Well it's official, classes over here work very differently to how they do back at Keele!! I love my Criminal Investigations and Law Enforcement and Society classes, the instructor is a hoot. Quote "I want you to make SWAG in class, which stands for sophisticated wild ass guesses".My other classes are good too, but the dynamic is a little weirder. Strange assessments and senior friendship groups I have to weave my way into, but I'm sure that'll happen over time!
This week has been pretty quiet in the social aspect, but I did go to a burger place called Stuft on Thursday with a group of the internationals. Easily the best burger I've ever eaten in my life, you can build your own and naturally I named mine "The Scouser". However I did notice you could also have a warm glazed doughnut as a bun for your burger, not something I'm ever willing to try.
Yesterday was the Rocky Mountain Showdown, the college rival football game against the University of Colorado which is a big deal! The traffic was manic, and it took us almost 4 hours to make it to Sports Authority at Mile High Stadium in Denver, but the atmosphere inside was definitely worth it. Watching the games live is such a better experience than just watching on tv, so much so Caragh and I are planning to go to as many home games as we can :D The CSU Rams beat the Buffs 31-17, which was pretty hilarious. By the 4th quarter came around almost all of the CU fans had left the stadium out of shame.
On Saturday I went to experience Tour de Fat with Leif and Caragh. It's a bike parade in Fort Collins where everyone wears wacky outfits and then drink as much beer as they want from the various local breweries. I didn't realize you didn't have to have signed up in advance to be a part of the parade, but it's probably a good thing since I would have been a major hazard! We also came to the conclusion we should probably start planning our Halloween outfits now, because we really need to step up our game if we're going to compete with the Americans! I'm definitely glad I experienced it though, even just by walking through the parade since it's such a highlight of Fort Collins' events.
That night Caragh and I went to a sorority party. Never in my life have I seen such stereotypical American white girls grinding on any frat boy they saw. Needless to say we stayed out of that and got talking to some pretty cool people, the Brit card really does work.
On Sunday I went to Old Town Fort Collins with my roommate Olivia to do some exploring. We got dinner at this amazinnnggg sub place called Cheba Hut, which is obviously a Colorado run business since the sandwiches come in nug, pinner and blunt size. Once we got back (after getting lost since Olivia apparently doesn't trust my sense of direction) we headed to Leif's room before going to a few parties. I met some guy from my International security class, so I'm finally starting to branch out! I also got an invite back to our friend Missy's house for Thanksgiving and she's offered to take me snowboarding too.
But for now, I'll be using Labor day to recover from the weekends events and prepare for my classes. Au revoir!
Friday was my first time visiting my department, which is slightly different to how it is at Keele. I'm in the College of Liberal Arts and I technically class as someone taking a Sociology major with a Criminal Justice concentration. Super confusing when it came to me finding where to go because nobody else seemed to know either! The professors I met seem really nice and I can't wait for classes to start :D
The Keelites went to Friday Afternoon Club for a pot-luck BBQ, which is where everyone with international links from Fort Collins and CSU meet up. Then we headed back to Leif's room, since we'd been invited to a birthday party of some girl we'd met earlier in the week... being British has it's good points!
At one point Caragh and I had an entire group speaking in posh accents and using scouse slang during a game,and we also discovered the guy we beat at beer pong a few days earlier was the Student Body Vice President. Two parties later, with many new Facebook friends, we made it back after discovering the grimmest of the cheap American beers, vodka and tequila.
Needless to say, we weren't really feeling the most spirit filled the next morning, but I pushed through and made sure I was in the traditional Class of 2018 picture. You can't see me in the slightest, but I'm somewhere to the top right of the S.
There was a pep rally in the evening, and our RA, Evan, organised all sorts of body painting and stuff beforehand. I felt like an idiot, but go hard or go home right?! I got into it pretty quickly and now I'm even more excited to see the Rocky Mountain Showdown this Friday :D
On Sunday morning there was a trip organised to hike Horsetooth Mountain, which is about 15 minutes drive away from campus. Not going to lie, it killed me, but definitely worth it for the view of Horsetooth Reservoir and Fort Collins! It was nice getting to bond with the guys from Keele even more too, especially since it'll be nice to laugh over these memories when we get back home and not annoy other people with them!
So today my roommate Olivia moved in!! I helped her move in and her family took me to lunch at this place called Austin's in Downtown Fort Collins. Totally yummy.
We headed back and chilled out before our RA floor meeting, where we got to meet everyone living here. Turns out I'm the only foreign person on the entire floor, talk about a novelty! I've found a few people I can watch the footy with, and I've been told my "accent is so cute" by almost every girl I've spoken to so far.
I also managed to finish decorating my side of the room so it looks lived in. Olivia and I somehow managed to colour coordinate pretty well, and I really love the whole set up of our room. We both have our beds lofted high so we have nice places to chill out, and they're far enough away were we don't feel up in each others space.
Later on we went to Moby Arena where the entire freshman class of 2018 filled the place. It was scary seeing so many people and knowing that wasn't near the number of people who go here. This was a "GREEN OUT" event, so we were all wearing our t-shirts we got at orientation. School spirit was high and it was cringe-
worthy at first, but it was pretty cool getting to watch the cheerleaders and marching band do their thing.
Then there was a carnival and picnic on the intramural sports fields, but the heavens opened so we got to eat in the rain and watch the lightening in the distance. Thankfully it cleared it up and Olivia and I went to visit some of her high school friends. I got a picture with Cam the Ram too!!! We walked so much again today but it was a fun experience, and I love having someone else in my room with me now :)
Today was officially my first day as a student at CSU :D It was scattered with numerous presentations about the usual starting uni stuff, but also a lot of crazy cool things too!
