When 6 hour shifts sound like a good idea

Tuesday 27th September

The day began with a skype call back home. Thankfully, it was just me and my mum, who's going on holiday within 12 hours of our conversation. It seems obvious that she misses me more than I miss Fish n Chips or a greasy donner meat and chips (tummy starts rumbling). And for those who really know me, u know i love my British food. It was a huge sacrifice to come here and leave the food behind. "Dammit i'm getting off topic"

After the skype call, my nan wanted a go. it may be worth getting a tape recorder, recording my conversation with my mum and playing it back to my nan. Unfortunately for me, it was now 12pm, and 2 hours before my classes started. I decided to be a proper geek and read the chapters of the class books we would be covering. (this later turned out to be a complete lifesaver)

1:15pm and I decided to splash out on a Taco Bell combo. 3 crunchy taco supremes, and a refillable drink for $5.39 (about £3.75). Will definately be making that a regular. Cheaper than the others vendors by a country mile

I won't bore you with the details of the 3 classes, other than the middle one is going to make this a long quarter

8pm came, and walking back to my room, i came across a few friends, who were chilling in the village square. I decided to drop my stuff and head over. I was soon to meet up with 2 german lads, who disappeared very quickly (must have been something i said). having a few games of pool (and losing one game OMG, 11 wins and 1 loss aint bad)

We all tucked into some microwaveable popcorn which i had bought about a week previous. The only reason it had been untouched until now was the fact i don't have a microwave in my flat. But shockingly there was one in the square. To be honest it's relly good, almost as good as cinema popcorn (i won't say salted or sweet since this'll create a national divide :p )

After staying until closing time, we all headed back. I prepared the desk for the next day of work, and drifted off.........

I need to crack on...

Monday 26th September

Today, I had no choice, I had to crack on with that assignment. It consisted of 4 parts, 2 of which were directly reflective of my learning, 1 was research based and 1 was to review someone elses assignment. This however had an upside, Whoever posted their assignment on the course website didn't have to complete the review of another assignment, in a way, it's a reward for doing your work first.

Since this was my first assignment, I wanted to do it properly. so the assignment that is supposed to take an hour actually took 3 1/2 hours. Although after 2 hours i got bored and watched some videos on YouTube. I checked the website; I was going to be number 5. Bearing in mind theres 40 people on the course and only 4 people had completed the work more than 24 hours before the deadline.

After reviewing someone elses report, and submitting the work, it was 2:30pm. 7 and a half hours before the deadline and only 5 people had completed the work. Mabye everyone does complete their work last minute. I'll be using this to my advantage next time :)

After another couple of hours of updating the blog, it was time to go to a self-arranged game night. Taking place in the village square, where most of the previous events have been taking place. The place was bustling with people playing Taboo, Scrabble and a strange card game i can only refer to as BS (younger generations will know what this means). [wish i'd have taken my camera to the event]

These games lasted for some time. by 11pm the place was almost deserted. Having made a few new friends, a total of 6 of us decided to go for a midnight-meal. The venue....Ihop restaurant. pretty much like a pancake/ flapjack diner. The waiter took a liking to my British accent (didn't get me 10% off though) I decided to go for a 24hr breakfast, which came with a Caramel Apple Fritter. the fritter was sort of like a............like a........I don't really know how to explain it, but By Jove was it delicious.

1am when we got back, and i felt really sleepy, (must have been that fritter)

Head -> pillow

Head+pillow+duvet = Sleep

Time to knuckle down... well, not really

Sunday 25th September

Just picture if you will: The lazy song by Bruno Mars.

I really focused on the first line of that song. If for any reason you're not familiar with modern pop, the first line is "Today i'm not doing anything". Which is almost what I did. Waking up at 10:30am, i would then spend the next 4 hours just staying in my room. (which is almst what happened) I first had to buy my school books for the fall quarter. Can you believe it, 2 books and a special calculator for $260!!
The only good thing is that i can sell the books back, so i may be able to get about $100 back after the quarter is over.

I then proceded to start the first piece of coursework. I got through all of 10 words when I got a call to join my friends at the pool. Hmm, "coursework or pool" i thought. Bit of a no-brainer really, as i continued with my coursework. Yea Right. obviously i packed my bag to go to the pool. Another few hours spent lazying away by the deserted pool. Seriously, I don't understand it, theres a huge pool and no-one uses it. Mabye theres an old tale of someone dying in there that i haven't heard yet.

