Going Away 2.0

I had planned to stop writing here since this was supposed to be a place where I can write about my time in Liverpool. However, a few weeks ago I was told that I can spend a semester in Ireland. From September until Christmas 2013 I will be studying in Northern Ireland. So this blog will come to life again in a few months time. Until then dftba

Goodbye Liverpool!

I am currently sitting in my living room trying to pass the time until I have to catch my coach to Manchester. Three months have gone by and they did it fast. I met people from all over the world, was able to get to know an amazing city and spend loads of time just soaking up the atmosphere. I've learnt a lot not only Scouse expressions like "I'm made up with that" which basically means "I'm so happy with that" but also about other cultures and about myself. I've enjoyed my time here a lot and it was certainly not the last time I've been to Liverpool. I've also realized how happy I can be to be able to go back to a country like Switzerland. I got to know a lot of Spanish people and many of them will stay in England because there's no hope and no opportunities in Spain.
I will miss all the buskers, the Scouse accent (even though it's often almost incomprehensible), the politeness combined with friendliness, the Mersey and loads more. So here are some pictures of my favourite things, but keep in mind it's definitely not a complete list and in no particular order.

View out of my window on Bold Street

Beach close to Birkdale

Cemetery of Liverpool Cathedral

The Three Graces

Albert Dock

Bombed Out Church

Leaf - best Cafe/Bar/Restaurant

Tyler Hilton and I on my last evening in Liverpool

I had so much fun working at the merch table and of course watching him play!
He's such a nice and seems to be really down-to-earth.
Thank you so much Tyler!

Mayara, thank you for everything!

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another:
"What! You too? I thought I was the only one.”
― C.S. Lewis

Diamond Jubilee

Yesterday Britain celebrated the Queen's diamond Jubilee. There was a huge party in London including a big concert on Monday evening. I only mention the concert because it's the only thing I really watched. Here in the far North the Jubilee seemed to be mainly an excuse to party for five days instead of the normal three days. So thanks for the two extra free days! I live right in the center of Liverpool so I'm used to having people outside my house singing, screaming and shattering glass from Thursday till Sunday morning. So now it lasted until Tuesday evening. And people must have been partying and shopping so much that when my flatmate and I wanted to get some cash for her we just simply couldn't. We tried all kinds of cash withdrawal but we weren't able to get some money anywhere. And we were certainly not the only ones. Loads of people walked away with empty wallets simply because the bank hadn't been fully prepared for the Jubilee. The banks might have been closed during the festivities but that wasn't the case for all the other shops. Yep the cash withdrawals were simply empty.

So that's actually one of the few things I twigged about the Jubilee. I just spent another nice weekend in Liverpool. I went shopping, which seems to be an obligatory hobby if you want to be a Liverpuddlian, went for lunch at Leaf's and went on the Magical Mystery tour. I think I've done most of the touristy stuff now and I've certainly heard enough about the Beatles. I've seen Penny Lane, Strawberry fields, their childhood homes, their schools and even the journey Paul McCartney had to do in order to get to school.

I also went to the X&Y festival that took place this weekend. I actually just went there to see Hudson Taylor who I've been watching in YouTube. However, the concert ended up to be in the Bombed Out Church which is really close to where I lived. So I went there earlier than planned which turned out to be a great thing. There was a delay and that's why I saw the show of a local band called Tiro Lark. Let me put it like this: They're amazing! Their songs are really good and the singer's voice is raspy and husky. I wish they had an EP I could buy but until then I will just continue to listen to their songs here: http://soundcloud.com/parr-street-studios/sets/tiro-lark/s-TBdvT Please go and check them out! This band just made my day.

I've only got a few days left here which I will spend by going to my favourite places, hunting for last presents and visiting the last museum I want to see. I'm thrilled to see my friends and family again and yet I already see all the things I will miss about Liverpool. I just hope I can still talk German when I get back ;) I already get really confused when my fellow Swiss student says something to me in Swiss German.

Door poetry

Today our teacher Frank took us to the Museum of Liverpool to go and look at some poetry. The Museum of Liverpool opened its doors to the public in 2011 and is the home off all kinds of exhibitions. There's a great timeline of Liverpool, as well as expositions on football, Scouse and Liverpudlian soldiers. All in all, it's an amazing museum where you could spend several days, there's so much stuff to look at.

