Just an Update

Today was a really stressful day. I just got done taking my 70 minutes finance exam and I ran out of time to answer one question and I'm not sure how I did on the rest. Hopefully I'll get at least a B at this point. Today at work I was called out for my purple hair and for not putting enough ice in the cups when the ice was running out in the first place. I got another nametag that has my Star Wars planet of choice on it, which is kind of cool though. Also, I wore black ankle socks because I ran out of clean regular black socks, and of course they noticed that too, so now I have to do more laundry. Besides that, work went by fast again. All I did was pour sodas and buss tables today, but next week a group of us are going to see Deadpool, so that's exciting. My Disney classes start on Monday and registration for the new classes for the second half of this semester also open on Wednesday. I'm trying to get the other half of my Disney Heritage class that I'm taking. Nothing else new here. Inspections are next week so I have to go do some chores. Love you all~

Day Off Fun

Sorry I haven't written in a while, Papa. Work's been busy and crazy, but otherwise it's been pretty fun. It really all depends on the day and the position I get assigned to. Busser can be really bad when it's extremely hot and people can be rude and leave trash everywhere. I was condiment bar for one whole day and none of the ketchup or mustard pumps were working so that was really annoying trying to fix them. My favorite position is to be on the fry grills, because it's easy, no people interaction, and fun to do. Luckily our positions get changed sometimes as much as four times in an hour, so we're always doing something and there is not a boring moment. All the days go by so quickly. The only bad thing about it is that there are so many people working there. Everyday there are new faces and I can barely remember their names. Most are nice, but I've met a couple who don't like the college program kids because we take hours. I met an older woman from Hebron, and her sister opened the Great Harvest Bread Store in Vernon that we went to. She's really nice and says she'll visit Panera when she goes back. All the other college program kids are great, and we take turns carpooling and helping each other out. We sometimes get free cupcakes at the end of the night and hot chocolate, so it's fun. Some managers are ruder than others, so like I said work depends on the day. Today I went to Epcot and said hi to my roommate who was with Baymax. I rode Test Track four times and pretty much went on everything else except Mission Space. Club Cool where you try the sodas was closed, but it was opened last week so I'm not sure what happened there. I bought a cute orange bird mug and didn't buy any food in the parks today; just bought a granola bar until I got back to our apartment. Five of us made reservations to Beaches and Cream (?) the restaurant in March that has the Kitchen Sink sundae that we are all going to share. Tuesday we all made FastPasses for Toy Story Mania because we have that day off. Monday my classes start, so I'll make sure to write a blog about those classes. Sunday I have to take the bus to work because cast parking will be shut down for some reason. Maybe because they except a lot of people for Valentine's Day. But hopefully I can get a ride home with someone because buses are terrible. My roommate left two hours early for her shift today and was late to work still because the buses were unreliable. I have a Finance Test this week to take and a project, so I'll be busy during my nights here. I have to start signing up for summer classes too.

Disney College Program - Training Updates

Yesterday training went really well. We got to sample more of the menu, and our trainer even gave us a courtesy card which gets signed by the manager and put on our record saying we did really well and it enters us into a cast member raffle. Today we just walked around Hollywood Studios and were told everything about every location. We got to skip lines for all the rides, and go inside all the restaurants that weren't open yet. We got to see the Cast Member only store and saw Lights, Motors, Action too. It was really fun, and afterwards a couple of us that work together stayed at the park and went on the rest of the rides. We were going to stay for Fantasmic but I went home to finish my homework and listen to the lectures. My internship work should be sent to me tomorrow, so I'll be plenty busy. Sunday is my only day off so we're spending it in the Magic Kingdom. Nothing too exciting, but everything is going well.