I had barely finished up, got back to my flat and cleaned up, when it was time for the next scheduled event, Dining in the Dark. At first i'm thinking back to my "Strange Eats" competition, where i had to eat raw tofu and crickettes. Turns out it was just a spaghetti bolognase with the lights turned off. bit of  let down really.

I was particuarly looking forward to the next event, the last in the 'welcome week' series, speed friending. imagine speed dating, but rather to get to know people than look for a potential soul-mate. Quite a large turnout arrived and we had to use a 2nd room. We each got a minute to introduce ourselves and have a quick chat. It just so happens that having a British accent plays well, since i continued the speed friending long after the event had finished.

A group of about 10 of us retired to the gaming lounge, with a pool table, ping pong and table footy (also called Fuusball). The Americans didn't know what hit them, sinc i beat everyone at pool and fuusball. I'll save the ping pong for later (a lot later, since i've never played it).

It hit 11:30pm. and a few people needed to go to Wal-mart. since i had no snacks in my room, i thought i might as well get something as well. We had to hurry though, since the store closed at midnight. fitting 5 people into a 92' Toyota Corolla was a squeeze, but we got there eventually. After 10 minutes of picking snacks we re-grouped, only to find Amaka couldn't decide on what flavo(u)r ice-cream to get.

We escaped with 5 minutes to spare, and made it back to campus. Everyone else had class in the morning and wanted an early night (how you get an early night from 12:15am i'll never know). I went back as well, knowing i still had that essay to write later....

Another day in Paradise

Saturday 24th September

Today I decided it was about time the folks back home, it had been practically a week since i'd spoken properly to them.

So for almost an hour, we continued talking on Skype, pretty much about how i'm settling in, what i've been upto and how I should be going into journalism because of the blog. It's hardly journalism, it's just telling a story as it unfolds. although to be fair, if i keep it up at this rate, it'll be a 300 page novel. They also mentioned how they liked the humour, which to be fair is quite true; you wouldn't want a days account to just drag on and on, i'd lose the few followers i already have :p

After the hour, i was due to meet up with Amaka and Roxy at the gym for my first American gym workout. Stepping into the Recreation centre (or rec center in the US), there are more machines than i though you could fit into a building. I spent an hour and a half having a mix between cross-trainers, step machines and weights, but you can probably imagine i was pretty tired, so the best way to relax... (after getting a sandwich of course)......

Why, relax by the pool of course. Another game of Marco-polo, but this time in the larger pool. Not that I want to show off, but......

Just to rub it in a bit more, coparing the bottom of my feet, you can see how much i've tanned already :p

By 5pm, we'd had enough and decided to retire to the pool table for a couple of games of pool. How i miss the English version though. We even decided to play to Fussball, which the Americans called table football.

There was also a talent show from 6:30pm, where people signed up to show off their talents. There was a lot of singers, dancers and "word-smiths" (fancy word for people who tell poems.) by 7:30 though, the list had been depleted, which left some last minute volunteers. Before you say, no i didn't volunteer.

Roxy on the other hand volunteered me instead. thinking on the spot i decided to go for "You Raise me up" on the piano and singing at the same time. I decided that 2 verses would be enough, since i can't sing the highest notes on the piano version. In the end it actually went really well, to the sound of thunderous applause. With 10 minutes before the end, the person behind me suggested i have another go. everyone else seemed to agree. So i sang "You'll be in my heart", this time without the Piano, which also went very well.

Afterwards, we played a few more games of pool, then when the village square closed at 10pm (where the pool table was) then we decided to call it a night. after a bit of reading of some course material, i went to sleep, ready to do absolutely nothing tomorrow

Regroup and Recompose

Friday 23rd September

After an 8 hour sleep, I had planned for a quiet day. Aside from the fact I had a meeting at 11am with the disability advisor, i had nothing planned. Despite almost memorising the campus map, i still managed to find the wrong building. Turns out the building I went to was a temporary one, used 3 years ago :(

The joys of setting off early meant i was only 5 minutes late. Without going into detail, the meeting was to arrange support while i'm here. Putting this all to one side....

