Author Archives: mwb5197

Malta…….?

So I haven’t written a blog in a while. The reason for this is because my school, University of Sussex, uses the tri-mester system, so we had a month and a half off from school. One would think that I would use that time to travel more, but I decided that I would take the opportunity to return home and make sure my mom hadn’t fallen into a depression due to my absence. Anyway, I did take a trip with three friends of mine, John, Abby, and Allie. John and Abby were beginning a pseudo-tour of Europe, and their first stop was Malta. To be honest, I didn’t know what the hell a Malta even was when they mentioned it, but I decided to tag along. Good decision. Malta is a small country off the southern tip of Italy. I figured, the weather would probably be nicer, and I wasn’t going home for over a week, so I went.

It was a breath of fresh air, literally and figuratively. It was a nice break from the rainy UK weather, and we got a hotel instead of a hostel, which is always a plus.In addition, you wouldn’t think Malta would have great nightlife, but it had a few streets that was full of bars and clubs. Obviously a huge plus. Also, the food was way better than I expected. They had a great variety, including McDonald’s (obviously, and thank God). Not only that, the night clubs (and gentlemen’s clubs….why not, right?) didn’t have a cover charge. Drinks were cheap, and it was overall a good time. So without further adieu, here’s some pics:

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Location: Malta

Ireland… where there’s beer.

So this blog is a bit overdue, but last weekend me and some friends flew to Dublin. Priority #1? Guinness factory. I was sure Ireland was nice before we came, but that was the focal point of the trip.

Before I came to Ireland, I pictured it as very green, with rolling hills and shamrocks and the like…and I was right.  Except we only really got to see that stuff on the bus ride from the airport, as Dublin seemed to be more of an urban area then say, Galway. It was jam packed with McDonalds, Burger King, and Subway, and there were souvenir shops all over the place.

It did still have some Irish charm though- the old man at the front desk of our hostel gave us a few stories about how he hates his wife, and his accent only made them funnier.  Also, we got to have a couple of “Irish Breakfasts” which were pretty much just normal eggs, sausage, toast, etc. Anyway, on Saturday we finally got to see the Guinness store house. Since this was really the highlight of the trip, I’ll just upload all the pics below.dublin, ireland 013.JPGdublin, ireland 049.JPGdublin, ireland 045.JPG 


Location: dublin, ireland

Foggy London

     Believe it or not, last weekend was the first time I’ve gotten to explore London this semester.  Although most of my friends think that’s where I’m studying, they’re wrong.  My high school friend, who is studying in Brighton with me, had his parents come visit.  It was nice because they paid for pretty much everything for me- they’re a real generous bunch.  We went to all the cliche spots in London; the Eye, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, etc.  In addition, we stopped in a somewhat weak haunted house…because why the hell not right? Besides that, we did a good bit of shopping, watched a comedic rendition of Alfred Hitchcock’s THE 39 STEPS, and even rented JACKASS 3 in the hotel room.  Not too bad.  Anyway, of course I forgot my camera, but since I figure I’ll be back in London soon (for the Royal Wedding ohmagosh), it wasn’t that big of a deal.  The only problem is now I have no pictures to put into this blog….or don’t I??? Cue the google images theme music.london eye.jpg        

London Eye                               

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Big Ben


Location: London

Brighton: A very proud place

It was no secret to me, even before I came to Brighton, that it is widely regarded as the homosexual capital of the UK. Now, I don’t want to offend anyone; I have gay friends, and I don’t have any issue whatsoever with that lifestyle. Having said that, I’m not going to live in the homosexual capital of the UK and NOT go to a gay bar. The time? Midnight. The place? REVENGE bar and night club. The mission? Drink all the drinks that are seen as taboo for men to drink in the states (Smirnoff Ice, Mike’s Hard Lemonade, and a new addition, WKD), and dance the night away.  Well mission success.  Did my friends and I get hit on a little? Yeah, we did, and we were prepared. One of my friends was even eating it up a little too much. Don’t get me wrong, we tried to blend in. I consider myself a social chameleon; able to blend in to any environment at the drop of a hat. And we did just that. In short, it’s safe to say that I can cross “attend a gay club” off the ol’ bucket list.  Unfortunately, the majority of pictures taken were on a friend’s camera, and due to new facebook restrictions, I can’t save them to my computer.  But here’s one from mine.  brighton gay bar006.JPG