Disney College Program - Training Day 1

Today was my first day of training. I got my costume yesterday and it's not too bad. You get 5 costumes at a time, so I have 5 pairs of black dress-ish pants (size 18 because Disney sizes are literally crazy), 5 shirts (size 2xs because once again the sizes are weird), 5 aprons (blue and red), 1 weird puffy hat, 1 belt, and 1 red rain jacket. Another girl and I met in Hollywood Studios, ready for our first day of training. However, at 10:15, no one had come to pick us up so we were freaking out and had to call and ask someone about where our trainer was. Apparently there was a mix up, but eventually this guy who's been at Studio Catering Co. for 8 years came to get us. We first went to do an online certification test to serve alcohol, so we got to walk at the back of the Tower of Terror, which was so cool. We got to see so much of the backstage, including an all cast member cafeteria with Subway and a cast member store. After that we went to our location, and I love it already. It's small and everyone is really friendly, and there's this older lady who's also from CT so we talked a lot. It reminded me of Panera, so I wasn't as nervous because it was something I was used to. However, our trainer basically through us right into the work, so I was really stressed. I was supposed to work counter, which means that I consolidate the food, drinks, and desserts and give them to the guests. It was so hard though because I didn't know where anything was, didn't know how to properly pour beer, and when the ticket said Star Wars cupcake I got confused because there was literally 3 different types of Star Wars cupcakes. It was a lot of learning all at once, and I even got to make salads and it was stressful, especially when the Lights, Motor, Action show ended and it was a big rush. I felt more comfortable afterwards, though, and the time went by fast. We took a break, and they let us sample the food (turkey panini and tomato soup!) so it was fun. By the time we came back, it was almost time to close which was so nice. I just have a lot of terms to learn about how to speak to the guests in 'Hollywood' speech, and need to memorize the ingredients in everything. Besides that, I'm fine. One girl who is on her second day wants to quit because she thinks she smells like food and doesn't want to do dishes. But everyone else is so nice, and there's about 8 college program kids so we all work well together. The hours work out so nicely too and walking behind all the rides and shows is the coolest thing ever.

Disney College Program- Traditions and Day 1 of Training

Last night was so busy and a late day so I didn't get to post anything. But I'll start back with Traditions yesterday. First of all, I love Disney. That's all this has told me. Traditions was at Disney University, this adorable little building behind the Magic Kingdom. We got to drive through the backstage of Magic Kingdom and we even got to see some Christmas decorations and even the huge tree that lines Main Street during the holidays. The University itself is so adorable and I wish I could go to school there everyday. The hallways have movie posters, new announcements, art of movies and rides, and there's characters that stick out from the ceiling tiles. Since we were a little early, our leaders did Disney trivia while we waited for the chance to win a special Traditions pin. At least my random facts helped me at this point in my life. This feels so much like where I belong. Mind you, I'm still mad at people who don't know this trivia, and even met a girl who said she only did this program because she wanted to take a semester off from school. But whatever. I knew all the trivia questions, so I earned my Traditions pin. I had to let other people answer, though, so I only answered one question, but it surprised me how many people didn't even know Walt's brother's name. I also won a little Mickey Mouse figurine after I answered another trivia question no one knew and I had already won the pin. The beginning of Traditions itself was pretty boring. It was all safety videos at first and legal information and whatnot. But we were getting paid to sit in a classroom that had Disney characters painted in this huge mural, so it was okay. We then watched some very tear-jerking Disney videos about why we all are there and why the company is amazing. We watched a special video on Walt Disney himself and heard from Bob Iger. Then we learned about guest service and what not, but the people running it were entertaining so it turned out to be really fun and we got to learn a lot about Disney. We all got our first pair of Mickey Mouse ears, as we are 'earning our ears' here at the College Program, then we got to do the coolest thing and actually go to the Magic Kingdom. We walked to the entrance of the Utilidors, and it was like taking the Keys to the Kingdom tour. We saw Peter Pan walking around, where cast members eat, and where to get to everywhere. It made me want to work at the Magic Kingdom. We walked from underneath Storybook Circus to Main Street, where we were just in time to see the parade. We then walked through Tomorrowland and back up to Storybook Circus where we went back to Disney University. It wasn't a long time spent in the parks, but it was so cool and amazing and magical and I just really love Disney. When we got back, they talked more about examples of guest service that we saw in the parks, then said we had a special guest. At this part, all of us probably almost cried as Mickey Mouse came into the room, hugging us all and the leader was talking to him about Walt Disney. Mickey Mouse then handed out our name tags, and it was literally the best moment in my entire life. After that, we took the bus back, and the whole time took about 6 hours. My roommates and I and another girl I had met at Traditions then decided to spend time in the Magic Kingdom, so we went right there. It was so cold yesterday but super quiet at the parks. I've never seen it so quiet. We waited about 20 minutes for Space Mountain and went on some other rides. Maggie and I then decided to go on Splash Mountain (only a 5 min wait in the 30 degree weather!) which was actually really fun, then went home, since we had to get up at 5 this morning.

