Thank You

Our last blog post we would like to dedicate as a Thank You letter for this opportunity. Our time in York, England has been an wonderful experience that we will remember for the rest of our lives. We feel blessed to have had a Hope education across the world and would like to thank Vicki for coming with us to teach. We would also like to thank all of the Hope Staff who made this semester possible. This study abroad experience has truly been a unique model and we hope students in the future will have the opportunity wherever the destination may be. 

Cheers,

Laurenn & Brian 

Interactive Map of Important Places to know!

This is a link to a map we created through Google Maps that points out all the important places to know while studying at York St John University. It is an interactive map that tells how far away places like the railway station and grocery stores are by foot.

Be sure to check it out:

York St John Student Map

York St John Student Interview

Map of York St John University

York St. John Helpful Links

Before coming to York, we used the York St. John website to familiarize ourselves with the procedures and gain useful information. I feel the website is very helpful! Here are some useful links:

Pre-Arrival Information
http://w3.yorksj.ac.uk/international/pre-arrival-information.aspx

They also have several 360 degree tours to see what the campus looks like!
Accommodations
http://w3.yorksj.ac.uk/about/campus--facilities/360s---accommodation.aspx

Click on the views of The Grange to get an idea of the bedrooms we stayed in. (Our kitchens were much smaller though)

Campus and Facilities
http://w3.yorksj.ac.uk/about/campus--facilities/360s---campus.aspx

Take the following tours to see where we have spent our time this semester!
-De Grey Court reception is where we meet every week before departing to a nearby cafe for class
-Holgate reception for any questions we had- we spent a lot of time their during our first week on campus
-Views of the Holgate building, Front of the Quad and inside the Quad are some of our favorite views on campus
-Our Travel and Tourism Marketing course was in the Skell teaching block

25 Iconic Images of York

These are the images we feel represent our image of York.

Yorkshire Roses

Walking the Wall

St. Mary Benedictine Abbey

River Ouse

White Rose of Yorkshire

Bile Beans Sign

Shambles

The Heart of York

Cafés of York

Throughout our time in York over the semester we have become quite familiar with the local cafés. We visit them weekly to host our classes with Vicki. Some of our favorites include:

Ambience Tea Garden

Fentiman's Ginger Beer at 68 Gillygate 

Me & Mrs. Fisher

York Walking Tour

On Saturday morning I (Laurenn) took the walking tour around York. It was a cold day but the skies were finally clear. The free York walking tours are led by the volunteer guides. They are mostly all retired and have a great passion for the history of York. They meet daily in front of the Art Gallery at 10:15am and again at 1:15pm Friday, Saturday & Sunday. My guide's name was Eileen and she took us by the Wall, through the Museum Garden's, to the King's Manor, through Dean's Park (by the Minster), and through the shambles. Although many know York to be founded by the Romans in 71 A.D, they have found that there were settlers here before dating back to around 40 A.D. I was shocked! The walking tours are a great way to immerse yourself in the rich history York has to offer.

Layers of the Roman and Medieval Wall

View over Museum Gardens to River Ouse

King's Manor

Dean's Park

St. Mary Benedictine Abbey

Whitby

The first weekend trip that YSJ put on was to Whitby. It was a great place to take our first trip and although we headed North from York to get there, we lucked out with the weather being surprisingly warm for being on the sea. YSJ provided a few shuttle buses for our transportation and allowed us the day to walk around and explore the adorable seaside town. We walked through the town, took a boat tour, and tried our first meal of fish, chips and mushy peas (a traditional English side). 

Ray, Laurenn, Brian

view over Whitby

Fish, Chips & Mushy Peas

Museum Gardens

When one is tired of the hustle of bustle of walking through the city center, Museum Gardens are a nice break. The Musuem Gardens are right next to the National Railway Museum, close to the River Ouse, and on the way to the train station. While the weather is still nice the Gardens are a lovely park to take a stroll through. With ten acres of land, the gardens look beautiful in September while the roses and botanical plants are still in bloom and transition nicely into November with the color changes. 

To see more on the gardens visit the following link:

http://www.yorkshiremuseum.org.uk/assets/gardens/ymt_garden%20leaflet_2011.pdf

Ruins of St. Mary's Abbey

Global Tea

Global tea is an event which is put on by YSJ's (York St. John) Global Friends group. This group was created by the International Office in the uni as a chance for international students to integrate. Global tea is held in the international sitting room twice a month on a Wednesday afternoon. This week was the first tea we've attended but we were glad we made it to one before the semester ended. The theme was Christmas so we all went around and shared the ways in which we celebrate (or don't celebrate) the holiday. Students from Sweden, France, Kenya, China, Japan, Pakistan, Norway, USA, and England attended. It is a great way to get to know other international students from countries all around the world. We had a wonderful time and wish we would have gone earlier in the semester!

Walk to York St John with us!

Here is a video of our walk into York St. John University from the Grange where we live. 

It is about a 8-10 minute walk normally (the video is sped up). Enjoy.

York Minster

York Minster Abbey is one of York's most famous attractions. It is a beautiful Gothic Cathedral that holds plenty of history. The building of the Minster dates back to 1230 and was finally completed in 1472. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/York_Minster

Once you witness its grandeur for yourself you can certainly understand why it took over 200 years to complete. Apart from the size, the design is quite elaborate and there is an extreme attention to detail. Fortunately York St. John Students are able to get into the Minster free of charge. The uni (abbreviated term for University) also held a free tour during welcome week. 

We have attended two evensong services which were amazing experiences. Evensong is a traditional choral worship service of a collection of hymns and readings. The service makes you feel you've gone back in time and the organ notes rumble the seats.

London

Our second Hope organized trip was to London. For our accommodation we stayed in the Celtic Hotel which the May Term stays in every year. We enjoyed our stay there and were thankful for the large breakfast which was included. We were able to spend two days in London but if possible we would have stayed longer. The city is full of things to see and do. We all split up took our own routes for half of the time. Saturday evening the entire group went to the oldest pub in the city called Ye Olde Chesire Cheese. On Sunday afternoon we all met up again to attend the evensong service inside Westminster Abbey. Some of the main attractions we visited were:

-Big Ben & Parliament

-Westminster Abbey

-Trafalgar Square

London is the city with the largest amount of green space in the world

-Green Park

-James Park

-Hyde Park

-Covent Gardens

-Harrod's

-Regent Street & Oxford Street (Shopping)

-Marble Arch

-National Gallery

-River tour

-Buckingham Palace

-Piccadilly Circus

-Tower of London

Overall we loved London and see the May Term has been such as success. 

Trafalgar Square

River Thames

Green Park

Westminster Abbey

Harrod's