High Table Dinner and Day Three

Hello Everyone!

I still can't believe that I am living in this castle!  I catch myself saying it almost every time I encounter something new- which is about every five minutes.  I encourage you all to leave comments on my blog so that I can get feedback for future posts- you can do this by clicking on "comments" and leaving a comment via facebook, email, or other online accounts you may have.  If you prefer to email me, my email is taychrislew@gmail.com.  

In the afternoon of day two, we were given the opportunity to go into Grantham, which is the largest town located outside of the Manor, to go to stores, get food, etc.  I traveled on the Harlaxton shuttle with two of my roommates and we went to the Sir Isaac Newton Shopping Center.  Unfortunately, it was raining intermittently so I was not able to get pictures of this excursion.  I promise the next time I happen to go to town I will take as many pictures as possible!  The shopping center was very unique- it had multiple stores combined into a large mall.  The grocery store (which I can't remember the name of!), "Poundland" and other various unique shops were obviously favorites of locals because they were EVERYWHERE!  It was my first time in the actual culture of England, so it was a very nerve-wracking experience.  I wasn't sure how to act or what to say when we were walking about, so I just kept silent.  

We heard from other Harlaxton alumni that we should frequent Asda, which is like a British version of Walmart.  Asda had some familiar labels, although the names were different...see if you can spot the difference in the picture!  We were able to find it okay, but returning to the Bus Stop we got completely lost!  We did find a small local food shoppe called "Panini" which had delicious sandwiches for a descent price.  The girls at the counter asked us if America was like the TV show "Friends".  This got quite a laugh from the girls and I as we tried to explain what life in the U.S. was like.  After we left the shoppe, some lovely locals were able to find our way back to the bus stop.  

All of my Zeta sisters that are in Harlaxton! 

My roommates and I at the High Table Dinner

After arriving back to the Manor we had ample amount of time to get ready to go to the "High Table Dinner" with the principal and the rest of the Harlaxton faculty and staff.  We took advantage of the time to get gussied up and quickly made our way to the "classy" event.  We each met the principal and his wife and were ushered to get glasses of some wonderful sangria punch.  We took multiple pictures and were then summoned to dinner. 

A real Scottish bagpipes player escorted the faculty into the dining room, which was quite a sight!  I was able to capture a video which I am currently trying to upload to youtube at this time. Dinner was a nice experience with the entire body of Harlaxton in one room- the Long Gallery.  

 

Once we finished our lovely dinner, I retreated back to my room with two of my roommates and started to look up my homework for the coming weeks of school.  Unfortunately, there is quite a lot to do! I spent most of day three in round tables learning about travel and how to act in the British culture.  I did a lot of reading for school and I was able to Skype some family today too!  It was a really good day all in all, even if I had some homework to do too!

Classes begin tomorrow at 8:30am sharp in the Long Gallery, beginning with the British Studies Lecture with all of my Harlaxton classmates.  I plan on taking a bike ride with a fellow nursing student from UE.  Finally, there is a Skype nursing class in the afternoon for two hours.  Hopefully I am able to understand all of the information that has been listed in the syllabi that I have been given.  Later this week I will be going to London for a weekend trip! I am very excited to go exploring in one of my favorite cities in the world.  

Cheerio for now!

Taylor