Life as of late..

Hello all, hope you are all having a great weekend! How couldn't you though with that AMAZING Iowa State win last night?! I am very pleased to say that I was able to catch the game from over here! It was a nice piece of home and I think I squealed every time I saw a McDermott girl on TV! I was very jealous, especially since I missed my second chance to storm the "field" this year and we all know that doesn't happen too often for Iowa State fans. 


There were a lot of other awesome things that happened here since I last wrote! First, an update on basketball: It is a lot more unorganized over here than it is in the states! The coach didn't even show up for practice the other night so Michelle (a Canadian girl from my flat) and I still don't know if we'll even be able to be on the team. However, it was a nice workout (which I need... Cadbury chocolate is KILLING my waistline!) and we were able to meet a lot of really nice girls! 


On Friday, we all went to the "Refresh Fair" the next day to sign up for other clubs which was interesting. I didn't end up joining the Chocolate Club though because it seemed like they just pay a lot of money to get expensive chocolate, and I do that on my own anyway :)


Friday night there was a club promotion where all girls got in free before 11, so our group went to go get stamped then head to a karaoke bar before we came back later. However, once we got stamped they told us we had to stay there for 20 minutes before we could leave. It ended up being SO MUCH fun though!!! There was one kid on the dance floor when we got there, so naturally I went out and had a dance off with him! After that, we went to the karaoke bar to show the locals what we were made of. It was pretty ironic because the Brits sang Sweet Home Alabama and then immediately after we followed them up with our version of Wannabe by the Spice Girls. The next morning came pretty quickly though. We ended up going on a trip through the international office to Wells, England. We were able to see a cathedral, as well as figure out what NOT to do when organizing a trip. We all had fun though, but it was a long day!

The infamous dance-off!

Karaoke (with Michelle from Canada and Alex from Pittsburgh)

The girls in front of the Wells Cathedral

Today, some of us went to church at the Cathedral here in Exeter. It was really interesting to go to the Church of England, but it was very similar to Catholic Mass so I was able to follow along for the most part. The choir here was amazing (almost as good as Sacred Heart's ;) )! After church, Michelle and I went to a tearoom called Tea on the Green. Who would have guessed I would like tea?! Following, we went on a tour of Exeter. It was so interesting and it was really cool to learn the history of the place I will be living for the next five months! Finally, to end this wonderfully British day, a group of us went to a pub and had bangers and mash (sausages and potatoes on Yorkshire pudding) and a pint. 

The Exeter Cathedral (front)

Awkard selfie in front of the Tearoom

Bangers and Mash

Lastly, they announced the RAGBRAI overnight towns last night, and I am delighted to say that the night before my 21st birthday RAGBRAI will be in Cherokee! Woot woot!!

HP 4 Lyfe

Good morning! Some of you may be asking yourselves, "what is that Clare Goeken girl doing with her life?" Ha, okay maybe not but I'm about to tell you anyway! Tonight, I made one of the best decisions of  the trip so far... Mom and Dad, skip to the next paragraph: I went out instead of studying! Well, that decision led me to a wonderful night. Tonight we went to a pub called the Firehouse. It was so beautiful and quaint, and had the best pizza I have ever tasted! Cool huh? Well there's more....J.K. Rowling actually based the Leaky Cauldron (from HP) after this pub and did some of her writing there as well. So, as I sipped on my cider -- a British staple -- and chatted with my new friends, I was overwhelmed with the need to write a great piece of work... aka this blog. [Author's note: my next destination to check off is the street she based Diagon Alley off of. Also, rumor has it that the professor she based Professor Snape off of still teaches here. Needless to say, I will be sitting in on many Classical Studies classes until I figure it out!]

                                            We found some pink carnations...shout out to Gphi!!!

