The First Weekend at Harlaxton

The time has finally come that I start my adventure abroad at Harlaxton.  It’s been a long weekend, but it’s been totally worth it.  It is really exciting to see someplace that you’ve seen in pictures or on the internet in real life.  I like to share with all of you the highlights of this weekend because they’ve been so fun!

            On Wednesday, August 27, I arrived at Nashville International Airport around 1:00 p.m. for my flight to Chicago. I met my friends Lauren and Sara, with their families, at the airport.  We checked our bags, said tearful goodbyes to our families, and went through security (pretty quickly actually).  When we got to our gate, we went to get some coffee at the Starbucks nearby and met a girl from WKU that we had never met before.  At little while after that, we met a guy and girl from Martin College in Tennessee. (If you go to Harlaxton, be prepared to meets lots of people very quickly).  Our flight to Chicago boarded at 3:15 p.m.  The plane was small and the seats were a little uncomfortable.   

When we arrived at Chicago O’Hare Airport around 4:30 p.m., we had to wait for the plane to get situated at the gate, and then we had to wait to get our over carry-on suitcase that had to be valeted for that flight.  A group of us walked to the gate on the other end of the terminal at the Chicago airport to wait for departure.  

            When they started calling for departure for the flight to London, my nerves that I had had all day came back.  We boarded the plane, and Lauren and I were sat a few rows behind the wing (which made for some great pictures and videos).   

Sara was seated beside us in the aisle seat of the middle row of seats.  The flight to London was supposed to leave Chicago at 7:00 a.m., but we were taxied on the runway for an hour; this begins our long day of waiting.  When we finally got in the air at eight, everyone was relieved, and my nerves had calmed down a bit.  An hour and half into the flight, the flight attendants served dinner.  I was nervous to have airplane food, but it was actually pretty good.   

After dinner, they played Captain America 2 on the three small TVs above every few rows (I was a little disappointed that weren’t TVs in the back of the seats, which were also uncomfortable).  I tried to watch the movie, but my eyes were straining so much that I got a headache and shut my eyes for a couple hours, but didn’t sleep.  I maybe got one hour total of sleep on the flight.  In the morning, at 7:00 a.m. England time on Thursday the 28^th (1:00 a.m. my time), breakfast was served and it was also good.  

            When the plane finally approached Heathrow Airport in London, we had to circle to wait our turn to land.  We flew by Wembley Stadium, which was really cool.  

When we landed and got off the plane, we had to go to Immigration and wait in a long line (queue). I was nervous to go through Immigration because I didn’t know what to expect, but the man that interviewed me was very nice.  I then went to retrieve my checked bag in the baggage claim.  Trust me, you will never be so relieved to see a suitcase in your life.  I was scared it was going to get lost.  We found the meeting point in the lobby of terminal three (you have to exit the baggage claim, but that wasn’t specified in the packet).  We checked in and received color coded tags for our suitcases.  We waited for about twenty minutes there.  We were then led outside to wait fifteen minutes for the bus to arrive.  The bus arrived and we put our luggage in the van that accompanied the bus.  We all got on the hot bus and were informed that four people were lost in the airport.  We waited on that hot bus for almost two hours.  Only three people showed up and the fourth person didn’t get to Harlaxton until Friday because of a delay.  After the two hour wait, we had a long two and half hour long bus ride to Harlaxton.  It seems even longer than that.  When we got to Harlaxton village, it was a beautiful drive up to the front of the manor house.  It’s even more beautiful in person. 

   

We were greeted at the door and sent up to the Great Hall for a short introduction.  We were given a packet of more information and our room keys and assignments.  I was sad when I found out I was not in the manor, but in the Carriage House (which turns out to be better actually).  We went to the refectory to eat lunch, and everything that everyone said about the food being awful is true, however, this doesn’t stay true for long.  Lunch the first day was different, and I was starting to regret my decision to fly all the way here for gross food and a room in the Carriage House.  I wanted to go check out my room, still starving. 

My room is on the second floor of the Carriage House, and my day got better when I saw that I only had one roommate.  It turned out to be Rachel, a girl I had contacted on tumblr because I saw a Harlaxton post of hers.  We have similar music taste and get along great, and I am so thankful for that. 

At first, I thought that the Carriage House was going to be awful, but I actually think I am enjoying it better than I would have the manor house.  It is secluded, you get to walk outside and enjoy England’s beautiful weather everyday on your way to the manor house, and the WiFi here is a lot better and faster than the manor house.  I’ve also heard that the laundry facilities and bathrooms in the manor house aren’t as nice as ours.  If you get put in the Carriage House, don’t worry, I love it! 

The next few days were filled with orientations, meetings, and lots of information. Also, the food definitely got better, I think that people don’t like it because it doesn’t have any seasonings on it, but just put salt and pepper, and it’s not too bad.  

Friday morning, Lauren, Sara, and I decided to explore the manor and the gardens.  I also had fish and chips and got some British Money.

Friday night was the Opening Convocation and High Table.  A world renowned bagpipe player played a various times throughout the night, and it was so cool!  The food was good (the chocolate cake was literally the best thing I’ve ever had), and the speeches that the new president and some of staff gave before dinner were also good.

Saturday, we went into Grantham for the first time, and I honestly love that small town so much.  There are cobblestone streets and everything is accessible by walking, and I just thought it was so beautiful. Also, their Farmer's Market was set up on the main street and that was nice to see.  We ate at a local place for lunch called Café Leo, and I definitely recommend it.
Sunday morning the local church in Harlaxton Village, St. Mary and St. Peter, held a welcome ceremony for the Harlaxton students that wanted to attend.  The service was so nice and the church was beautiful.  Some of the headstones in the graveyard were so older, there were no longer words on them.

This weekend has busy and tiring, especially with the jet lag that didn't hit me until Saturday.  If you come to Harlaxton, expect these things on the first weekend:
Meeting lots of new people (good luck remembering all of their names)
Lots of meetings and orientations
Lots of new information
Exploring EVERYTHING! (If you're lucky you'll find some secret passages)
New friendships
Fun!

Also, don't listen to what people say about the food or where your room is before you arrive at Harlaxton.  Give yourself time to form your own opinions.  Don't let other people's actions or opinions dictate your time here (credit to mom for that sentence).  I actually love the Carriage House, and I like most of the food (except lunch the first day, of course).  Have fun at Harlaxton!

Love,

Alexandria


P.S. My vlog from this weekend will be up on YouTube soon.  You can access more up to date pictures and videos on my Instagram.  You can follow this blog by email now, so just put your email into the bar, and you will all of the new posts directly to your email. Our you can get everything in one place at my blog's Tumblr page.