"A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving." Lao Tzu
Sheffield, England
After four days in Belgium, I flew from Brussels to Manchester. I have not yet encountered a longer and more painstaking day of traveling. It was actually brutal. This is how the discount airlines get you! I took an hour long train ride from Brussels to the main station, which was supposed to connect me with a bus to the airport. I had to wait another 1 hour for the bus. Then then the 20 minute bus ride turned into an hour long bus ride. I get to the air port three and a half hours before my flight- you would think this is plenty of time. Ryan Air won't let me check in because I missed the deadline of four hours prior to departure. So, I had to pay 60 Euros to check in when the cost of my flight was only 50 Euros! Then, I had to check my bag because Ryan Air basically only lets you bring one little back pack. This was another 60 Euros. So, my really cheap flight on the discount air line turned into a ridiculously expensive and annoying flight- still on a discount airline. Sometimes, I think it may be worth it to avoid the hassel and pay for a different air line.
Landing in the UK was the first time I went through tough security. In Italy, they simply asked me if I had anything dangerous in my bag, and when I said no they let me go. In the UK, I had to fill out a reason of intent visitor card and they actually quizzed me on my passport. Although it is always a little scary when border control is asking you questions, it is reassuring to know they are taking their job seriously!
After I landed in Manchester, I took an hour long bus ride to Sheffield, England to meet up with my roommate from the summer, Kristi Krumtinger. Kristi quickly became one of my favorite people because she is so fun and easy going. Everyone she meets loves her, including me!
Landing in the UK was the first time I went through tough security. In Italy, they simply asked me if I had anything dangerous in my bag, and when I said no they let me go. In the UK, I had to fill out a reason of intent visitor card and they actually quizzed me on my passport. Although it is always a little scary when border control is asking you questions, it is reassuring to know they are taking their job seriously!
After I landed in Manchester, I took an hour long bus ride to Sheffield, England to meet up with my roommate from the summer, Kristi Krumtinger. Kristi quickly became one of my favorite people because she is so fun and easy going. Everyone she meets loves her, including me!
The Sheffield "6 pack"
The city of Sheffield is actually extremely old, dating back to 12,800 years ago. As early as the mid 1500's, Sheffield became known for steel production and the manufacturing of knives. In WWII, their economy overcame a recession because of the intense demand for its steel. In 2008, Sheffield was ranked in the top 10 cities to locate a business. It is also known as the "greenest city in Europe" and has over 2 million trees. Therefore, Sheffield mainly consists of parks and woods.
Kristi is a part of the Landscape Architecture program at U of I. Their major is structured differently so they have less tests and more enormous projects. Her and the small group of other students in the major pull many all-nighters in the studio. There is a group of five of them studying abroad in Sheffield. It is actually very cute because they are like a little traveling family!
They live in a dorm building that is located in the "student village". It is similar to the six-pack in Champaign but much nicer, prettier, and more secluded. It feels more like a subdivision; it has a gated entryway and many buildings of residences and then the cafeteria and bar. It is like a small town within the university.
One of the first things we did was to go into town and eat. English food is very Americanized so we were able to go get a good pizza. They do have crazy combinations for their pizza though, but I love that. My pizza, called "the brunch pizza", had egg, ham, cheese, and mushroom in it. It was like an omelet pizza- very delicious. Afterward, we went to an English thrift shop. It was so cool. This store basically looked like the "hippie 90's" section of Forever 21, but more expensive. It really made us laugh. There was an entire rack of tye-dyed hanes t-shirts for like 21 pounds each- that is $33 for one Hanes t-shirt. Then, there was an entire rack of cut up light-wash jean jackets. The cool thing about the store is that they had vintage Dooney and Bourke purses for like 30 pounds, but that is actually a good price.
Kristi is a part of the Landscape Architecture program at U of I. Their major is structured differently so they have less tests and more enormous projects. Her and the small group of other students in the major pull many all-nighters in the studio. There is a group of five of them studying abroad in Sheffield. It is actually very cute because they are like a little traveling family!