For those of you who haven't heard, I went to London this past weekend to visit my good friend Margy and her friend/my new friend Sarah. It was a blast!!! They were possibly the best tour guides I have ever encountered! My saying for the day was, "7 pounds for a lifetime of memories!" I was able to see Big Ben, Parliament, the Buckingham Palace, London Bridge, the London Tower, and understand the London Tube system all in one day. It was very exhausting, but it was definitely worth it especially after we got home and consumed one of the best pieces of lasagna ever.  The next day we went for a stroll around Hyde Park and then we visited heaven -- the chocolate room of Herrod's! [Side note: I just realized how much I talk about food in this blog, but at least you don't have to be concerned about me being anorexic over here!]

 

Matching trenches <3 looking inconspicuous meandering throughout the city!

On a final note, I heard back about club basketball from the team captain. The good news is that I'm more than welcome to join. The bad news is that they already sent in registrations for the team so I wouldn't actually be able to play, unless it was in another person's name. One of my flatmates and I are going to check out a practice on Thursday. Otherwise, I'm going to have to find a new hobby to pick up. Let me know if you have any suggestions! 


Hope all is well with all of you! Miss you!

The Top Ten Things I have Learned So Far...

10. There are countless types of coins... When am I ever going to remember to pay for something with my vast collection of 2 pence coins??? 
9. The British "queue" for everything. Yesterday, people queued behind me when I wasn't even trying to queue.
8. Be thankful for the Cyride! Today, I used some of my odd coinage and tried to take the bus to class, but the bus driver decided to make up his own route.
7. Therefore I arrived 5 minutes late to class. Have I mentioned how important punctuality is to the British?! (The other students on the bus didn't even bother going to class!!!)
6. Iowa is very flat.
5. Some of the sports science students wear heels to class. They all dress up!! (I haven't given in to the beckoning of my sweats yet...even though they look really lonely in my suitcase)
4. I don't think I will ever get tired of hearing British accents.
3. Whenever you see these lights by a crosswalk, you don't even have to look both ways. The drivers are required to stop and will stop on a dime. I still get a little worried every time I test it. 

2. Australians call gingers rangas (pronounced rang-a... like orangutan) #ErinDvorak
1. Everywhere you turn there is something that is beautiful and historic looking. Case in point: my campus.

 

I still have not quite learned to cook or unpack....but I'm guessing that's something that will come with time! ;)

I'm finally here!!

Hello friends and family, I decided to try a hand at my first blog so bear with me! I arrived in Exeter yesterday evening, and I am finally about moved into my prison cell (literally, the dormitory where I'm living used to be a prison -- it makes me feel like they have high security in here though!!). I am slowly getting used to life on the other side of the pond. Sleep has been pretty rough for me because of the jet lag, but hopefully tonight it will all catch up to me and I will get a full nights rest. Last night, I went out to eat at a pub with some of the other exchange students and ordered my first real British meal: fish and chips with mushy peas. Needless to say, I now will admit my mom is right when she says I'm a picky eater. I'm trying though! My flatmates told me today that they would give me cooking lessons sometime/cook for me which is a relief since the only thing I can bring to the table is cereal and milk (literally). I offered to bring the dance music for the extravaganza so it's all good :) It's a bit colder here than I anticipated, but the grass is SO green and the landscape is beautiful which makes up for it! Today I was able to grow accustomed to the weather on my walk back from campus. They have a separate campus for the sport science students here, so I have about a half hour to forty minute walk to campus every day. I feel like I will be getting a good workout in everyday because some of the classes I signed up for have workout practicals included in the curriculum. It makes me feel like I don't have to buy a gym pass though which is nice. I think I will be in class a lot more than what I anticipated but I'm okay with that. There are four other exchange students that are taking sports science courses over there, so I am looking forward to getting to know them and meeting the locals in classes. Also, today we found out about a week coming up with the opportunity to enroll in clubs in societies. I plan on joining the club basketball team, as well as the chocolate society (maybe I should get a gym pass after all!). I will try to keep you updated and take more pictures! For now though, all I have is a picture of my dinner, so enjoy! Hope all is well with you at home! Cheers :)