This morning was our first training day but it was at Disney University. It was honestly so boring today as we just sat for 8 hours and watched how to properly lift boxes and handle chicken, etc., but there were some cute aspects to it. We got a lunch break so good thing I brought that lunchbox, and I ended up meeting 3 other people who are working at Studio Catering Co. with me. One guy even worked there before so he was telling us all about it, and one girl has the same training schedule as me. After it was over, we had to go get our shoes, and then I drove home. Thankfully I have my car because honestly one bus broke down already this morning, and the bus wouldn't have come for 45 minutes this afternoon. I have Monday and Tuesday off, but am working Wednesday-Friday and then Saturday off. I have 42 hours this week, so I'm raking in that money. My shifts are all 10-6:30, which is literally probably one of the best shifts of anyone since I have time to do homework and go to the gym afterwards. Tonight we're going to EPCOT for a little because one of our roommates hasn't been here before and we really want her to go on Test Track. Tomorrow it's my roommates birthday so we are spending the whole day in the parks! Tuesday I probably need to do homework and do laundry so maybe only half a day for the park. So amazing here.

Disney College Program - Housing

Today started off to be a boring day, but became very packed. I slept for about 12 hours last night, which made me feel better, then woke up and ate breakfast. I then waited until my housing meeting at 1 to walk over to Commons. The housing meeting was pretty fun. They asked more trivia and played Disney music and I wish that all colleges could be like that. They showed us different activities and events that go on, and next week there's a French night where we get French food and get to meet Beauty and the Beast characters. Literally my dream school event. It also just talked about basic rules about what not to have, room inspections, and safety. After the meeting I walked back, dropped my stuff back, and decided that I couldn't sit still for that long. I then took a walk around Patterson and saw where the laundry and everything was, and called Mamma for about 40 minutes while I walked around the apartment complexes. I told her how it was really cool to see people walking around with their costumes on. When I got back, Laura asked me and Margaret (Maggie, my roommate) to go to get Dole Whip at the Polynesian. I grabbed my tissues and decided to go, not missing out on the chance to get a Dole Whip. We took the bus there, ate our Dole Whips, which are literally heaven, and decided to just walk around. We then took the Monorail all the way around to see the Castle. Afterwards it was around 7, so we decided to just stay the hour to watch Wishes, the firework show, on the beach at the Polynesian. Lilo and Stitch was playing on an outside movie screen, so we sat down and watched in the 60 degree weather :D Brooke and Monica, who were sleeping when we left, joined us at the Polynesian and all of us together sat on the beach and watched the fireworks over the castle from across the lake, and it was pretty amazing. We have nothing planned for the next two nights, especially since we cancelled our reservation at Chef Mickey's because no one wanted to pay after they found out how much it was, so it will be pretty boring. Unless we do something, I probably won't write a blog about me watching the new Supernatural tomorrow.

