we sat down in this quaint little park for about 45 minutes. It was so nice and sunny. It was the perfect day. We saw this weird dude walking around twisting balls in his hand doing some kind of ritualistic dance. He had one dread lock and was wearing a camo suit. He must have been fried from all the drugs he has done in his life. So after that was when we went into the Bath Museum. It was probably one of the best things that I have seen so far. I walked around and had an audio tour and got to see all kinds of ancient Roman artifacts. In the end of the tour I sat outside on the gorgeous day by the baths and waited for the rest of the group to meet up. We eventually got back on the bus and I was really tired. It took forever to get home though because there was a car accident and this car was destroyed. They closed both sides of the motorway and had a helicopter come and airlift the person out. So we got home that night and Mitch and I went to the store to buy some beer. We drank warm beer on the bus because it was getting late and we were antsy. We got back and had a pretty crazy night, we played King’s Cup and then we went on the roof for a while. It was so funny security came and kicked us off the roof. After that a group of us went to the kitchen and hung out there for a while. In the end Joao, Thea and I all stayed up until 5 in the morning it was so funny. Sunday I tried to some homework but totally failed. Then in the evening Lewena, Annalisa, Stuart and I all went to meet Jess and Megan in Brighton because they wanted fish and chips. We went to this nice place right on the ocean a little off the pier. We all had a great time and during dinner Joao said the funniest thing because he just couldn’t believe that the police didn’t carry guns. He was impersonating a cop and said, “Stop right now…please!!!” Everyone at the table seriously died laughing. So last night, Monday, everyone went to the Globe Theatre to see a Shakespeare play and I had no desire because it was raining and the theatre is open air so about 10 of stayed and drank in Mitch’s room. We did a power hour and then went to this club called Coalition. We met these random dudes on the bus and they showed us where to go. The club was pretty sick, but then I got lost from the group of people and just wandered around town until I found a bus stop. On the bus I saw Amanda and Stuart. Then I went to bed after a great night.
