Peanut Butter, the Gourmet Food Market, & Finals Month

Good peanut butter is hard to come by in Coventry. First off, the selection of peanut butter at the stores is minuscule; you have your choice of crunchy peanut butter or extra crunchy peanut butter, and both are made by the same UK company. I am no peanut butter connoisseur, but the locally made stuff does not cut it for me. It tastes weird. Thank goodness for the International Foods aisle where two jars of Jif peanut butter were hidden behind a crushed container of Captain Crunch cereal, next to a box of Jello instant pudding and a few beef jerky packets. One jar of Jif cost around 8 USD, but I bought it anyway because, to me at least, peanut butter is worth any price.

While comfort food is good to have, it fun to try what the locals eat, too. Once a month, a Gourmet Food Market sets up shop by the Students’ Union, and I have bought some of the most interesting foods from the various stalls. My first purchase was a bacon burger--the least expensive item on the menu. It was amazing. The bacon was thick and well seasoned. I have also sampled delicious spicy tomato and caramelized onion chutney, treated myself to Irish coffee flavored fudge for my 21st birthday, and polished off a whole bag of savory samosas.

First Gourmet Food Market of the Spring term!

My bacon burger.

The nice men who made my burger.

Fudge! My favorite is the toffee fudge.

Unfortunately, as much as I want to continue writing about my love of food, I absolutely have to get back to studying. The University of Warwick (finally) announced the exam schedule for the summer term, and while mine are not for a few weeks, I have a lot of notes to read over. My first exam, which is May 20th, is for my International and European Employment Relations class and counts for 100% of my grade in that course, so I need to do really well on that. My International Marketing exam on the 21st is 50% of my grade, and my final exam on the 30th is for Managing HR and counts for 100%. I am a little nervous about my exams, but so long as I continue to work through all of my class notes, I think I should be okay! But just in case, please keep your fingers crossed for me.

And lastly, May the Fourth be with you!

Returning to Warwick

Going home was definitely a good idea. I really missed my parents as I had not seen them since early August when I left for my fall semester at USC. However, my holiday with Mom and Dad has, unfortunately, ended. My Easter began early in the morning as boarded a plane in Japan and landed roughly 13 hours later at the London-Heathrow Airport.  From there, I dragged my exhausted body to a hotel where I fell asleep before posting a new blog entry--whoops. Today I will be traveling to the university.

From Heathrow, I can either take trains or a bus to Coventry Station. I like to take the bus because wandering around town with luggage while jet lagged is not ideal. The ride to Coventry Station (i.e. Pool Meadow Station) takes about two hours. England is filled with lots of curvy roads and roundabouts, so the ride can be a little tough if you, like me, are prone to motion sickness.  On the bright side, you get to see the rolling hills and bright green pastures of the English countryside. Absolutely gorgeous!

Bus drivers in the UK (or at least in England and Wales) typically do not announce stations, so you need to keep your eyes peeled for signs. Coventry Station is nearby a large, metal thing. I am not exactly sure what it is and how to describe it. Maybe it is art? I use it as a landmark, so when I see that I know my stop is near.

Once at Coventry Station, I take the number 11 or 12  bus (they both go to the University). The buses do not give back change, so passengers need to either have exact change or be willing to part with a bit of extra money for the ride. When I traveled to the Warwick Uni the first time, I bought a bottle of Sprite at the cafeteria in the station to break a fiver (a five pound note) for coins for the bus. 

The ride from Coventry Station to the University is about 20 minutes. I stay on the bus for a while longer after driving onto university grounds to reach a stop nearby another interesting metal structure. This location is very close to Senate House where I will collect the keys to my dorm room. Then I can begin round two of my study abroad experience. Wish me luck!

Hard Times

When a typical non-European imagines England, we think of beautiful, picturesque buildings rich with history.  The University of Warwick is a relatively young institution so the buildings are “modern”, but are older than anyone in my generation.  To quote my Malaysian neighbor, the buildings have “little architectural value”.  If you want to see structures older than dirt, or at least your parents, you will have to leave campus.  The good news:  a trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's birthplace, is only a bus ride away.

At the Shakespeare Centre in Stratford-upon-Avon in early February.

Have you ever shared a kitchen with 25 other students?  I do at Warwick, and it is not exactly pleasant.  Communal kitchens are a norm in England, just as they are in the US.  In fact, I shared only five kitchens with over 500 other residents during the two years I lived in Capstone House, but it was never a problem because the majority of us were on  meal plans.  UK schools do not offer meal plans, so students must prepare their own food or eat out.  This is really not a problem--just know how to make some basic meals before you leave the States.