Disney College Program - Casting

So today I had my casting for the DCP. I woke up early at around 8:30, and pretty much just ate breakfast and watched the Bachelor until everyone else woke up. I left to go to casting at around 12 to catch the bus that was supposed to come at 12:30. The bus ended up coming at 1:15, so that just shows how unreliable the buses here are. The whole process to casting was fun and I won some free Disney College Program pens and luggage tags because I was the only one to answer simple Disney trivia questions on the bus. Like honestly everyone here should know when Epcot opened. It is sad because I've heard a lot of people saying that they just applied randomly and weren't even sure if they were going to accept it, so I feel upset anytime someone says that. Casting was such a cute building. The doorknobs were from Alice in Wonderland, and the main entrance had gold statues of Disney characters surrounding it. Casting itself was pretty boring, getting fingerprinted, making sure your I-9 was right, and getting your training and Traditions schedule. My Traditions is Saturday at 1:30, so I have literally nothing to do Thursday or Friday, and tomorrow I just have a housing meeting. Sunday I have my first training from 7:30-4, so that will be a really long day. There's three days of training and most people know their times for all of it but my schedule just says will hear more information, so I only know my time and location for Sunday. Any time after Traditions, though, I can go to the parks. I already did my online work today because it was just taking notes and reading the chapter. After Casting I drove to Walmart to get q-tips and some medicine because I feel pretty bad today. My roommates now are gone to show one of them where all the Disney parks are located (?) and I'm eating leftover pizza, watching that new Netflix show about Steven Avery, and am in bed. I already fell asleep like twice. Tomorrow I'll try to sleep in because my housing meeting isn't until 1. Then I'm not sure what to do because I already did all my schoolwork. I really wanted to get to the gym this week but my head is pounding. Good thing I have hot tea with me, though. Makes me feel better and our apartment is really cold. Nothing else really excited happened today. Love you

Day 108

Almost close to the end! This morning I woke up early, grabbed breakfast for the first time this week, then headed to the British Library. I think I appreciated all the manuscripts a lot more, and there was even an exhibit on Alice and Wonderland that was specially going on during this time.  After that I went back to Richmond, and just had enough time to pack a little more before we had to meet for our walking tour. I missed both lunch and dinner, but we walked down to the Tube to get to Central London to meet our tour guide for a walk around Central London to see the Christmas Lights. It was pretty to see, but we had seen most of them already, but he told us a little bit about the history of them and why some decorations represented different things. It was really long though and total our trip was more than 4 hours. The coolest, coolest part of the night was that while we were walking around we ran into the Star Wars Premier. There was the red carpet, people dressed up, lightsabers everywhere, and I have a picture of Harrison Ford. Pretty awesome day. Afterwards we grabbed dinner at Tesco, the only place open at 10:30, and went back to campus. Tomorrow we are saying goodbye to Big Ben and central London.

Day 106

Saturday is coming really quickly. I slept in a lot today, after having stayed up to finally watch Pitch Perfect 2 and catch up on the Big Bang Theory. We all grabbed lunch together, then went to the Pound Store where I got some different kind of candy for Nat and Jonny to have. After we walking there since none of us wanted to use up our Oyster Cards, it was pretty much dinner time. They were serving 'tomato soup', so all of us got some, but soon realized it was literally tomato sauce. To put on pasta. Like from a jar. Anyways, after dinner we dressed up and met Hamakawa to walk to Richmond Theater to see Cinderella.  Now, he did not warn us at all that this was supposed to be a comedic version of Cinderella at all. The song "Celebration" started playing, and all of us knew this was going to be interesting. Some jokes were kind of funny, like mentioning the VW scandal, some we didn't understand because we're not from here, and some were just weird. They sang "Blurred Lines", an Ed Sheeran song, "Ghostbusters" and "Uptown Funk", and that's just some of the songs. Oh and they sang "All About that Bass". In Cinderella. It was really weird. I'm not sure if I liked it or hated it, to be honest. I liked the music, but I'm not sure I liked it for Cinderella. The interesting thing about the play though was that Hayley Mills was the fairy godmother and she was in Disney's The Parent Trap. It was really weird because I was just listening to a song from the Parent Trap on my phone yesterday at the gym and knew that name sounded familiar and then I found out why. The theater was nice and small, though, but no one missed on not seeing it. Ash definitely would have hated it.

Day 105

Well, I just got done taking my Accounting final. It was pretty hard, but I don't think I did terrible.  The rest of my grades for this semester are out, and I got a 4.0 GPA. Accounting only counts as a pass or fail class, so that grade doesn't count overall. Today I went to the gym, took a shower, ate lunch, then continued to clean the room.  All my pictures are off the walls and my shelves are bare. It's almost depressing. We studied again for Accounting, and finished our final reflection essay that we had to do for tomorrow. Finally, there is no more work to be done! Hamakawa planned a lot of things for us to do this week.  Tomorrow night we are seeing Cinderella, and tomorrow morning the five of us are going to see Big Ben for the last time and spend our time out. Wednesday we have a Christmas lights walking tour, Thursday a group reflection meeting, and Friday we are going to Hyde Park again. Five more days and I'll be home!

