england.

{taken on my walk around the town of marple bridge}

{manchester museum of art}

after three days of orientation in london, me and the three other students studying at bangor university headed to a small town called marple bridge via the train to meet with four families who would be hosting us for the next three days.

{a pub in manchester}

marple bridge is exactly the place that i picture when i close my eyes and imagine a quaint british town. gorgeous green hills freckled with livestock. stone walls guiding paths to classic homes. tiny cars journeying along skinny stone roads.

{the view out the back/side yard of one of the homestay families}

{chatsworth}

we spent most of our time being well taken care of by the group of four families who were already a very close community. the first night we all came together complete with many drinks and a potluck of traditional british cuisine. it was also filled with lots of questions on both sides. the following day was spent exploring downtown manchester spending a good amount of time walking around an art museum, and a bit of shopping. that night we all met at their towns pub or "local". then on for "tea" or dinner, filled with much entertainment.

{one of the modern sculptures displayed around the garden at chatsworth}

the following day i took a walk around the area, went to the local food festival, and all of the mom's, us students and couple of the kiddos explored the stately home called chatsworth. chatsworth happens to be the home of mr. darcy in the most recent "pride and prejudice" and the setting for the movie "the duchess". it was gorgeous and took us almost three hours to walk through the house and around the gardens. that night due to exhaustion on all our parts we each stayed in and had a relaxed night complete with a very delicious meal while watching tv. i was introduced to the british television staples. we watched "strictly come dancing" (similar to dancing with the stars) and " x factor" (similar to american idol). all of the families were more hospitable than i could've ever imagined. and i had a fantastic time. i hope to go back and visit.

i arrived in bangor on sunday afternoon, only to hit the ground running. this week is what the "uni's" here call freshers week . basically the freshman fully celebrate their new found freedom with a lot of "toasts". it has consumed the town, but the business is much appreciated by the local pub's. it's also full of trips, signing up for classes, fairs, and meeting new people. it's been...interesting to say the least. bangor is breath taking, set between the menai straits and the snowdonia mountains. i've been doing lots of walking and have eaten my share of fish and chips and curry. i will give an update after classes have started and things hopefully settle a bit more. until then.
cheers.

austin.

{hamilton pool}

{karaoke}