Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving, the university arranged a feast for the American & International students. The feast was held at Merchant Adventurers Hall which was built in the 14th century. 

The entire Hope crew, including John (Vicki's husband) joined in on the fun. To start the night we were served traditional English drinks such as mulled cider, wine and apple juice. 

For the feast we went upstairs to the banquet hall which was quite enchanting. Our dinner was delicious, and despite the lack of turkey, we ended the meal too full for our own comfort. We were all very thankful for this opportunity and that we had each other to spend the holiday with.

Check out this short clip to see where the feast was held!

Time & Weather

York is located in the Northeastern part of England. 

 England is in the GMT zone which stands for Greenwich Mean Time. Greenwich, England is located on the Prime Meridian. All time zones are relative to GMT, for example Holland, MI is a part of the Eastern Time zone which is GMT-5 hours. Living in England for the past couple of months we have had to adjust to the time difference, initially with our sleeping schedules, but also when considering when we will contact out family and friends back home. 

http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/info/timezone.htm

Although York is significantly North of Holland, MI the climate during this time of year is more mild than Michigan due to England's temperate climate. Over the last few weeks the temperature here has been in the 50's (speaking in Fahrenheit). It does not snow every winter and when it does, we are told that everything shuts down because the cities are unprepared for these "extreme" conditions. Quite a contrast to Michigan! We've been enjoying the nice fall weather and hoping that it will stay for the next few weeks.

Edinburgh

Our trip to Edinburgh, Scotland was one of the Hope sponsored trips that we went on with Vicki TenHaken. Edinburgh is a very beautiful city rich with great Scottish culture that lies right on the coast of the north sea. There are so many different things to do there from hiking up Arthur's seat, checking out really old buildings and castles, to eating delicious food at local restaurants. These pictures give only a small idea at how beautiful this city really is. 

Lake District

Throughout the semester, YSJ (York St. John) organizes several trips and events for students to sign up for. Luckily for us, Lake District National Park was one of the weekend trips. It cost £15 to cover our bus ticket and it was a two and a half hour ride. We took a three hour hike through around one of the lakes up the sides of a couple mountains. As you can see from the pictures below the entire hike gave only a glimpse of how beautiful this country is. Lake District thus far has been one of our favorite trips this semester and we highly recommend it! 

 Here is a link if you would like to  see more: http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/

City of York

York is a nice sized city, not too small but not too big and the people are extremely friendly.York St. John University is located just north of the city just outside the ancient roman walls.


York is a beautiful historic city which has a lot to offer. 

To see more on what York has to offer check out this link: http://www.visityork.org/ 

The city is a tourist destination for travelers coming from all over the world.
There are many things to see and do, along with wonderful restaurants and stores. 

(It was recently voted in the top best cities for food in the UK)

 http://travel.aol.co.uk/2011/10/04/york-beats-london-to-be-crowned-uks-best-food-and-wine-destination
We have indulged in many cafes and restaurants around the city and have experienced the shopping district. We highly recommend both!

We feel it is the perfect city in England to live near
and only a short walk to the city center from our accommodation.

River Ouse in York

York Minster