Day 104

This morning was pretty relaxed. I woke up at 10, took a shower, grabbed brunch with everyone at 11:30, then headed to the Victoria and Albert Museum. I still swear that we visited it before, but it was absolutely huge with six floors. A lot of it was pieces of furniture and dresses from Napoleon's time and Louis XIV, but there was also Renaissance and Medieval stuff and artifacts from Asia and Africa as well. After the museum I grabbed a hot apple cider at Starbucks for a guilty pleasure, then went back to Richmond. I made it just in time for dinner pretty much, then after dinner we studied kind of for accounting and started cleaning out our stuff. Professor Hamakawa got the five of us tickets to see Cinderella on Richmond Stage which is super awesome and I'm excited. He's also taking us to see Hyde Park at Christmas again, which will be nice.  Tomorrow is my final exam, but not until 6:30 at night so I think I'll just do wash and start packing or something tomorrow morning.

Day 103

Today was our trip to Cambridge.  It started off pretty rough in the morning. We woke up early, and walked to the tube station, but the next tube didn't leave for another 25 minutes for some reason, and we did not plan on that happening. We grabbed breakfast in the Tube station, got on the Tube, then got off near the Kensington Campus. We then followed some other girls but they walked in the other direction and we ended up running to catch the bus. The bus ride was about two hours, and we got to Cambridge at around 11:30. We then took a walking tour which was basically a college tour. It was just the outside of different colleges that make up Cambridge University. We then had about an hour before our next activity, so we grabbed Subway and we went shopping. We then went punting, which is the popular thing to do in Cambridge.  It's pretty much like taking a gondola ride except in a flatter and wider boat. It was for 45 minutes and it was super fun but really cold. After that we got back on the bus and it took so long to get back. We then grabbed dinner in Richmond and got back to our campus at 8. Tomorrow I think I'm going to the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Day 101-102

Sorry I forgot to post yesterday, I've been getting forgetful. Yesterday was a really good day, though.  It was our last Western New England class and we submitted our last homework. For lunch there was actual turkey to be put on sandwiches, and not just sliced turkey. After lunch I then noticed I had a package! This was the package Mom and Dad sent me in October and I just got now. I also got a camera charger which I ordered September 1, never got it, and Amazon resent it to me. So now I have 2 camera chargers. The Easy Mac was much needed, though, and I think the package came at the perfect time. Yesterday we didn't do much except walk into town and then walked by the River Thames. It's really getting to us that we are only here for about a week more. We then went back and celebrated our last class with a cake-brownie thing we split at Tesco. This morning we all went to Portobello Market because Dana was getting her friend something that she saw there earlier in the year. After that we ran into our teacher in town so we sat and talked with him and his wife. We saw them again at dinner and I really think he might think we're following him. Dinner seemed so good at first- pasta and chicken noodle soup. However, both were extremely spicy. They put jalapenos in the soup for some reason so literally all of us were dying and didn't end up eating anything because we were crying. After supper we started to unpack our backpacks and started studying for our Accounting final on Monday. Tomorrow Emelia and I have our day trip to Cambridge and we have to leave here at about 7:45 which will not be fun.

Day 100

It's officially Day 100! Today was the last homework we had for our WNE class, and it was mostly a review day for our Accounting final that's on Monday. We walked to town for the fun of it, and really didn't do much besides that. We just did homework and started studying for accounting. We had a meeting for our trip to Cambridge on Saturday. Tonight I'm staying up until 2 to watch the mid season finale of Supernatural because it is literally going to be the best.

