a visit from the pseudo-english professor

Hello,
Well, this week has been pretty busy, with an extra day of traveling, and also, a visit from our teacher, professor Fahringer. He came in to our hospital on a Tuesday, had several meetings, and decided he could squeeze us in for an early dinner at the pub near his hotel. We had dinner and chatted a little bit. He demonstrates quite a lot of knowledge of the common Englishman's phrases in everyday conversation. Such as, ketchup is what he calls "tomato sauce," to call someone on the phone is to "ring them." The "tele" is the TV, etc. He certainly fits right in with all the other English people. But, our visit was shortened because he had yet another appointment at 8pm that evening. He did buy us dinner, and we thank him for that. But, he couldn't seem to get out of there fast enough! So, Jackie and I finished our beers and went home for the night. So, that was our visit. He is here in England for an entire week though, although he is busy going other places. Hmm, other than that, that's all I have for today!

Shopping in Birmingham and Willy Wonka -esque

On Sunday we took a short train ride to Birmingham. It is the second largest city in England and is supposedly the largest retail center in Europe. The BullRing is the famous shopping center there and is several floors of great shops. It was pretty crazy with all of the Christmas shoppers out but we managed to scour the three floors and leave without spending too much money. Birmingham is also known for its German Christmas market which runs through most of Nov and Dec each year. It was pretty cool with all sorts of German food and craft vendors but was an absolute zoo. We got our fix of German cuisine there.We didn't have time on Sunday to see everything in Birmingham so we went back today (Wed). There was nothing on our schedule for work today so we decided that a little day trip would be much more fun than sitting at our flat studying. We went to Cadbury World where all the Cadbury chocolate is made and packaged. It was a pretty neat tour and we got free chocolate so it was well worth the trip. There were mostly elementary school groups there so Krissi and I really stuck out as the big kids walking around the place. After Cadbury World, we took the train back into downtown Birmingham, walked through the German market again, this time a little more comfortably, and then went to the Mailbox. It is a huge red building filled with upscale shops. We felt a little out of place in our ski jackets and tennis shoes but still had a good time looking and pretending. So it's back to work tomorrow for two more days, then London this weekend!

Our Trip to York

Jackie and I went to York today, on a school organized trip via bus. In case you didn't know, York is about 3hrs north west of Wolverhampton. We had a very hot and crowded bus ride with 62 other students, all speaking either French or Chinese....and some didn't wear deodorant! I am still getting over being carsick in buses because no one likes to stop ahead of time, all the drivers stop at the last darn second and the whole bus lurches forward. also, England is made up of traffic circles, which are quite complicated with people circling and huge buses trying to enter the circle. So, we were glad to be off the darn bus.
York is considered the most haunted city in England, and has a ton of Roman and Norman history. There is the biggest cathedral basilica North of the Alps, called York Minster. It is this huge gorgeous chruch that has been built upon old Roman ruins, then old Norman ruins, and parts of the church have been in existence since 1100AD. Constantine was proclaimed emperor on the space the church sits on (old Roman buildings) in 308AD....so, pretty cool. We started to take a free tour, but we could hardly understand this old guy who was giving it. He had the absolute hairiest eyebrows and ear fluff I have ever seen! His accent was so thick and he didn't talk loud...so, we just made our own tour. There are apparently, amazing stained glass windows, still in existence in the church since 1200ad. Beautiful. The church also has tombs of a bunch of people...old archdeacons, people who gave money to the church, etc. Also, St. William's remains are entombed in the crypt in the undercroft. We couldn't take pictures of that, but, there is a little area devoted to him down there. Also in the undercroft, there is basically, a tour of this large archeological site that goes through the levels of where the Roman ruins are, then the Norman ruins, then the Saxon...it was cool.
After the church, we went around to all the lovely stores. The town is so little and quaint and has the cutest stores of all kind! Also, restaurants. Jacks and I didn't want to spend a long time in a restaurant due to time, so we got a panini and a Meat pie...very tasty. So, all in all, York was cute. We had to be back at the bus at 515, so, we spent a good 5 and 1/2 hrs there. We couldn't wait to get off the darn bus on the way home. Here are pictures from our day....tomorrow, we are shopping in Birmingham, possibly going to the Cadbury cream egg factory, and the German Christmas Market! Talk to you soon!



I know these are sideways, but I can't figure out how to change them!!
This is a picture of us at the bottom of the steps to this huge really old viking lookout! It is dark, but somehow, our camera made it look lighter.....really cool.