The issue is theft.  My kitchen has two fridges and two freezers, so I only have about a third of a shelf to store food, and sometimes (later in the Spring term with more frequency) I noticed my groceries were missing.  I used to wonder Who Moved My Cheese? but learned that I should have been asking who ate it, instead.  People have drunk my milk and opened packages of other more substantial foods like chicken countless times.  It is a real drag, and some students who share my kitchen have complained, too.  Not many of the exchange students who live in other dorms have had this issue, so keep in mind it is not guaranteed you will too.

However, the biggest difficulty I encountered while in England is the weather.  I knew that England is a rainy place before moving there, but I did not understand to what extent and how that would affect me.  I do not recall seeing the sun during my first month in Coventry, and, to be honest, rainy days (and Mondays) always get me down.  If you are moving from famously hot Columbia, best pack a bottle of fish oil to help combat the blues. 

Apparently, England experienced an especially wet winter.  The southern area of the UK suffered from floods that were compared to the water in Louisiana after the levees fell in 2005.  Despite the constant precipitation, Coventry did not even get a smidgen of snow this year, which Joanne, one of the ladies who cleans my dorm, said is unusual.  She grew up in the area, so she would know.  By the way, my room came with bedding (sheets, pillows, blankets) and is vacuumed/hoovered twice a month, which is nice.

The University provides comforters and other bedding to on-campus residents.

Everything is new.  Some things are good, others are just plain irritating, but it is all interesting.  Embracing the differences is what makes you a more tolerant and resilient person, and I believe those are the two main reasons why studying abroad is worth the ups and downs and stolen cheese.

Why Choose Warwick

Yorkshire Tea, Cadbury chocolate, and Branston Pickle--those are the things UK expats miss when away from home.  How do I know this?  I am in Japan, my home country, for Warwick’s Easter Holiday which separates the Spring and Summer terms and have been hanging out with my former teachers from Britain.  I think I am going to miss those foods, too, along with the UK Doritos (which are the best I have tasted in three countries).  They even beat out the yummy Japanese Doritos which are far superior to the US versions--what is up with that, Frito Lay?

However, I did not come to England in search of better chips.  I thought it would be interesting to spend the next few blog entries focusing more on life at the University of Warwick and why one might choose it for a semester abroad, especially since I understand the IB majors in the year below are in the midst of deciding which universities they hope to attend.

England made my shortlist for two reasons: language and courses.  It really helps that everyone I have encountered speaks English since my second language is only spoken in Japan.  Warwick Business School also offers classes that count towards both my International Business and Human Resources Management degrees, so I am still on track to graduate college on time.  I know from one of the other IB majors at Warwick that there are many Finance courses USC students can take, as well.

Credits earned at the University of Warwick translate back to USC as pass/fail.  This means that my Carolina GPA is not affected by my term overseas.  However, graduate schools look at all transcripts, so I cannot slack whilst in England.  Students need a minimum of 12 credit hours to maintain full-time student status at USC, which is equivalent to 48 CATS.  Some classes can be worth more CATS depending on how long you are staying at the university.  If you are there for two terms, classes tend to count for more than if you are only there for one.  One of the other USC students chose to attend Warwick for only one term, so while he is already finished with his study abroad experience, except for a handful of papers due in about a month, he took more classes than me during the Spring term to meet the full-time status requirement.  

Classes, as I mentioned in an earlier post, are run differently--they meet once a week and finals can be up to 100% of your grade, so finding a good study spot is a must.  My favorite building at Warwick to do homework is the library because there are quiet study areas on almost every floor.  All of the study areas are above ground, so you can set up shop by a window and bask in the little bits of sunshine that weasel their way through the cloudy English sky.  There is even a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream machine on the ground floor, which makes being at the library even more worth it.  The only downside is that, unlike the Thomas Cooper Library which stays open 24/7, the University of Warwick’s library closes.

If you want a safe campus, Warwick is definitely a school to consider.  Some of the on-campus facilities, such as the library, require Warwick student IDs for entry, which cuts down on theft.  The grounds are very well-lit when dark so late-night study sessions in other buildings on campus are possible.  There are also surveillance cameras everywhere.  This is a norm in the UK, but it still makes me feel a lot more comfortable walking home at night.

There are downsides to Warwick, as well, but I will write about them in the next post.  For now, I need to go to bed early because I start an internship tomorrow.