However, Frank wanted us to have a look at the poetry wall. It's a collection of doors which have been painted and since it's a poetry wall have words written on them. It's modern poetry and sometimes the poems consist of just a few words but are nevertheless witty. Luckily we were allowed to take some pictures and I wanted to share them here with you. If you get the chance to go to the museum you should definitely do it.

Conwy Castle

Yesterday I went on a trip to North Wales. The school had organised a coach which would take us to Conwy and Llandudno. The drive to North Wales was already amazing. Soft green hills, fog and magnificent views. When we stepped onto the wall surrounding Conwy an old train passed by and I felt like someone had put me into one of the Harry Potter movies.

Conwy Castle was built in the 13th century, yet the ruins are well preserved and you can walk around the wall and go on top of all the towers. Just let me tell you the stairs are fatal. I was just waiting for someone to slip, fall down and take everyone in his/her way with him. Conwy itself is a very small city with a little harbour but ever so charming. That day lots of people were walking around dressed up as pirates because it was the annual Pirate's Weekend.

We also went to Llandudno which is also a pretty small city and it seemed to be more of a place where pensioners would live. However, the seaside is gorgeous with all the pastel coloured houses and the mountain cliffs.

British graveyards

I really don't have a clue why I like graveyards. I like taking pictures of them. Not all of them. I have a particular liking for English graveyards. You find a lot more old graves than in Switzerland, the atmosphere seems to be more mystical. I know this is a weird preference but so what?!

Today I went to the Anglican Cathedral after school and since the weather was gorgeous today we decided to take a walk through the St. James Garden that surrounds the cathedral. It's a mix between a park and a graveyard which means I got to take some pictures. Here are some of them and I added two pictures I took last spring in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Just another update

I can’t believe I’ve already spent six weeks in Liverpool. In just six weeks I’m going to be on my way home. But until then I’ll try to enjoy the days left as much as possible. School is pretty much the same; however, the class has changed a lot. Almost half of our group had to go home. Loads of tears were shed, lots of hugs and promises made to keep in touch. I know that there’s one person I will keep in touch, thanks to Twitter, Facebook and Skype.

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one"

C.S. Lewis

What I enjoy probably the most is that I get to know Liverpool more and more. I love that I don’t need a map to get around and I feel like I fit in. I don’t have the word “tourist” written across my face anymore. And that feels pretty darn good to be honest.

What else? It’s hard for me to tell how much my English has improved but I do notice that I have a hard time to change to German sometimes. When I’m talking to my family on my phone I change to English sometimes and I have to keep reminding me that I need to speak Swiss-German.

How cute is that otter?! (Even though he smells kinda bad)

I went to the Blue Planet Aquarium today which was quite nice. I guess after seeing the aquarium in Atlanta nothing can really impress me. Still I enjoy the atmosphere of the aquarium. It might not be quiet on a Bank Holiday like today, however, when I look into one of the tanks I can forget all around me while looking at all the different fish. Walking through the shark tunnel or waiting for the rays to come to the surface. Amazing! One of my favourite things to do.

Bye for now

On the road to Southport

Last weekend I felt the urge to walk. And not just from my residence to the school. So I decided to take the train to a village called Ainsdale which is situated on the coast north of Liverpool and walk to Southport from there. I love going to the beach just to soak in the atmosphere and also to get away from the noisy city. It's amazing how close the beach is. It's just a short train journey away and you feel like you're miles away from Liverpool.

I didn't really know the route from Ainsdale to Southport so I just walked along the beach. It was low tide when I got there. Loads of sand and the sea was far away. It took me quite some time to get to Southport because I really had no idea in which direction I really had to head and I realized after some time that I was actually heading for the wrong city. Luckily I realized it early enough.  After all it was a really nice walk, windy, cold, yet sunny.

In Southport I met up with some friends to stroll through the city before heading back to Liverpool.
If you ever go to Liverpool you should definitely take the trip to the beach it's an amazing place.