The meeting finished and I decided to grab a bite to eat. I'm at the front of the queue, and I bump into a friend, Amaka (or Cindy, she has 2 names). She had finished her classes for the day and was also calming down. After our meal, we decided to head to the pool, for a few hours, again playing Marco Polo, with a few new people already in the pool.

By 5pm, We'd had enough and 2 of the people needed to go to the local shops. Since I didn't have any plans, i tagged along and got another taste of American Culture, the drug stores. After looking at all sorts of Multi-vitamins, health foods and Booze, we headed to the juice store next door. My first taste came from a 32oz Strawberry wave smoothie.

After a full refreshment later, we headed to the Fashion show being held on campus, where we saw....pretty much nothing, it wasn't that good, although they did have a modelling competition. where i came 2nd and won a free shirt :)

After a sort-of un-eventful, it was back to mine for an early night.

Whats an American classroom?

Thursday 22nd September

As much as i would like it to never end, the fun times do have a time-consuming cost. all the preperation, all the arranging and the navigating around the campus endlessly have come to this, The start of classes.

The day began with 2 more important matters, the USA phone, which had been charging overnight and the meal plan, which couldn't be obtained because i didn't have my student I.D. The phone was easy, just go onto a website, punch in a few numbers (not literally, i kinda like this laptop) and you'd be good to go.

Success! I now have an american phone. It may be bog-standard, but it makes and recieves calls; all that I want from it while i'm here. moving onto the I.D and now that 48 hours had passed, i could get it. Waiting in line for obtaining the I.D seemed to toake forever, but it soon died down. I presented my identification (UK driving license). The attending clerk simply looked at me, then back at the I.D with a look that suggested "what the hell is this?". this was quickly followed by the cue to sit down and take the photo that would be placed on the card.

Quickly sorting my hair, I heard "look at the camera, on the count of 2. 1 and 2"
'Click'
After a minute of printing, I finally had it, my Coyote One card, my student I.D, printing card, meal-plan card and free bus pass all on a single piece of plastic.

I then rushed over to the other side of campus to get my meal plan that i'd bought 3 days previous, but couldn't get (didn't have the Coyote One). After a 7 minute walk in 32'C heat, it only took 2 clicks of the admin team to sort me out. Now i'd have to walk all the way back and try it out. I thought all the work i put in deserved a special meal, A double cheeseburger with fries AND onion rings AND unlimited soda. This time i showed my C1 card and didn't pay a cent, rather than hand over a $10 and be astounded at the fact i'd get less than $3 change for a lesser meal.

That meal seemed to last for a LONG time, because when i'd finished, i had 15 mins to my first ever USA lecture. Bearing in mind that the campus is quite large, it took me 5 mins to walk up to the Jack Brown Hall, another 5 minutes to find room 140 and 5 minutes to settle in and prepare. This was it, my first taste of American Education.

Professor J Ryan, MKTG (Marketing) 305: 2pm -> 3:50pm (JB140)

The lesson started with an introduction to Marketing and all the principles that would be covered. This quickly turned to an introduction by each student. we went up and down the rows, and i was one of the last to speak. Turns out there are a lot of people from the local area or other parts of California. Some Germans, Canadians and a few Chinese. It was soon my turn....

"Hi, i'm Phil and i'm an exchange student from England"

"OOOOOOH" came the reply of the class and the professor, who then proceded to use me as an idea 'bouncer' where for the benefit of the class, I became the comparison tool for American and non-American companies. Sure it's a great way to get involved in the class, (which is apparently good for improving grades) but thinking on the spot isn't one of my stronger sports. Nevertheless i'm looking forward to this class.

This class finished at 3pm rather than 3:50pm, which gave me time to refresh back at my flat. When I left the class, Glorious sunshine and for the first time in 5 days, clouds in the sky. When I came back out 1/2 hour later, light rain and 40mph winds. I just made it back to the classroom before it developed into what must surely feel like a low rated hurricane.

