Goodbye USA, hello UK.
Let’s start at the beginning, Chicago O’Hair International ORD was our group flight. We all sat together in chairs and on the floor as we got to know each other, many new friends were made before even leaving the country.
We are one of the smallest classes to be at Harlaxton, only consisting of about 50 students. There are people from UE, George Washington, Des Moines, Indiana, Florida, and even more. Due to this the carriage house is not open to anyone, however that is no to say you can’t walk over to the house and peak through the holes in the doors.
There are four houses at Harlaxton that imitate Harry Potter. These are Pegasus (Gryffindor), Gregory (Slytherin), Newton (Ravenclaw), and Mercia (Hufflepuff). I am a Gryffindor at Hogwarts but a Mercia at Harlaxton. We have had two house competitions so far, the first was volleyball where Pegasus won and the second was basketball where Mercia dunked on the competition. The next competition is on Monday 9th as a quiz show. We had a great dinner full of Irish music, gorgeous food, fancy dress, and a procession that lead into the Long Hall for us to find out houses by our table settings. You would have a menu in the house color as well as the napkin and drink. The drinks were offsetting at first as they bubbled and were colored. Mercia had sparkling lemonade, Pegasus had a blue raspberry sweet drink, Gregory had a cranberry juice, and Newton a Dr. Pepper. We are still unsure about Pegasus and Newton.
The best places to take photos at Harlaxton Manor:
Upcoming School Trips Include:
Independant Trips Students Planned:
As you explore the manor you will find those secret spots to relax and study or those little corners that give you peace of mind. Such areas could include secret doors and passageways in room that you discover as exploring, going though the stone corridors aka “peasant corridors” for fast travel and avoid people, the conservatory with breakaway paths, and even little couches and chairs placed throughout the manor in halls. As I’ve explored the manor my favorite secret spots are in the stone corridors by the cider staircase. It. has plants, cozy couch spots, and somewhere most people avoid making a quiet reserved spot for music and work. The other is in the conservatory in the second breakaway with all the flowers and where it looks out upon the side yard. A surprisingly peaceful spot to cool off is the Sports Hall, it has three spots for workouts, downn the hall ground floor is the weight room where you’ll find Arjun and Gabe there many times a day every week. Next, is right at the enterance is the sports floor where you can do games such as basketball, volleyball, soccer, pickleball, etc. Then there is upstairs where you’ll find the cardio, yoga, table tennis, and workout guides. This building is peaceful, especially late at night or early in the morning where no one else is there to impose on your “gains”.
The first night the majority arrived at the manor we were all very social. Everyone would talk to one another and figure out who were their mains and who were going to be someone to talk to if alone. It took only a couple days for this separation is become finalized. Not to say everyone does not interact with one another but we all have our groups for hang outs and going out. Before we had these divides a big group of us went on quite the walk on the first day. We did the 2 mile walk from the manor to Harlaxton Village, saw Gregory Arms, the local store, a telephone booth, and many quaint houses. After we were done walking around the village we made our way back to the manor where we ventured into the woods, we were reassured earlier that day there were no dangers in the woods. We walked for about 1-2 hours during sunset on the trails and ended up on a farm going uphill in pitch black, half went up the hill while the rest oof us waited by the woods as to not impose on the farmers land (but the real reason was we were exhausted and needed to catch our breath).
Must Haves to Pack:
Don’t Overpack! You Can Buy These in Grantham during the first week:
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