Baking Zopf in Liverpool and other stuff

I've been here for one month now and a part of me can almost not believe that the first month is already over. Time really does fly like an arrow. I've met new people, saw new places and discovered new differences between the English and the Swiss culture. I love watching other people. How they move, talk and dress differently. I still don't understand how the English are able to walk around with so little clothes on. It's still freezing here and the wind doesn't make it any warmer for sure. I might be from a Northern country but sometimes I feel like someone from South America who has been dumped off near the North pole. They walk around with a short-sleeve shirt while I wear my warm raincoat. Little dresses with no tights underneath, shorts, flip-flops and no coats on. Crazy!

On the other hand I enjoy the vibe of a big city. Liverpool is surely not the biggest city but it is really something different than my hometown. A lot of people walking around all day long, always someone who's playing music and lots to do. Lots of different stores, and even though you can find all the big brands, you can also find little and a bit quirky stores.

I'm really enjoying my time here but I do miss something: the Swiss bread! I know such a cliche but come on! You go into a shop that is called Gregg's Bakery and even though it's supposed to be a bakery the bread is still too soft and has nothing to do with real bread. So I decide to bake a Zopf. I had no kitchen scale nor a measuring cup but somehow I was actually able to make one. And I'm quite happy with the result.

Jetzt bin ich seit einer Woche in Liverpool. Manchmal fühlt es sich an, als sei ich schon seit Ewigkeiten hier, manchmal eher als sei ich erst gestern angekommen. Jeden Tag gibt es neues zu entdecken, neue Leute zu treffen und man wird mit einer Kultur konfrontiert, die der eigenen so ähnlich und doch so unterschiedlich ist.



Albert Dock

Ich lebe hier mitten im Zentrum der Stadt, was ich wirklich geniesse. In ein paar Minuten bin ich in der Schule, aber genauso auch am River Mersey. Oder im Liverpool 1, dem grössten Einkaufszentrum Liverpools. Eigentlich ist es mehr ein Stadtviertel und das Zentrum von Winterthur würde wohl bequem Platz finden. Ich wohne in einer Studentenresidenz, teile mir also das Bad und die Küche mit den restlichen Studenten. Was das für mich heisst? Ich wasche mein Zeug ab und nehme es ins Zimmer, denn ansonsten wird es von den "lads" mit welchen ich mir die Küche teile benutzt und ist nicht mehr auffindbar. Die "lads" sind ansonsten aber freundlich, sagen immer "heya" und entschuldigen sich tausendmal, wenn sie einem im Weg stehen.

Nachmittags bin ich jeweils an der Liverpool School of English wo ich für drei kurze Stunden die Schulbank drücke. Ich bin sogar die einzige Schweizerin in meiner Klasse und von all den Schweizern, die ich ausserhalb der Klasse getroffen habe, ist nur einer ein Deutschschweizer. Das Multikulturelle macht die Diskussionen über Themen wie "Wer macht was besser? Männer oder Frauen?" auch viel spannender, als wenn nur Leute aus der gleichen Kultur an einem Tisch sitzen. Wie sind zum Beispiel zehn Leute in der Klasse, davon ist einer Italiener, eine Spanierin, ein Nicaraguaner, ein Iraner, drei Belgier und eine Russin.

Noch zum Schluss etwas über die Engländer. Auch wenn es die ersten Tage warm und sonnig war, so ist es nun wieder kalt und vor allem windig. Aber...das hindert die Engländer und vor allem die Engländerinnen noch lange nicht davon ab im T-Shirt oder kurzen Kleidchen herumzulaufen. Brrrrr. Keine Ahnung wie die das machen.

Update on my going-away-plans

I told you that I was going to live in the States for a year. Well that is not going to happen. I dropped out of college and I can not go abroad with ISEP without being enrolled. However I will spend some time abroad. In just 25 days I will leave for Liverpool where I will be going to a language school to improve my English. I'm really excited! Everything happened so fast! As soon as I knew what I wanted to do this fall I booked the trip. I will live right in the middle of the city which I am really excited about! Still I will write about my experience abroad, hopefully will post some good pictures and share my thoughts with you. So that's all for today, just a quick update.

bye for now