Saturday - Today the international students (only if they wanted to) were taken to the State Capital building where we were given a guided tour. We were taken to the House of Representatives & The Senate, and also shown the place where Governor Huey Long was assassinated in 1935. It was both cool & eerie at the same time - especially as the bullets had made marks on the marble columns close by. It was really pretty inside - lots of statues and highly decorative ceilings.
Here is the building from a distance - it is the largest State Capital building in the United States which is a fun fact I learnt!
This is standing at the entrance of the building & looking upwards (obviously)
This is the House of Representatives....
and this is the Senate.
We were also driven to the Southern University which had a great view of the Mississippi River and is apparently the original site of the 'red stick' which gave Baton Rouge its name. Finally, by right of passage, we were taken to Wal-Mart where I discovered just how many cans of diet coke I could buy for so little... The International Cultural Centre provided us with lunch where I had my first taste of jambalaya which was really yummy, and a lot stodgier than I imagined it to be. I spent a rather enjoyable evening with friends and on returning to my room, I met two of the girls who live down the corridor who are here for the sorority rush (I asked them to explain what that was!) I also got asked adorable questions - like if I liked the Beatles and what the 'Royal Baby fever' was like at home.
Sunday - Alice, Charlotte & I attempted to go swimming only to find out that the pool opened at stupid times on a Sunday (evidently, early morning swims to wake you up are not a thing here). Afterwards, a group of us went food shopping as we are all fed up of having to eat out.
We may be fed up of eating out but that was no excuse to not try beignets! I felt like I was in The Princess & The Frog!
I also ended up buying a large photo frame to put my pictures in because they are all curling due to the air-con. I've also gone 3 days now without hot water - showering in the cold is not fun at all. You may think it would be nice considering the hot weather but it really, really isn't. I've already put in a complaint - looks like another is due (and here you see an English person living up to their moaning stereotype...)
Monday - After failing to be successful at swimming yesterday, today we succeeded! It was a nice sized pool, and it was relatively empty so I got my own lane! On the way back, I came across the world's smallest lizard which I feel like I had to blog about because that has never happened to me before!! You're welcome. The afternoon we went on a tour of half of the campus which took two hours - note to everyone, NEVER GO ON A CAMPUS TOUR ON THE HOTTEST DAY YOU'VE EVER EXPERIENCED.
We gave the drivers passing by a good show anyway.
I can't get this close to the real Mike VI, so there is this instead.
A view of campus lake -it's so pretty here.
I just want to share my love for the Barnes & Noble on campus - not only is it HUGE but it sells fiction books. Yes, this may be very bad for my bank balance, and my willpower to not buy books for the year, but they have deals I just can't resist.
For example, this was on sale and how could I resist?
The displays in the shop are unreal as well!
Tuesday - After attending yet another orientation; Alice, Charlotte & I decided to take a tour of the other half of campus (because we failed on our quest to use public transport to go to the mall as it is THAT unreliable) and actually visit Mike [it's only taken us a week!] He lives right around the corner from my accommodation so I'm not sure why I haven't visited sooner but I obviously will again. I've also discovered today that you get given two cookies in Subway. I can barely even eat one after the sandwich, but no, you get two.
View of the stadium - really want to watch some football games here!
THE CUTEST MASCOT EVER.
See, I couldn't resist it this time....
A nice picture for once!
Wednesday - Started the day with yet more swimming (I will be regular with exercise, I will!) before I went to a meeting about my 'informal international ambassador' role - it sounds like a lot of fun! This afternoon, I met up with my 'buddy' Sally [the person LSU paired me with] and her friend Gabby who took me to the mall. I had to buy a mattress protector to dull the sound of the WORLD'S LOUDEST MATTRESS that I currently have to sleep on but I bought a little something else too...
So I'm all 'when in Rome' even though I'm in Louisiana.
It's like I've ticked something off my life bucket list!!!
It's like I've ticked something off my life bucket list!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment