Just a quick update, I thought I would add a couple of videos which I took with my mobile earlier. I was walking back to the appartment and overheard the UT Band (Pride of Southland Band) practice. The band itself consists of 300 members who all go to the University. It was really impressive, and it adds to my already overblown excitement for the first UT home match of the College Football Season which is on Saturday week.
I will post my next update later on in the week because Thursday is a really busy day for myself with regards to classes.
Hopefully I will have a few more tales to tell!
Nial
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Student Life...
It's 11.45am, 36 degrees outside and I am currently sitting in Starbucks in the University Library pictured above. It's a tough life but someone has got to do it! Excuse the Marquee in the middle of the picture but I was walking towards it earlier and thought a snap with the phone was in order.
So over the past couple of days I have been upto quite a bit, between sorting out classes, watching 'Jaws' in the pool and going to a new Church it has been quite eventful! Unfortunately not as many pictures has been taken since Friday just the odd few and I will upload them in due course.
On Saturday I woke up at 7.15am to watch the Rangers match online. Being in America for a year means I have to adapt to a few new things, not being able to see Rangers play is one of them. But where there is a will, there is a way, and through modern technology and Chinese television I can watch Rangers, although it may be during absurd hours during the day. With a 2-1 victory and staying top of league it set me up for another pleasant day ahead.
After the match I made my way downstairs to do my washing and drying another new task to myself which I am slowly adapting to! haha, Whilst my clothes were in the machines I watched the Arsenal match online also, a great thing about the University is that everywhere is wireless so you can use the internet anywhere on campus for free. So doing the washing isn't as boring and repititive as it sounds. After my washing was completed and tidied away I made my way over to the cafeteria for some 'Brunch'. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am not a breakfast person and it is a task in itself to eat breakfast early in the morning although if someone was to offer me an 'Ulster Fry' over here I would bite there arm off! haha
After 'brunch' I made my way to the West Town mall, it's a great shopping centre and would put any centre back home to shame by it's cleanliness and customer service, check it out at http://www.simon.com/mall/default.aspx?ID=202
I had to buy a few things so by going to the mall for Saturday afternoon enabled me to buy the items and also enabled me to relax as well. I finished my time in the mall off with my Korean roomate 'Kevin', we went to 'Ruby Tuesday' an American Steak House, it was great! A 12oz Steak for about £6 plus all the free re-fills you wanted topped off a good visit to the mall.
After a short bus ride back to campus I got changed and made my way down to the pool as an event was planned were the students could go into the pool and watch a movie. A giant Cinema screen was built beside the pool and the film 'Jaws' was shown from 9.oopm. It was a good way to meet new people and eat free food. Also it was under a full moon so it was quite picturesque as well! (see picture above.)
After the pool movie I made my way upto my room were I watched some episodes of the TV drama 'Heroes' it really is a great show and by watching all the episodes online and free of charge makes it even more enjoyable. After watching two episodes it was time to enter the land of nod.
On Sunday I had arranged to meet a friend called Karen whom I met on Thursday night, she was giving me a lift to Church at 9.00am. The Church I decided to go to is called Central Barptist Church of Bearden, it seemed the most welcoming out of all the available churches I could of decided to have went to. It is a really big church with a big congregation. And the Church Orchestra alone has over 50 members. It is not the stereotypical American church with 100 people dancing and shouting around the Pulpit (something I want to see before I leave) it is quite reserved and the only way I could describe it would be like my own Church in back in Balymena with the same sort of music and readings also. The rest of Sunday consisted of me maxing and relaxing, reading and going on the net.
Monday came and my first full week of classes started. Another extremely warm day was spent studying and meeting some more of my new classmates. All in all another good day at UT.
I will now upload some pictures I have taken with my phone, I have just bluetoothed them onto the PC so some may have been taken in my first few weeks here.
This is a view of the New York Skyline from Newark International Airport.
Whilst I was waiting for my bags at the Knoxville Airport I received my first Welcome!
It's not exactly Ibrox although going to Football matches is still high in my priorties over here, even more so when it is the University Womans Soccer team!
It was the opening of the new 'Soccer Stadium' on Campus, a Stadium which seats over 6,000 people. Ironically the woman sitting behind me in the maroon top was shouting at the players for being lazy.........The picture says it all.