Professor V Gupta MGMT (management) 405 4pm ->5:50pm JB140 (same room - hahaha)

Completely different to the previous lesson, the lesson was mainly spent putting us into groups and talking about study abroad, where the class proceded to ask me and 2 german students about study abroad (yeah like i knew anything after just 4 1/2 days in the country). The Groups were used to prepare us for the upcoming group assignments. I was put in Group 5, which would present its findings on October 18th, the same day i apparently have a Mid-term exam in MKTG 305 (bad times)

Theres 2 American lads, a hispanic female and a German female, who i'd already met through my German flatmate Adrian. Plenty of coursework to keep me out of trouble for a long time

Professor S Vishnarm FIN (finance) 313 6pm -> 7:50pm JB258

Yes you have read correctly, I have 6 hours back to back, which wouldn't be too bad it was like 10 to 4, but 2 till 8? suppose i'd have to soldier on. This course looks and sounds fairly easy, since the first lesson was spent primarily on the syllabus. As long i read the textbook (which hasn't been officially announced yet) refreshed my memory of 1st year Accounting and Finance i'd do just fine.

By 8pm, i'd reached my room and was shattered. But what better way to liven up than by meeting with your buddies to make paper lanterns. an hour later, and lots of wasted ink &paper later, this is what i'd finally been able to make

After taking the lantern back to my room, we all split up to meet up at 10pm at the Village Quad for
"THE MOST AWESOMEST, BESTEST, GREATEST, ULTIMATE GAME OF FREEZE TAG" (words published in the welcome week leaflet)

Without going into details, it was simply an hour of running around avoiding people, which proved to be very tiring indeed. This was enough to make me very tired, so i managed to stagger back home, still gasping for breath, where i pretty much collapsed onto my bed and slept like a baby

Orientation over

After all the preperations, orientations and developments concerning culture shock, It was unforunately time to start my classes. But thats for later, we still have to talk about Wednesday night.

And oh my, what a night it was. But before we get to that, we left the action as I was picking up my passport. So there were at least 200 people swamped around this small office. Previously the staff had given us a survey to complete, and once it was complete and handed in, you would get your passport (i detect a hint of black-mail there :( ). Most people either forgot it, or didn't fill it in. Those who had completed it were brought to one side. I was surrounded by Chinese and German students, thinking "dam this is gonna take a while"

"PHILLIP BOWERS"

Despite the fact they said my name wrong, I was relieved, since i was the first one (good times). That also meant i was unofficially the only person from the UK (bad times). Half an hour later, my adopted auntie Chrissy arrived with 3 huge bin liners in her car, filled with old bedding she didn't need. I'd been waiting for these for ages, but that night little did i know i'd have one of the best sleeps ever.

After the unload of unwanted bedding, sheets and a lamp (which doesn't need a UK to US adaptor, boo-yah) we set off to Wal-mart. This was meant to be only 5 minutes down the road, but of course it took us close to 15 minutes. Not because of traffic, but because when we looked for directions on Google maps, it led us to a distribution warehouse for Dollor Tree (similar to a massive pound-shop chain). As we re-traced our steps, we discovered something truly amazing, (give you a clue: "get your kicks on ##### ##")

That's right, we were driving on the historic Route 66, all freshly tarmac'd. it didn't last long, because we did find the Wal-mart eventually. Think of the size of Wembley stadium and thats what this place was like, they had absolutely everything, i'm surprised u didn't get complimentary buggies to drive you around the place. First port of call, the technology centre, I needed an American phone. You think we get a bad deal in the UK on phones. Everything was on 2 year deals ranging from $30 to $60 per month (£20 - £40) on top of the phone which u dont get free. Eventually i found a cheap phone which was on a 1 month rolling contract, easy to come out of at the end of my stay. $40 for the phone and $30 per month (plus tax so add another $3)

Since I'm on a meal plan, i didn't need to buy any food, but thought i might as well buy a few things just in case. Now we all complain about food being expensive in the UK, in the US however, its almost the opposite. thinking about what the 4 of us used to spend a week would probably be about £20 cheaper ($30) at Wal-mart. Once all the shopping was completed, we headed back to the campus, where i said bye bye to Auntie Chrissy (remember she's not my actual auntie) and headed back.