Day 99

Today was a pretty fun day. I had eggs for breakfast, in case anyone was wondering or thought differently. During class I just finished the homework, but luckily there's only two more days left. So far I'm looking at a perfect GPA, so hopefully that holds true. After class the five of us decided to do some Christmas shopping at Camden Market and to get lunch there instead of those sandwiches since we didn't have Accounting. I got some souvenirs for Tam and Tien, and finally got my Cereal Killer Cafe meal. I got a bowl of cereal called Marshmallow Submarine which had a whole Twinkie at the bottom (hence submarine) and had a mixture of random cereals that I never heard of. I also got a hot chocolate that was literally the best thing I have ever eaten. It was the most beautiful work of art. So worth it. Anyways, we hung out there for a while, then made it back to Richmond. None of us really felt like eating supper, so we just finished homework and watched Christmas movies instead.

Day 98

Today was another boring day. We met our teacher's wife at breakfast, and she's adorable. She's this little Polish lady who loves to hug everyone and is so nice. Class was pretty boring though, and to be honest all of us were playing Words with Friends for the first half of the class when he just drones on. One girl in our group has missed 5 classes so far, so our teacher was upset about that when we only have 12 classes together. I got an A on my Accounting Quiz and this week we are just reviewing for the final on Monday. After class I did laundry and we all worked on our statistic homework until dinner.  After dinner we started studying for Accounting, and then pretty much did nothing but went to bed early since we all went to bed late yesterday.

Day 97

Today was a really lazy day. Dana and I went to the gym together this morning, then I took a shower and grabbed brunch with everyone. We then hunkered down and went to do all the homework we had to do. We have 5 page essay do the last week, and had two essays due tomorrow, so we got most of them out of the way. We then all sat and watched Christmas movies together for the rest of the day. Pretty unexciting day, but it was really fun and relaxed.

Day 96

Today was nothing else besides Harry Potter! I slept in to about ten, took a shower and waited for everyone else to wake up before heading down to brunch. After brunch we started on some school work, and then I left around 2:30 to find my way to Leavensden for the Harry Potter Tour. Emelia had gone there before but had taken a really complicated route that took her 3 hours. Luckily, I just took the Overground straight there with only one change, which took about an hour and a half. At the last stop, there was a bus for 2 pounds that would shuttle you to the Warner Brother Studios, and they played Harry Potter movies on the bus. It was pretty packed at the Studios because the sets and everything were all decorated for Christmas. You first watch this short film that's narrated by all the actors then they lead you through the actual Great Hall. The Studios was where the movies were actually filmed, so literally this place had everything. After the Great Hall it was a self-guided tour and took about 3 hours to see everything. There were demonstrations that showed how different effects were made and even had animatronics that moved from the films. But seriously, everything from the movies were there, costumes, wigs, masks, props, sets, the Hogwarts Express, etc. It was so amazing. The full sets for the Burrow, Gryffindor Common Room, Potions Room, Dumbledore's Office, Hagrid's Hut, and the Great Hall were all there. The coolest thing was a huge, huge scale model of Hogwarts that took up and entire room. Halfway through the tour there was a stop to get Butterbeer (which is only sold at 3 locations but Emelia and I can't figure out the 3rd one). After getting Butterbeer there was an outside section to see Number 4 Privet Drive, the Knight Bus, the Ford Anglia, and other outdoor props. It was seriously amazing. I even witnessed a proposal in the Great Hall. It was also really funny to listen to parents who were dragged by their kids pretend to know Harry Potter and getting all the information wrong. After the tour was over, I got a Hufflepuff long-sleeved shirt, and grabbed dinner to go at the cafe there since it was about 8:30. I had no trouble getting back, and I'm really glad I figured out a way to get there and actually went. Ashleigh should be jealous right now.

Day 95

Slept in this morning! I woke up at 9, which is sleeping in for here, took a shower then grabbed breakfast right before it closed at 10. I then caught up on Supernatural, where imaginary creatures were killing each other. I waited for Emelia to wake up, and then they grabbed lunch and we went out. Our first stop was back to Victoria's Secret because Dana and Emelia had free money to use there from the last time they went. After that we grabbed some good smoothies and headed to Sky Gardens. Mackenzie had gotten us reservations to this place, because it was free, and we went right in. Basically it's this huge skyscraper in the middle of central London with 35 floors. On the 35th floor is a garden with a restaurant and a balcony that people can visit and take pictures. We didn't spend a lot of time there, but we went at 4 so it was the perfect time to see the sunset and all the lights of London go on. We could see the London Eye, Tower Bridge, and pretty much everything else, which was really cool. We then unfortunately made it back to Richmond in time for dinner. My fingers are doing okay, still a little numb but I'm typing okay. Tomorrow is my trip to Harry Potter Studios!