They live in a dorm building that is located in the "student village". It is similar to the six-pack in Champaign but much nicer, prettier, and more secluded. It feels more like a subdivision; it has a gated entryway and many buildings of residences and then the cafeteria and bar. It is like a small town within the university.
One of the first things we did was to go into town and eat. English food is very Americanized so we were able to go get a good pizza. They do have crazy combinations for their pizza though, but I love that. My pizza, called "the brunch pizza", had egg, ham, cheese, and mushroom in it. It was like an omelet pizza- very delicious. Afterward, we went to an English thrift shop. It was so cool. This store basically looked like the "hippie 90's" section of Forever 21, but more expensive. It really made us laugh. There was an entire rack of tye-dyed hanes t-shirts for like 21 pounds each- that is $33 for one Hanes t-shirt. Then, there was an entire rack of cut up light-wash jean jackets. The cool thing about the store is that they had vintage Dooney and Bourke purses for like 30 pounds, but that is actually a good price.
The funniest thing that we stumbled across was a store called "American Soul". Obviously we had to go in! What we found was a little bit funny and a little bit embarrassing. It honestly looked like a shrine honoring how to be an obese American. The shelves were meticulously placed with Fruit Loops, Coco Puffs, and other really sugary cereals at the top. A box of Fruit Loops was almost 6 pounds, 8 USD. They had Mountain Dew, Coca-Cola, Fanta, and of course Gatorade. The entire back wall was all Hershey products. The candy selection included Milk Duds, Sour Patch, Mike-n-Ike, Good n Plenty and all other typical American name brand candy. I guess the reason this store was funny to us was first of all, how expensive it was and second of all, because it portrayed the image that these are our daily meal choices.
Like I mentioned, Sheffield is a very green city, but not just because of how many trees they have. The University's cafeteria uses locally grown produce. They even have their own cow, Molly, which they get milk from! The benefit of eating locally grown food is pretty simple. Small farms are less aggressive with their animals than large farms when it comes to using chemicals. Locally grown food requires less preservatives, because it has a shorter distance to reach its consumer. Buying local produce cuts down a the hundreds of miles, tanks of gasoline, and emissions released in transporting food long distances- thus, better for global warming. Buying local produce is also good for the economy! On average, farmers only receive 20% of every dollar spent on food. The rest of the money goes to processing, refrigeration, packaging, transportation, and marketing. When you buy local produce, the farmer earns the full retail value of the food!
Some of the other things the cafeteria does:
Our Packaging isn't Rubbish: they use compostable packaging where possible to "feed your belly, not the land".
Drop for Drop: they send a liter of water to developing nation for every liter of water bought at the cafeteria.
Some of the other things the cafeteria does:
Our Packaging isn't Rubbish: they use compostable packaging where possible to "feed your belly, not the land".
Drop for Drop: they send a liter of water to developing nation for every liter of water bought at the cafeteria.
The Peak District
One of the southern borders of Sheffield is home to England's first National Parks- the Peak District. The park spans for about 555 square miles and is filled of rolling hills, trees, and peaks. This district is very old and dates back as far as Roman's being the first to place roads through it. There are a few small houses in the district, as the economy for the area runs off tourism, but it is mostly an enormous park. The district has also made an appearance in the Princess Bride and some renditions of Pride and Prejudice.
There is not much more to say about the district; we really just walked around and climbed some cliffs. We had lunch at a tiny cafe and I had a delicious Turkey, cranberry, and brie sandwich. That is about it!
In the picture: Lucas Geier, Claire Scott, Kristi Krumtinger, Kyle Gaughan, and myself
There is not much more to say about the district; we really just walked around and climbed some cliffs. We had lunch at a tiny cafe and I had a delicious Turkey, cranberry, and brie sandwich. That is about it!
In the picture: Lucas Geier, Claire Scott, Kristi Krumtinger, Kyle Gaughan, and myself