From 7pm we had our apartment meetings, where we met with our (R)esidential (A)ssistant, who'd look after us if anything went wrong. This gave me half an hour to sort the room out, which was a mess since we just dumped all the bedding. Once this was done it was almost time to head out. So the whole of building 6 (where i'm staying) gathered in the quad in the centre of the building

And basically talked about health and safety, what to do if you lose your keys and what to do in the event of a fire (despite the fact we had a drill the day before)

The main entertainment would come just after this. We were told to dress like Romans and make our way to the village centre. (you can probably guess whats coming)
One of the main things u associate with the Romans...is the Toga. Luckily, Auntie Chrissy left a spare bed sheet, but despite not being white, it still fit (eventually)

Quick Question: What do you get when you cross a British student with an unused bedsheet
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Not ideal... it looks more like a dress, but i assure you it is just a bed-sheet (and yes there is something else underneath, i'm not walking around campus without any pants on.)

We would party on till 1AM, which is quite strange for me. Not beause of the time, but the fact that everyone was completely sober and still dancing like drunks. At least tonight i could go home and not have to worry about a hangover in the morning. But I did have something to worry about, my first day of classes....

(P.S, sorry this post is very long, if you made it this far, you deserve a treat. go get yourself a cookie from the cupboard or a packet of crisps :p)

The morning after...

First off, let me just clarify something,

I appear to be suffering from culture shock, which is fairly common with international and distance travelling students. Homesickness is one of the side-effects of the culture shock where the more you think of home, the worse it gets. Another explanation is that i'm a big softy and i just needed to get it off my chest. I still have the odd tear in my eye and the occasional sniffle, but i believe the worst is over. and by the time my classes start, I should be almost normal again (hooray)

Anyway, Tuesday saw a long crying session in the morning, but what better way to take your mind off things than with a "strange eats" competition. As the name suggests, its an eating contest, which also incorporates speed eating and I'm a Celebrity style grub. Luckily i came joint 1st after 4 rounds
Round 1: 30 secs to eat a large slice of raw tofu (Yuck) (6/10 completed)
Round 2: 30 secs to eat 10 small crickets (not real crickets, but they were really chewy) (4/10)
Round 3: 1 minute to eat what i suspect was a mix between sardine fillets and rotting sushi (not too bad actually) (2/10)
Round 4: First to finish a full plate of all 3 of the above plus 2 slices of value SPAM (pet hate) (neither finished, both declared winners, recieved small goody bag with some cheese crackers a tin of Spaghetti, some chips (crisps to you and me) and a laundry bag,

After 2 hours of getting the rotting taste out of my mouth, i spent 2 hours beside the pool with my new-found friends, taking in the sun, the water and playing Marco Polo for the first time.

Night-time saw the arrival of the long-anticipated open night of the sports centre, with live music, stalls for clubs and fraternities (unfortunately most of the fraternities accept certain people, of which i didn't qualify). Free Pizza, massages and the Haunted hike. which took the best part of an hour, which just went into the nearby hills, and told a few stories, (kinda left wondering "is that it?")

By now it was mid-night and i needed to be up early to attend the BIG orientation on Wednesday which started at 8AM!!!

after 6 restless hours (because i still haven't got my duvet and pillows sorted, set to change later today) i awoke to a bright room. Looking outside and it's pitch black, only the nearby lantern creating the false promise of 24 hour light, i had a final look through all my documents and all i needed to take with me.

Trust me to forget something. to buy the mandatory health insurance. I was going with a hope they'd be able to help me sort it out.

In true typical fashion, the orientation started late, and luckily i wasn't the only one who forgot their insurance. 3 minutes later and $255 lighter i was insured for the Autumn/ Fall season, must remember to register in time to be insured for the winter season.

By the time everyone had been properly registered, calmed down and had their fill of a make-shift english (bacon and scrambled eggs only)/ continental breakfast, it was about 10:30am, which left tyhe hosts 2 hours to cram in 3 hours of material. This meant there was none of the boring side chat, but they just got on with it. At the end there was a small lunch (hypothetically small, there was 300 mouths to feed) with what i believe is a micky-take on scotch broth, with added prawns and noodles, ham and cheese sarnies and salad.

Needless to say i took plenty of salad due to a semi-promise i made to my mu saying i wouldn't eat junk all the time, which is actually quite hard to do since everything is qute fatty. if salad in a cheeseburger counts, i'll do just fine.

Finally after we finished that, we had dessert, which to be fair has made my day. For those of you who really know me, you'll know it's my favourite. for those who don't know me too well, it was apple and cinnamon pie with vanilla ice cream (an orgasm in the mouth)

Now i've spent the past hour writing this and i'm due to pick up my passport, after it was taken at registration for copy making. Tonight we're due to dress like romans for a Toga party, should be fun.....