The best thing since sliced bread...and other adventures in cooking

Well, Jacks and I have attempted cooking, using limited tools in our kitchen, and random stuff the English have in their grocery stores. We first thought it would be a great idea to make a stew...because it is always rainy and cold....which would be fabulous, if we knew how to do it, what meat to use, have spices, and a crock pot. We improvised....and put a bunch of stuff in a pot, and went with it. the result was....pretty good, especially when you know there is nothing else warm to eat. We will just say, the meat was a bit...chewy. It was called "casserole beef," whatever that means. Here is the picture of it...
It was pretty good, for amateurs. We also bought lovely looking bread from the store....and found out it wasn't sliced when we brought it home. It also happens to be really crusty and doesn't slice well, with our knives here...so, when we make pb and j, it get's interesting. I just thought I would share this because Jacks and I were cracking up at this idea of a "sandwhich" seen below.....we couldn't slice the bread and so, we just used the last hunk of it for her sandwhich...it was a mega peanut butter and jelly, for sure. Also, eaten with leftover stew.....
well, more later....miss everyone!
love you!
kris and jacks

Turkey Day, etc

above: Fish and chips + The mushy peas

STELLA!

Well, we had our first Thanksgiving in England...I guess the actual antithesis of Thanksgiving, being here in England...but, oh well. jackie and I worked all day, met up at our apartment, and decided to go back into town to a pub. The Royal London, as it is called, is a cute mix between a bar and a coffee shop. We didn't realize that they don't actually serve you at your table...you order everything at the bar. So, we both decided on fish and chips because we hadn't had it yet. It was quite good! We also both got a beer. I decided on a Stella (for you, Brit!) and Jack got a Strongbow...which is like cider . So, that was our night. Interesting tidbit...the fish and chips come with "mushy peas." Literally, mashed up peas. I have no idea why, but, it was good! We went to eat and then came home, and did the usual....go on the internet and go to bed, usually before nine because of how dark it gets. Oh, and we have no TV, so, all we have is internet. So, that was our Turkey day, not as yummy as all of the American people's was, but....we did it England style.
The next day, Friday, we both went to work in the morning. I saw electric shock therapy....which was CRAZY, and jack was on the ward....then we went to meetings and were off by 2pm, so went shopping in wolverhampton. Let me tell ya, it's not very big, but, we looked and hung out until it got dark (about 4ish) and eventually made our way home, via our lovely friend, the bus. Pretty uneventful Friday...but, we are happy, although still FREEZING in our apartment....more to come later!

Days 2 & 3

We are all settled in our flat now. It is still freezing and we are still having to sleep in layers of UnderArmor, but it is nice to have our own place to come back to. We spent most of Monday finding our way around Wolverhampton's campus getting our student ID's and meeting with the international students office. We also took a quick look around the town and picked up a cell phone to use here and to make cheap calls to the US. Most importantly, we found our way to Asda, the Walmart-type store here to get groceries so we no longer have to survive on Luna bars.

Today (Tuesday) was our first day of our psychiatry rotation. Weactually spent more time on the bus than at work as we took the wrong University bus this morning and our 10 min bus ride turned into 2 hrs. We figured out our error early on but by then we were already out oftown and on our way to a completely different city and campus. At that point all we could do was laugh at ourselves and enjoy the tour of the England countryside. All in all we took five bus rides before we made it to Penn Mental Hospital by lunch time. The doctor's secretary made a schedule out for each of us for the entire month so it looks like we will be seeing and doing a wide variety of things to keep us busy during the next four weeks. It is about bedtime now... with it getting dark at 3-4 o'clock everyday, I'm ready for bed at 8 o'clock. We promised ourselves that we wouldn't let the cold and darkness talk us out of going out to check out a pub tomorrow night.

Our First Day

Hi guys.....We are here, we arrived safely. The plane went alright, but we almost weren't let in b/c they said we needed visas, even though we aren't getting paid....the lady was seriously about to send us back, but she said she didn't have time to deal with us b/c it was minor.....she said all we can do is watch. Apparently, the rules changed. After that, we had to catch 3 trains in london to make it to wolverhampton (it took 4hrs and about 100bucks). We had all of our luggage and were completely exhausted and worn out. We definitely are Americans....no hiding that! We finally got to wolverhampton about 4pm and it was raining and dark. We got a taxi and went to our place. It is nice enough...jsut freezing. also, they don't have any stores nearby and so we are going to try to get food tomorrow. We had popcorn for dinner!! and my internet isn't working, so we are going to try and fix that, too. We have to take buses into town (they are free). The town itself looks pretty cute.... Jack says we just have to get into a routine... It's just so darn freezing in our dorm, and we can't change the heat. Okay, my toes are numb, and we have to go to sleep!!! (even tho it's only like 7pm here...)