Remembering 3.11.2011

Today marks the third anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that took countless lives and completely altered many more.  I was a high school senior in Tokyo and had just been released from my Friday afternoon homeroom class.  Everyone was dressed in costume for our annual themed Bingo Night later that day.  Bingo, of course, was cancelled.  The tremors were by far the worst I have ever felt, despite having lived in Tokyo, where earthquakes are a daily occurrence, for 17 years.  I felt like such a baby when I later learned how much worse things had been in northern Japan.

The media has not covered this tragedy recently as often as it had before, but the victims are still suffering and need help.  Northern Japan is mainly farmland, but many people avoid food from that region because of the possibility of ingesting something radioactive. This makes it very difficult for the locals to get back on their feet.  There are several more heart-breaking stories, like children living nearby the Fukushima power plant being diagnosed with brain cancer, and a horrifyingly large number of lives lost as a result of post-earthquake trauma.

Today I am keeping the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in my thoughts, and I hope to help them one day, somehow.

Countdown To Easter Break

Sometimes not so wonderful things happen. For instance, your laptop charger breaks while you are abroad and working on a research paper that counts for half of your final grade in your International Marketing class. Oops.

This is not the end of the world, though, because the University of Warwick's five-week Easter Break, which separates the Spring and Summer terms, begins on the 15th. I just need to get through this week by camping out in the library where I can borrow computers to complete my assignment.

Other than my charger breaking, and having to write this entry on my phone as a result, things are going well! I bought some English muffins--simply called muffins here--so now the sandwiches I prepare for lunch are extra delicious, I am pretty sure I did well on a group project for my Ethics class, and it is not nearly as rainy in England as it was when I first arrived.

As much as I am really beginning to feel a strong attachment to my new home, I am also looking forward to my break. I plan on visiting my parents whom I have not seen since early August (and will be able to borrow a laptop charger from them so I can write much more in my next blog entry).

It is around 6 pm. I am back at my dorm after spending the day in the library to eat a light dinner and take a little study break. However, I do need to return as soon as possible in order to claim a computer: the library is packed this week with students who, like me, need to borrow the university's technology.

Pancake Day

I am a die-hard Tokyoite.  I have spent over 17 years of my life exploring the concrete jungle.  I cheer on the local baseball team, the Yomiuri Giants, (when they are not playing my father’s team, the Hanshin Tigers), and know the steps to the Tokyo Ondo, the traditional regional dance.

However, my American side is from New Orleans, and Mardi Gras has always been a big deal to my partially Cajun family.  While I have not yet had the opportunity to experience carnival season in The Big Easy, I have always had people nearby who celebrate it in some way, whether it be my mother waving around a handkerchief and second line dancing in the living room, or my USC peers attending Mardi Gras themed parties.

Mardi Gras is not celebrated here--or at least not in Coventry.  Frankly, this just seems wrong to me, so to fill the void caused by the lack festivity, I have been listening to tunes like Iko Iko, Mardi Gras Mambo, and Do Whatcha Wanna Part 3 non-stop for the last few days.  Today I plan on donning my purple woolen sweater and eating all of the chocolate I can get my hands on.

Instead of attending King Cake parties and watching Mardi Gras parades, folks here partake in Shrove Tuesday by flipping pancakes to use up fatty foods, like butter, before the Lenten fasting begins.  I guess it is considered Fat Tuesday here, too.  Pancake Day, as today is also known, is similarly celebrated in France according to my roommate.  Since I am in England, eating chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast seems only appropriate for my chocolate-filled day.

While it is typical for students in England to prepare their own food in the dorm kitchens, there are also a variety of eateries on campus from cafes to pubs.  There is even a convenience store within a three minute walk from my room.  I do not want to buy the perishable ingredients necessary to make my own pancakes, especially since our five-week Easter Break begins soon, so I am hoping to purchase pre-made pancakes somewhere.

Researching online for places that sell pancakes at Warwick led me to an interesting experiment: Dr. Mark Hadley at the University of Warwick found the equation for the perfect pancake toss.  I was 14 years old the last time I sat in a physics class, so I am (obviously) by no means an expert in the field, but Hadley explains his findings in a way that even I can understand.  

Long story short, one should consider a lot of variables when flipping pancakes and none of the eateries here that are open for breakfast serve them.  I might have to venture off campus for my chocolate pancake fix.  Please keep your fingers crossed that I find a way to have them.

Lastly, take a page from THESE NOPD officers and laissez les bon temps roule!

Update: the Warwick Student Union Facebook page just posted information on where to find pancakes today--The Dirty Duck pub and XANANAS restaurant!