The First full day Part 2

How do you top off a great day? No you don't get a keg o' beer in and dance around in your underwear, you play a massive game of Capture the Flag.

There must have been at least 150 people playing the 'tag' version, where if you run through to your opponents side to get the flag and you get tagged, you have to go back to your own side. The aim was to run through the opposing team, get the flag and carry it back to your own side. out of 6 games our team won 4 times (woot)

When the games were interrupted by the sprinkler system at 12:30, we procceded back to our dorms, but not without spending an hour talking to some more people in the middle of the campus :)

2am came and we all finally hit the hay.

"BANG BANG BANG" 8am and the fire alarm was going off. Getting dressed as fast as i could, in what later turned out to be the clothes i had worn only 6 hours previous, I raced outside, only to find out it's the Quarterly fire drill (everyone else seemed to know about it and was out of the halls when it struck, fail on my part)

nevermind, back to bed for me.....

The First full day

First day is (almost) over. As I write this it's 7pm, and theres a final event scheduled for 11pm, which will keep me busy for a while :)

(the following times occur in Pacific time, not London time, for clarification)
After waking up at 6am, after having 10 hours of jet-lag reducing sleep, I was desperately trying to go back to sleep since i didn't have to be up until 8am.

When the time eventually came, I was all washed and dressed with 40 minutes left to spare (not going well so far :p). 9am came, and the first orientation was a tour around the campus. Without being a massive university it sure is big. Starting the tour and one thing is very obvious....the location. Sat at the foot of the San Bernardino mountains, it is truly stunning. This picture only captures the tip of the sheer beauty that lies just beyond the university

Putting that to one side, after the tour, i had to enroll in classes, since i couldn't get my student I.D card without them. After an hour of getting lost, i finally met my course advisor, who enrolled me in my Autumn classes (nearly said Fall instead of Autumn). After that, i was told i had to wait 48 hours before I could get the card, what a bummer....

Having met a few really nice people on the tour, I proceded to spend the rest of the day with them. Zack's a lucky guy he comes from 20 minutes down the road and David is from Minnesota,bothproper American through and through. Then there's Julianne, who's one of the residential assistants, so she volunteers to be nice (bad joke, please forgive me).

Once the orientations had finished and we got bored of walking around, we left for a while, to meet up later to play some games with the Student Union. I joined up with my flatmate Adrian(the German guy, very nice) and David from the orientation to try our luck on the "baggage claim", an obstacle course where you run around a baseball bat on your head, put on some very large clothes, hop through a small obstacle course, strip off and run to the finish. I was against Adrian in the race (yes yes English vs German, insert your own jokes here). turns out it was a photo finish and both of us declared the winner.

We then proceeded to meet Adrians friends, which turned out to be a real laugh. Obscure topics about why soccer should be called Football, how we get snow in southern california, and a bizarre discussion about Hitler, even though there were 2 germans in the group who seemed surprisingly happy to discuss it, however briefly.

We then turned to the English accent and all the things the Americans love about it. One realised from Yorkshire and insisted i use the phrase "going T pub" about 500 times.

Nevertheless we split, and we're meeting up in 3 hours for a nice game of Capture the flag.

First day = Huge success

Lots more to come soon....

I'm here...I'm finally here

WOW

all this planning, all this travelling, and i'm finally here

Now that i'm using USA time, i woke up at 10:15pm, set off flying at 2:30am. After 11 hours on the plane, 1 in LAX, 2 1/2 getting to San Bernardino and 1/2 hour trying to find where i was staying, it's fair to say that as soon as i unpacked, my head hit the hay, despite it only being 19:30 and slept on my duvet covers for just shy of 12 hours.

The flight...Setting off from heathrow I was on a Boeing 777, meaning there were 9 seats in a row, and trust me to get the middle seat. all was not lost though when i met who i'd be sharing the other 2 seats with. I was expecting 2 very fat people with B O and a lareg obsession for cheese and onion crisps, so you can imagine the relief when I encountered a very jolly couple from Whittier, CA. it transpired that i wouldn't be falling asleep thanks to the many hours of playing a card game known as "Kanasta". When we weren't playing card games with upto 40 cards in your hand at any 1 time and spending upto 20 minutes looking for that wretched 4 of hearts, we managed to enjoy Pirates of the Caribbean 4 and X-men: First Class.