Day 93-94

Well I'm finally back from Manchester!
On Wednesday, we got up at 7 to make a 10:00 train in Euston. We got breakfast at the train station, then slept for the two hours.  When we got to the train station, we then walked about ten minutes to our hotel. Mackenzie and I shared a hotel room, and the hotel room looked weirdly like a hospital, very basic and clean with no wallpaper or paint or any pictures. The shower also completely flooded the bathroom anytime you took a shower because the floor was completely flat so the water wasn't leading to the drain. After we dropped our stuff in the hotel, we took a bus to the company Kalibrate. Basically, the company is run by a WNE alumni. The company sells a program to gas stations that allows the gas stations to see how they should price their fuel. We got there and they served us lunch, but it was just quarter sandwiches that weren't really good and chips and tea. But they gave us little goodie bags with food and soda made in Manchester, so we ate those. We also got a zip drive and pens and keychains saying Kalibrate. We then sat for about 3-4 hours listening to presentations. The company itself is kind of interesting with exactly what they do so it wasn't as bad as it sounds.  The last presenter was the man who actually created the formula that makes the predictions so he tried to show all the math out but it was impossible for us to follow so that one was pretty hard to sit through. It was actually pretty fun though. We then were given some time to walk to the Christmas Markets before dinner.  However, it was raining so we didn't stay there that long. Instead, we just walked to the restaurant called the Dog Bowl where we had already placed our order for the 3 course meal beforehand. Meanwhile, a girl in our group somehow got lost, and the president of WNE and our teacher seemed not to care. The president less so than our teacher. Her friends also literally did not even try looking for her and instead just starting ordering beer at the restaurant, which was annoying. Our group was more concerned for her and looked for her even though we aren't even friends. Eventually we found her, but it was just rude how her actual friends just gave up on her.  Supper was pretty bad, though. I was looking forward to the 3 course meal, but all the food was super, super spicy, and the dessert was terrible, so we all felt bad because none of us ate it. Afterwards we went bowling at the restaurant because they had lanes in the back, and that was pretty fun. We split up into teams, and the president had left at this point but our teacher played with us. We each played two rounds, and I learned that without bumpers I am terrible. The first round I didn't even score a 50. Wow. After bowling we went back to the bus stop, but we waited for about 30 minutes until we realized the buses had stopped running. The hotel wasn't that far away, so we started leading the way after turning maps on, but then the teacher decided to not trust us and called taxis. He didn't call enough taxis for 15 people though, so of course all the guys jumped in, and Mackenzie, Dana, Tatianna, and I, in our heels, were the ones to walk back. When we got to the hotel we had to buy dinner there because we were starving after not eating anything pretty much all day.

This morning we skipped breakfast and headed straight back to Kalibrate. This time was pretty pointless there but we got tea and sat down for more lectures. These lectures went through a day in the life of their clients and how to use the technology, but the two men who presented basically said the same thing. We then took a group picture, and headed back to the Christmas Markets. We grabbed lunch at the markets, then walked to meet the man for our walking tour. None of us at this point really wanted to do the walking tour because we had all our backpacks but we had to. The tour was called Crime in Manchester, which sounded interesting, but it turned out to be just really nasty and gruesome, so I wasn't really a fan. We didn't get to see any architecture or historical places and just walked to different random places to stop and talk. We did see where John Dalton (?) lived who, if I got that name right, created the Atomic Theory. He then walked us back to the train station and we took the ride back. We got back to Richmond too late to eat dinner at school, so I bought a sandwich from Paul's, then had to stop at Tesco for medical tape. Somehow my fingers got slammed in the door yesterday, but I'm fine, so don't worry. Three of them hurt, two have cuts on them, and one is swollen, but my friends patched me up and yesterday the hotel gave me frozen rice to put on them. I can move them so they're not broken, so, like I said, I'm fine. Just needed to bandage them up to prevent them from hurting more. Love you all~~