During our official welcome, we had to learn the "CSU Fight Song". We've been told we'll have to learn it before the football game, but fist pumping and shouting was so awkward since we definitely don't have the team spirit yet. I'm sure that'll soon change though, plus we got our Forever Green shirt which has the lyrics on the back, no excuses now!
I also went on a little wander around campus during a quick break in the schedule. The campus is on such a bigger scale than Keele, so here's just one picture I took of the Student Recreation Centre. Nice picture, but I didn't realize at the time I was on a designated bike path and was risking death while doing so. I'll have to take a picture of the bike signs on the floor too, they have rams riding the bike :)
For dinner, we got invited back to a host family who had prepared to take me & nine other students back to their home. The others were from Australia, India, Japan, China and Vietnam so we had a lot of fun. Mijka, the wife who was from Slovakia, made us a huge feast and afterwards we played games like Twister with her three children, as two of the internationals had never seen it before!
After I got back to my dorm, I spotted my first signs of civilisation and made my move. Turns out I met two RA's, with one, Evan, being the RA for my floor. We ended up speaking for hours and here I am, planning to have gone to bed much earlier but making the most of meeting as many people as I can. It's nice knowing I'm not alone on my floor tonight too :)
On that note I'm off to bed, I have another jam-packed day tomorrow! However, it wasn't all smooth sailing. Thank god I got in the lift with Carl (the RA from 7th who I met yesterday), the lift doors jammed and we were stuck for 10 minutes before we got out. Next time, I'll take the stairs.
So today was the day! I'm currently very knackered but wanted to write something before the craziness of orientation, which begins tomorrow, and the rest of Ram Welcome is upon me.
The process was actually pretty simple, besides my delayed flight causing me to hang around for the next shuttle bus. It took just over an hour to get to Fort Collins, a pleasant journey to say the least watching the Rockies come into view.
My mentor, Adrianne, was waiting for me when I arrived with a super cute "welcome to Colorado" sign. She took me to my residence hall, Durward, where I got my keys and got shown to my room by Carl, the rather cute RA on the 7th floor. I have to say I was shocked by what my room is like, and the entire floor. You'd never need a key card to enter a bathroom at Keele, too much drunken vomiting! More pictures will follow once my room doesn't look like a bombsite.
We then made a trip to Target, where I stocked up on all dorm essentials like bedding, towels and of course, some Goldfish to snack on. However my favourite purchase is probably my Hello Kitty bowl, cup and plate set that cost me $2, win win right there. I GOT A BEAN BAG TOO, not that that's a big deal to a 19 year old.
Afterwards we went to a welcome for all the international students and got to mingle before we went back to my dorm. Adrianne was definitely a life saver today, I don't know how I would have settled in so easily if it hadn't been for her, and bonus is we get on really well too!
I'm currently sat in a 12 floor building and so far have seen 3 other people, which is a little weird. I did some investigating earlier but unlit corridors are a no go in strange places. I can hear movement outside, so I'm hoping that's sign of more life and not the fact this place is haunted. And on that note, with a banging headache I can only blame on the altitude adjustments, goodnight :)
The inevitable task of saying goodbye to my friends and family is finally upon me. Last week, Laura and I (a fellow Scouse Keelite who'll be going to Texas) had a joint get together with our closest friends. Needless to say, our last night of legal drinking for some time ended in a very messy way, for me at least. Having to say goodbye to all these people in my life, even just for a few months, has really made me reflect on how amazing my first year at uni has been. So on that note, the soppy and most likely cringe-worthy post begins...
The goodbyes actually began back in June, when I knew realised I'd be apart from my closest friend, Haruka, for 8 months. We'd been preparing ourselves for the separation for some time, but nothing prepared me for how I felt sat in her empty room while everyone said "see you next semester". Yes there were tears, and I did feel very pathetic afterwards, but that's understandable since we really are like a married couple, nightly snuggles included.
I've never known anyone I have as much fun with and have so many memories dating back to the first hours of freshers. She's been there for me through everything, not least helping me fix my bad English attempts at pronouncing Japanese words for my exams.
The next person to leave was my other "Asian Scouser" Janee (with two e's, don't ask). Even though it wasn't as emotional this time, it was weird knowing I'd be going for just the same amount of time without her wonderful logic, the type that makes you wonder how she even survives on a day to day basis.
Thanks to these two, I've had some of the funniest nights at the SU. Their amazing inability to hold alcohol still baffles me, and thanks to me dragging them to k-pop night, I've somehow ended up becoming the secretary for the Keele Korean International Society next year!
The next goodbyes were with the rest of my "Block E family". Even though we've been through a lot of drama, we've stuck together, and I couldn't have wished for a better group of people to live with.
I've met loads of other amazing people this year, too many to name, but I'm really happy I've had the chance to share a lot of memories with them!
There's also a lot more drunken, stupid, crazy pictures I could include, but I think I'll leave it at that. All I can hope is that I make friends in Colorado who are half as amazing as the friends I made in my first year of Keele.
Yesterday was the Rocky Mountain Showdown, the college rival football game against the University of Colorado which is a big deal! The traffic was manic, and it took us almost 4 hours to make it to Sports Authority at Mile High Stadium in Denver, but the atmosphere inside was definitely worth it. Watching the games live is such a better experience than just watching on tv, so much so Caragh and I are planning to go to as many home games as we can :D The CSU Rams beat the Buffs 31-17, which was pretty hilarious. By the 4th quarter came around almost all of the CU fans had left the stadium out of shame.