Even then my expectations were blown to smithereens when the food service kicked in. airline food is dire at the best of times, but the Lasagne was just gorgeous, with fresh salad, a lovely thick bread roll and a chocolate pudding/ flapjack/ cherry bakewell all rolled into 1

So the room.. It's quite cosy, hasn't got pillows or a duvet yet, and gets very warm. Interestingly enough, even at 6am, when its still pitch black, there is light through the curtains that looks like daytime.

Today i'm attending orientations part 1 and 2, registering for classes and meeting loads of new people, (and heading to Wal-mart for that elusive duvet and pillows)

Here we go..............

Almost there..... To the airplane

Currently sat in Heathrows terminal 1,waiting for the gate to be called. It's currently 9am, been up since 6:15amafter getting no sleep thanks to the whole family residing in 1 room. I'm surprised all our snoring didn't wake the whole hotel .

Nevermind, got checked in, through the detector thingy's, just an hour and a half till the proper adventure begins....

The Journey begins....sort of

So todays the day we travel down to Heathrow.

4 hours in a car with the parents and the little brother, listening to a mixture of BBC Radio 2, Mum snoring louder than the plane i'm boarding in 25 hours and the little brothers secret code of annoying everyone for the entire journey. I almost feel sorry for my dad, wo'll be driving the whole way with these 'distractions'.

Putting that to one side, Last night was 'the family send off' with 12 close family members in attendance. what better way to send you off than a good old fashioned pub meal :)

If i don't post between now and the flight.....I'll see you on the other side :p

Q & A (forgetting the other 24 letters altogether)

So during this build up, I have been asked a variety of Questions, which i'll be answering here. Any more, feel free to ask.


Q1. So where are you going?
A: I'm going to San Bernardino, roughly 70 miles east of Los Angeles, towards the bottom of the state.

(Thanks to top50states.com for the image)

Q2: What are you doing over there?
A: Besides being the only Yorkshire man for miles, I'm going to study Business at California State University: San Bernardino (go figure)

Q3: How are you getting there?
A:
#Saturday i'm hitching a ride with the parents and the lil' squirt (now a big squirt) to Heathrow, where we'll stay the night at a nearby hotel.

#We then have to get up at 6am to be dressed, have brekky, and get to the airport for no later than 07:45am.

#I'll then check my bag in and say my goodbyes, while avoiding the inevitable flood from my Mum's tears.

#The flight leaves (or is supposed to leave) at 10:50, which will then take 11 and a half hours (:o) to get to LA airport.

#This is where things get confusing. For all you UK folk it'll be 21:45 when i land, but for me it'll be 13:45 (8 hours difference, imagine the jet lag)

#From there, its a taxi to Union station, a train to the city of San Bernardino and a taxi up to the University, which will probably get me there for 18:30pm/02:30am

#At this point i'll probably collapse since i'll have been awake for 20 hours, assuming i had no sleep on the plane over. If i survive, i'll probably unpack what i can, and try to update you all (you lucky guys and gals)

Q4: Can I come with you?
A: It's a standing offer, if you can fit inside a suitcase, i'll bring you along, but unless your a very good contortionist and weigh less than 23KG, this is as close to the action as you'll get (sorry)

Q5: How long are you going for
A: From the leaving day (18th September) i stay for the first term, then fly back just before christmas (19th -> 20th December). In real terms taking time zones into account it's a 20 hour flight. I then fly back around the 5th January and will stay to the end of the academic year. (roughly mid-June). At which point the family will be coming out for a 3 week tour of California/Nevada. It'll be Mid July when I return)

Q6: There is no question 6
A: and that concludes this session of Q&A, any more queries, just leave a comment here and i'll pick it up.

Preparing for the Experience

So here I am, setting up this blog for everyone to see how i'm getting on in Cal-I-For-Ni-A

If you've read this far, you must be somewhat interested in what goes on (good start)

The Plan - Will definately post at Least once a week. However I do hope to post more that that :)

I will hopefully try to answer most questions before I Jet off on Sunday. these questions will be answered in the next post.

Until Then

Bon Voyage