Location: Brighton

Blue and Yellow Blue and Yellow

       Okay so the title of this is pretty dumb as I’m sure the rest of you are about as tired of that song as I am.  Nevertheless, I have just returned from the land that is represented by those two colors, and that land is Sweden.  Myself and four other friends decided to fly to Stockholm for three days because of the mega-ultra-super cheap airfare.  Notable things about the trip are as follows:

1. Hostels are cool, if you don’t mind sleeping with a bunch of strangers in your room.

It was my first time staying in a hostel, and I must say, it’s not my first choice of residence…not by a long shot.  But I was able to get used to the idea seeing as if I’m going to do any more traveling, that’ll probably be where I live majority of the time.  Plus, it’s not like we spent much time in the room anyway.  And sorry ladies, but I didn’t get the chance to snap any pics of me in my supersexy sleepwear.

2. Nationalism is contagious

I’ve been to my fair share of hockey games; I’m a huge Rangers fan, and more importantly, a huge USA fan. I’ll be the first to throw around a U-S-A chant during the televised Olympic games, and I’m sure I won’t be the last.  Having said that, I’ve never rallied behind a country not called the United States of America, as I did when we went to the Sweden vs. Russia game on Saturday. We didn’t even plan on going, but the tickets weren’t too expensive so we figured that we all like hockey, so why not.  The Swedes absolutely dominated Russia in a route.  I think it was 6-1.  Great experience.
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3. The stereotypes are pretty true….

All the girls in Sweden are good looking.  Fact.

4. Stockholm in February is a little chilly

Or its really effing cold.  I was not prepared for the weather, but luckily we made the best of it.  We took a boat tour through ICY waters (I guess the boat’s hub or whatever part was designed to break the ice…coulda used it at the bars the night before LOLZ). Anyway it was real cool (lovin’ my own puns) and we saw a lot of cool stuff.  Believe it or not there’s a pretty cool amusement park in Stockholm.

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5. The Swedish military has nothing on the US military.

First off, we saw the changing of the guard in front of the Swedish Royal Palace. If I had a nickel for every soldier who was yawning, laughing, chit chatting, or relaxing when they clearly were not supposed to be, I would be a rich man.  They even like sort of skipped at one point (as in like skipping instead of walking).  Now, I’m no drill sergeant, but act professional boys.  Nobody in the states would’ve stood for that.  Oh, and apparently Sweden raises a flag on one of its buildings for however long it has been that Sweden has been out of a war.  The flag has been raised since 1813.  Maybe if they’d get in some more international scuffles, their military wouldn’t be a bunch of slackers. I mean, they missed both World Wars for cryin’ out loud. Bahhh I’m just kidding…..Kind of. Anyway here’s a pic!

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Location: Stockholm, Sweden

Little Bit of Brighton

So as of now, I have four good trips scheduled for the coming months: London for a weekend, Dublin, Stockholm, and Barcelona.  Am I pumped up for all of them?  You’re damn right I am.  In the spirit of this, I’ll just use this blog to show a few pictures of Brighton and what I’ll be leaving behind.Brighton 005.JPGBrighton 013.JPGBrighton 003.JPGBrighton 001.JPG


Location: Brighton

Finding my way around

     I’m officially into my third week of classes, and I think the culture shock may have finally subsided. First of all, the city of Brighton is amazing. There’s great shopping. I don’t care how girly that sounded because it’s true.  I went to the mall yesterday and felt right at home.  Not only that, but the nightlife is definitely that of a college town (or city rather).  There’s so many students out at night, going to bars and clubs, and then catching the 4am bus home.  What’s different is the fact that a lot of that takes place on weeknights much more than at home.  Weekends are more for relaxing here (at least, that’s how it is at U. of Sussex.  My favorite part about Brighton is the pier, which I’ll attach a picture of.  It’s just like the pier in Santa Monica, CA.  I even got an ice cream cone yesterday just for kicks (at least the ice cream is the same). 

