I have been in Ormskirk, England now for 8 days and I have loved every moment! When I arrived last Thursday I was absolutely exhausted and spend the first couple of days in a haze, but as I caught up on my sleep and recovered from jet lag I really began to love this country. The first weekend they took us on a couple of excursions, first to Liverpool and then to Chester. Both places were great although very different from one another. Liverpool is an industrial city, but still a great place to just walk around and shop. I went there again today and bought a sundress! Last Saturday I also went to the Beatles Museum and went on the large Ferris wheel that gave me a great view of the city. It feels very safe and not remotely scary. In my Urban Government class last semester we discussed how in Europe the cities are very different from cities in the United States because the more affluent people tend to live in the cities. In Europe the slums are the suburbs. Although we haven't spent anytime in the suburbs you can definitely tell that the cities are well off.
When we went to Chester I could not get over how charming it was. Although there was a downtown with shops, the streets were narrow and very cute. We went to Chester Cathedral which was absolutely gorgeous. I love old architecture and I wish we had it in the US. In Chester I also invested in some herbal sleeping pills which have worked wonders at night. It can get very loud in the dorms and thanks to a pill a night (don't worry I won't get addicted!) my sleep has become quite regulated. I also am feeling completely better after having bronchitis last week and I haven't been coughing at all!
Monday-Wednesday I had class in the morning from 9-12. I'm taking British Cultural Identities and a British Literature course. We have to read The Nine Tailors, either Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights, Kidnapped, and Ivanhoe. The classes have been fairly interesting and we've had some really great discussions. However, the most fruitful education we are getting is from the excursions we're taking. After class on Monday I walked into Ormskirk, the little market village the Edge Hill University is located on the outskirts. It's about a 10 minute walk and it's a really nice. The weather has been fantastic, getting up into the 70s! I did the same on Tuesday but on Wednesday I wound up sleeping for a good portion of the afternoon.
Thursday was an amazing day. We got up early and drove 2 hours to Haworth, home of the Brontë sisters. The town was beautiful, with cobblestone streets and old stone houses. The moor was beautiful too, and I had never seen so many sheep! The lambs were so cute and there was one horse, who I named George, who was very friendly and came right up to you. The home of the sisters was quite tiny despite the fact that there were 5 siblings and it was hard to believe they all lived their together. We had a tour of their home that has been turned into a museum, and then went on a brief walking tour. Despite the tiny graveyard we learned that around 42,000 people were buried there, one on top of another. Gross!
I love all the various places we have been fortunate enough to visit. Tomorrow I'm going with a few people to take a tour of Lancaster Castle, we even get locked in a dungeon! I bought a student rail pass yesterday for 26 pounds and it gives us on all our fares. The train is so easy around here that it takes no time at all to get places! On Sunday all of us are going to the Lake District, home of Wordsworth's Dove Cottage. I have googled the location and it looks beautiful!
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