Hello, everyone! About 2 weeks have passed since I've been in Leeds and I can say that I am finally starting to adjust and fall into a routine. So far, I am loving my classes (or modules, as they say in the UK). I am taking 6 classes: Sport and exercise psychology, forensic psychology, psychology in the media, cognitive psychology, evolution and human behavior, and advanced developmental psychology. The only one that I am not too sure about just yet is the evolution class, and my developmental class doesn't even start until halfway through the semester! With my classes only being taught for one hour each, one day a week, I feel like I have a lot more free time than I am used to back home (...but studying is a lot more independent here, so I will probably be using a lot of that free time to fit in reading for my courses). I decided to try ordering my groceries this week because I heard that it is quite common to do that out here (and let's be honest, who has time to go grocery shopping every two days, especially when it requires a long walk back to my flat). It ended up working out really well, so I'm glad to know that is one less thing I'll have to do during the week.
The university also puts on these "Give it a Go!" sessions where the clubs on campus plan events for anyone who wants to try something new. So far, I've been to a kickboxing/ krav maga class (which was super fun, but my knees seem to swell up every time I have to do squats so I don't think I will be joining that club), a contemporary dance class, and I just got back from an Irish dance class (which was so awesome! I've always wanted to try Irish dancing and I was able to meet some local English students who were very excited to talk to an American)! I still haven't decided if I want to join a club yet, but if anything, at least I will continue to try different classes while I am here! Now, on to the rest of my post! Also, sorry in advance for the enormous amount of pictures I am about to post, but I just couldn't narrow it down!
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This past Saturday (the 1st of February), Jennifer and I decided to take our first day trip since coming to Leeds. Our new friend Gaby, whom we met at our orientation, came with us and we'll definitely be doing more traveling together soon! For our first trip, we didn't want to go too far, so we decided on a place called Fountains Abbey in Ripon England, which was only about a 2 hour bus ride from Leeds.
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| Double-Decker bus to Fountains Abbey |
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| Jennifer and Gaby on the bus |
Fountains Abbey is a World Heritage Site and contains abbey ruins from the 12th century. So old and so beautiful! I wish we had these kinds of sites in America because I could spend days walking around and looking at old castles! While I was walking around in awe, there were English people taking leisurely strolls around the grounds with their dogs as if that were a normal occurrence for them! So jealous!
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| The front of Fountains Abbey-- and that little person down there is me! |
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The day started off with surprisingly nice weather. While it was cold (this is England, after all), there was no wind or rain and the sun was shining through the clouds! I was so excited to be able to march around the old ruins and imagine what it must have been like living there back in the day.
This picture of the cross had to be my favorite picture out of the entire day! We entered in at the other side of this hallway and from where we were standing, you could barely see that it was there. The room was empty aside from the pillars, dirt, and puddles but there was just something so beautiful about that lone cross standing there in front of the window.
The room in the picture above was called the Warming Room. Supposedly, the monks living at this abbey were only allowed to come in here for 10 minutes every day to warm up by that fireplace in the left corner. And I thought I was cold! I could not imagine having to wear nothing but those little tunics and only being allowed in here for ten minutes a day! But we were later told by our tour guide that in the winter, the monks were allowed to wear two tunics. I am not convinced that I would have been able to survive that, even with two tunics! There was also an empty space to my right where a bathtub used to stand. The monks would line up in this room to get their hair cut and about once a month, they would each take a bath, all using the same water from that lone tub.
After walking around for a little bit, it started getting colder and our fingers were feeling like they were on the verge of falling off, so we headed back up to the Visitor's Center for some snacks and a hot drink.
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| Jennifer and I went for a brownie with hot chocolate, while Gaby opted for a scone and some tea |
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Once we were able to feel our fingers and toes again, we headed back down to the abbey to take a guided tour of the ruins. By this point, the wind was starting to blow so hard that we were almost knocked off of our feet, so the cute little English man that was our guide decided it would be best to keep the tour short and sweet. We were very thankful for this.
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| During our tour of the ruins |
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| Our adorable little tour guide! |
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| Gaby getting stuck in the mud |
After the tour, we decided to do some more wandering. We heard there was a water garden somewhere on the grounds so we set out to find it!
We were able to find the Studley Royal Water Garden, and it was beautiful! I imagine it would look even better in the Spring when the flowers are in bloom.
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| Studley Royal Water Garden |
On our walk back, we found a sign pointing uphill that led to Anne Boleyn's Seat. We decided to check it out and I'm so glad we did. There was a little hut at the top of the hill with a lookout point that gives you an amazing view of the grounds! I'm not sure if you can see it in the pictures, but the abbey is that building between the trees on the left and the water garden was behind the trees on the far right.
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| View from Anne Boleyn's Seat |
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| View from Anne Boleyn's Seat |
We decided we were ready to head back to the bus, but on our walk back, we came across a building called Fountains Hall and decided to take a look inside. Supposedly, it was built in the early 17th century as someone's country home. Today, it is used as a venue for weddings, or you can book a room to stay in!
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| Fountains Hall |
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| This was the view standing on the steps in front of Fountains Hall |
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| "When you go home tell them of us and say for your tomorrow we gave our today." |
We had so much fun exploring and this little day trip gave me the itch to get out and do some more traveling as soon as I can! I definitely think seeing these old historical sites and the beautiful English countryside will be my favorite parts about studying abroad! I hope you enjoy reading these posts and will try to have some more up soon!