     Besides the sightseeing, I’ve made a good little group of friends.  My friend Nick from high school was already here, and now we’ve expanded.  We’re both on the Sussex basketball team, and needless to say, the lack of interest in the game in the UK has made us standouts.  We get a lot of crap for being Americans, but it’s all in good fun. We have even been watching the NFL playoffs whenever we can; they’re on much later due to the time difference, but pub owners will throw it on one of the tv’s for us anyway.  We’ve been called ”loud Americans” on more than one occasion. 

     The other night while we were out, one of the other basketball players spent some time teaching me some ”cockney rhyming slang”, e.g. bees means money, because bees and honey means money.  Apples means stairs, because apples and pairs corresponds to stairs.  So if I said that I was heading towards the apples, it means I am heading to the stairs.  It’s tough to follow, but interesting. Another note, don’t call anyone a wanker. It’s one of the worst words.  Other than that, a lot of the American stereotypes of England are pretty true.  I’ll explore more though and update you next blog.  Oh, and thank GOD for McDonald’s.brighton pier.jpg 


Location: Brighton

Not so Brighton and Sunny

     I’ve been a little slow to publish my first geoblog, and that’s because not one day after my arrival, I got pretty sick.  My first night consisted of my violently throwing up for a long time.  The woman who I am staying with and I talked, and decided it was probably the different water (of which I drank a lot the first day), but I think I’m adjusted to it now. 
     Anyway, on to what’s happening now.  I’ve been in Brighton for just short of a week, and I must say that it’s awesome.  It’s in southern England, so its right on the water.  In fact, I have a great view of the English Channel from my bedroom.  Though the city’s in a great location (on the water, under an hour outside London), the weather is pretty much what I imagined it would be.  It’s been foggy and raining on a regular basis.  I don’t mind this, but a little sun wouldn’t hurt, hence the title of this blog.  However, I’m having a great time so far.  I’ve met students from schools all over, including Michigan, Colorado, UCLA, and Miami.  I also joined the basketball team, despite the fact that I have a recently broken wrist, which is a testament to the fact that basketball just doesn’t have the type of following that it does in the States. 
     Other things that have been interesting include the food and the nightlife.  The food here is, in a word, terrible.  I find myself eating the things that are familiar to me like McDonald’s and Pizza Hut, because everything else is just so new, and I don’t have the most extensive appetite anyway. Oh, and God forbid they don’t put mayonnaise on everything they make.  Is it too hard to get a burger with bacon that’s actually cooked and ketchup on top?  Just kidding, but not really.  The culture shock was clearly intense, but I’m catching on.  I think I’ll talk some more in my next blog, but until then I’ll leave the readers with this; the family who I’m staying with took me ice skating at the Brighton Pavilion, which is an old castle built by King George IV.  They temporarily set up a rink in the yard next to the castle, and it’s a pretty good example of the beautiful city that Brighton is.

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Location: Brighton, UK

Introduction

     My name is Myles Bane.  I am a Junior at Penn State.  I’m originally from New York, but I will be studying abroad in Brighton, UK in the spring of 2011.  I’m staying in a homestay with a mother and her 11-year old daughter.  I arrive in England on January 6.  I’ve heard great things about Brighton and the University of Sussex.  I will be traveling a great deal (hopefully), but In Brighton, the night life sounds awesome, and it’s been said that they’re more easygoing than we are in America.  There are beaches, but they have pebbles as opposed to sand.  I’m really excited, granted the weather is going to be freezing (-6 degrees celsius) and the food probably won’t be as good.  Nevertheless, I’m going with an open mind and hopefully this will be an experience to remember for years to come.  I suppose that’s all for now.  Hopefully more interesting things will follow.     


Location: State College, PA