On my second Sunday here the Internationl House arranged a trip to the Museum of Appalachia, it's basically a museum which shows how people lived from days of olde'. I found it interesting as you could relate the Appalacian People's lifestyle to that of Ulster Scots, and many reports have been published highlighting the similarities. It was interesting to note how the farming lifestyles were so similar. Pictures -
John Deere's are especially popular over here, ye olde Massey's just ain't got the market over here! haha!
Montgomerys eat your heart out!
Museum of Appalacia.
Back in the day.
And finally, cementing my love for shopping and that of Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister.Until another time,
Nial
Friday, August 24, 2007
Me and Mr. Neyland
So today I had a lazy day, I woke up around 12.30! I didn't enter bed last night until around 12.30 as I was at an event in the Neyland Stadium, so a twelve hour sleep went down a treat. I think the heat really takes it out of you over here especially whilst the states of Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama have officially been announced drought States. The weather is still over 100°F which is roughly 38°C and it feels every bit of it, I can assure you. So once I awoke today I done all the usual things and then made my way over to the cafeteria for some 'Brunch.' Once the the stomach was filled I started taking some pictures and that was basically what I did for the rest of the day, well until 5 o'clock anyway!
So I will add some pictures and describe them also (to make the pictures bigger click on them) -
This is the view from my appartments. This complex is called 'T-Recs' Tennessee Recreational Sports Complex. To put things bluntly, it is unbelievable, the facilities are second to none and they are for student use only.
This is my apparment complex called 'Andy Holt Appartments' it is in a great area and close to nearby University grocery stores as well as the important cafeterias. It looks directly over all the student sports facilities.
This is the all weather Soccer, Hockey, Ultimate (Frisbee), Lacrosse, Rugby, American Football pitch, a lot of events takes place here each day and all students have use of the facilites on offer free of charge.
This is the Gym, a picture taken from inside the 'T-Rec' building. This picture shows only 1/4 of the size of the gym, the reason being you are not allowed to take a camera into the gym section. The picture shows all the running machines etc. etc. although based around the machines are weights, rooms for private training, yoga facilities and all that you would expect from a top class gym.
This picture shows my appartments in the background as well as the outdoor swimming pool and behind it, the indoor swimming pool.
This is also still inside the 'T-Recs' complex just across from the Gym. These facilites are used mainly for Basketball and netball. You may all be wondering where all the tennis facilites are?! I didn't have time to take pictures of them as there are so many, they include two seperate indoor facilites and one outdoor tennis facility, I will post them another day.
This is the indoor running track, as the T-Recs is shaped in an oval they have used this space so people can run around it in the warm weather.
This is the Indoor Golf Facility, you can choose to play over 50 different Courses and free rental of the clubs is also provided.
This is the indoor swimming facility, it consists of an olympic sized swimming pool and diving facilites. All top notch and in great condition.
Again the swimming pool, it is hard to put into words how UT takes each sport they participate in so seriously.
The diving facilites in the indoor pool.
Again the T-Recs building, it really is a great builidng and of course having woman out sun-bathing also adds to the picture.
Moving on from our very brief tour of the Sporting Facilities on offer to the students you have now arrived at the first building constructed at the University just over 200 years ago, obviously it has been updated since.
It is known as the hill, and inside it classes still are taught although none of mine take place there as I am part of the Communications School.
This is the American Flag which is very much flown here in the South of America. As it is a Republican State (Bush) people take great pride in their nationality. The picture also shows the Neyland Stadium in the background......yeah it's pretty big!
So whilst walking over to the Neyland Stadium from The Hill, I saw part of it sticking out through some trees, I thought it looked pretty cool so I snapped it! In the picture is the Executive Box, where supporters pay $50,000 a season to enter, and another stipulation is to sponsor one of the players. Yeah I was in it last night, pictures to follow....
So I blagged my way into the actual stadium, I don't have a clue how I done it but I guess the accent helps a lot round here, Haha! The security man at the gate was a nice guy and getting past him by saying I'm from 'Northern Ireland' done the trick so half an hour inside the Neyland provided just over 50 pictures!! Made my day although I was absolutely roasted inside it!
Everything in America is Big, thats why it is so hard to describe the size of this Stadium.......It's BIG! 107,000 people will be in this Stadium on September 8th, all seats sold out already! I think they like American Football in this part of town.
Neyland Stadium.
Press Box and more Executive Boxes.
Tennessee Volunteers is what the American Football team is known as, although more commonly known as the 'VOLS.' Everyday you hear at least once the chant 'GO VOLS' I cannot imagine what it will be like on match day.
The Scoreboard.
The Pitch.
Corporate Box overlooking river.
The River which runs in line with the University. I'm told on match days a lot of people arrive via boat as parking is obvioulsy a little difficult.
The Neyland Stadium.
The University has still got old elements to it, although inside all it's buildings are modern appliances, with wireless available free all around the campus.
The Neyland from a different angle.
One of the many bridges connecting the campus and giving the students better access to classes.
The International House. A great building to meet and greet students from all over the world, also a place to encourage American Students to study abroad in the Country where you are from. Halls, Computer Rooms, T.V. rooms and a Library is found in this one of a kind building. Again showing how the University funds all it's ventures with the highest of standards.
So I heard about an event called 'Night at the Neyland' it was an event organised by First Baptist Knoxville and the Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) which took place on Thursday night. Basically what it was, was an evening organised to meet new students who were interested not only in American Football but the ministry as well. Altogether roughly 300 people attended in the Club Level of the Neyland Stadium. This is the place to be on Match Day where the big boys go to flash there cash, and then there was me prancing about trying to eat as many free chicken wings and cookies as possible! Haha, But I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and I met some really great people who I hope to keep in contact with during my time here.
So here is the pics -
The club level seats overlooking the pitch.
Interior Design of the club level.
It was too heavy to throw, believe me I tried!
The famous 'T' which is the logo for not only the University but their American Football team. Everbody walks about here with some sort of 'T' on them, it's all over the cars, windows and buildings, you cannot go anywhere without seeing a 'T'.
More seats and decor, it was interesting seeing the history of past players and teams being represented in this room.
The view of Knoxville from the Club Room, this was taken before the night started.
The bridge I tried to pictue earlier, a lot clearer from this sort of height.
The stadium during sun down, this was around 9.15PM.
Once people started arriving it didn't take long until the Club Room was almost full.
The bridge in darkness, a little harder to make out but the view was just as good.
The Neyland Stadium at night, my first encounter of the Stadium and I was very impressed.
The press boxes and more Club Rooms on the opposite side, it's hard to imagine the place with fans inside but it's a dream that I cannot wait to be turned into reality.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures I have uploaded, to let you know the size of this University the pictures I have uploaded this evening only show 1/20th of it, and I am not exaggerating at all. So there will be a few picture updates over the next few weeks.
Laters,
Nial
So I will add some pictures and describe them also (to make the pictures bigger click on them) -
This is the view from my appartments. This complex is called 'T-Recs' Tennessee Recreational Sports Complex. To put things bluntly, it is unbelievable, the facilities are second to none and they are for student use only.This is my apparment complex called 'Andy Holt Appartments' it is in a great area and close to nearby University grocery stores as well as the important cafeterias. It looks directly over all the student sports facilities.
This is the all weather Soccer, Hockey, Ultimate (Frisbee), Lacrosse, Rugby, American Football pitch, a lot of events takes place here each day and all students have use of the facilites on offer free of charge.
This is the Gym, a picture taken from inside the 'T-Rec' building. This picture shows only 1/4 of the size of the gym, the reason being you are not allowed to take a camera into the gym section. The picture shows all the running machines etc. etc. although based around the machines are weights, rooms for private training, yoga facilities and all that you would expect from a top class gym.
This picture shows my appartments in the background as well as the outdoor swimming pool and behind it, the indoor swimming pool.
This is also still inside the 'T-Recs' complex just across from the Gym. These facilites are used mainly for Basketball and netball. You may all be wondering where all the tennis facilites are?! I didn't have time to take pictures of them as there are so many, they include two seperate indoor facilites and one outdoor tennis facility, I will post them another day.
This is the indoor running track, as the T-Recs is shaped in an oval they have used this space so people can run around it in the warm weather.
This is the Indoor Golf Facility, you can choose to play over 50 different Courses and free rental of the clubs is also provided.
This is the indoor swimming facility, it consists of an olympic sized swimming pool and diving facilites. All top notch and in great condition.
Again the swimming pool, it is hard to put into words how UT takes each sport they participate in so seriously.
The diving facilites in the indoor pool.
Again the T-Recs building, it really is a great builidng and of course having woman out sun-bathing also adds to the picture.
Moving on from our very brief tour of the Sporting Facilities on offer to the students you have now arrived at the first building constructed at the University just over 200 years ago, obviously it has been updated since.
It is known as the hill, and inside it classes still are taught although none of mine take place there as I am part of the Communications School.
This is the American Flag which is very much flown here in the South of America. As it is a Republican State (Bush) people take great pride in their nationality. The picture also shows the Neyland Stadium in the background......yeah it's pretty big!
So whilst walking over to the Neyland Stadium from The Hill, I saw part of it sticking out through some trees, I thought it looked pretty cool so I snapped it! In the picture is the Executive Box, where supporters pay $50,000 a season to enter, and another stipulation is to sponsor one of the players. Yeah I was in it last night, pictures to follow....
So I blagged my way into the actual stadium, I don't have a clue how I done it but I guess the accent helps a lot round here, Haha! The security man at the gate was a nice guy and getting past him by saying I'm from 'Northern Ireland' done the trick so half an hour inside the Neyland provided just over 50 pictures!! Made my day although I was absolutely roasted inside it!
Everything in America is Big, thats why it is so hard to describe the size of this Stadium.......It's BIG! 107,000 people will be in this Stadium on September 8th, all seats sold out already! I think they like American Football in this part of town.
Neyland Stadium.
Press Box and more Executive Boxes.
Tennessee Volunteers is what the American Football team is known as, although more commonly known as the 'VOLS.' Everyday you hear at least once the chant 'GO VOLS' I cannot imagine what it will be like on match day.
The Scoreboard.
The Pitch.
Corporate Box overlooking river.
The River which runs in line with the University. I'm told on match days a lot of people arrive via boat as parking is obvioulsy a little difficult.
The Neyland Stadium.
The University has still got old elements to it, although inside all it's buildings are modern appliances, with wireless available free all around the campus.
The Neyland from a different angle.
One of the many bridges connecting the campus and giving the students better access to classes.
The International House. A great building to meet and greet students from all over the world, also a place to encourage American Students to study abroad in the Country where you are from. Halls, Computer Rooms, T.V. rooms and a Library is found in this one of a kind building. Again showing how the University funds all it's ventures with the highest of standards.So I heard about an event called 'Night at the Neyland' it was an event organised by First Baptist Knoxville and the Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) which took place on Thursday night. Basically what it was, was an evening organised to meet new students who were interested not only in American Football but the ministry as well. Altogether roughly 300 people attended in the Club Level of the Neyland Stadium. This is the place to be on Match Day where the big boys go to flash there cash, and then there was me prancing about trying to eat as many free chicken wings and cookies as possible! Haha, But I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and I met some really great people who I hope to keep in contact with during my time here.
So here is the pics -
The club level seats overlooking the pitch.
Interior Design of the club level.
It was too heavy to throw, believe me I tried!
The famous 'T' which is the logo for not only the University but their American Football team. Everbody walks about here with some sort of 'T' on them, it's all over the cars, windows and buildings, you cannot go anywhere without seeing a 'T'.
More seats and decor, it was interesting seeing the history of past players and teams being represented in this room.
The view of Knoxville from the Club Room, this was taken before the night started.
The bridge I tried to pictue earlier, a lot clearer from this sort of height.
The stadium during sun down, this was around 9.15PM.
Once people started arriving it didn't take long until the Club Room was almost full.
The bridge in darkness, a little harder to make out but the view was just as good.
The Neyland Stadium at night, my first encounter of the Stadium and I was very impressed.
The press boxes and more Club Rooms on the opposite side, it's hard to imagine the place with fans inside but it's a dream that I cannot wait to be turned into reality.I hope you enjoyed the pictures I have uploaded, to let you know the size of this University the pictures I have uploaded this evening only show 1/20th of it, and I am not exaggerating at all. So there will be a few picture updates over the next few weeks.
Laters,
Nial
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