karaoke and Chatsworth House

I didn't realise how much I would come to enjoy yesterday's club night. It started with two hours of karaoke, and okay, I did think it would be fairly entertaining to follow, but I had no idea how much fun it would be. People were such good performers, and for the first time, I properly felt like we international students were all a big happy family.

I didn't sing, but it was such a lot of fun to see and hear people do familiar songs that got everyone in a good mood. Afterwards, we moved to another room for clubbing (all of these places were inside the Students' Union!) and stayed for another couple of hours. Three buses had been specially ordered for the students back from the Union so no one would have to walk alone in the dark. The University of Sheffield is very particular about students' safety, which is good. There's even a "Women's Minibus" scheme, which basically means that female students can take a special bus back from the city centre several times per night to avoid being harassed or something in the streets at night.

Today, we visited the Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, only 20 minutes away from Sheffield! It was absolutely gorgeous, and I was pretty much as giddy about wandering in the house grounds pretending I was Georgiana Cavendish (well, not really) as people were about the first club night.

Isn't it pretty!? Most people went inside the house (can we say castle?) first, but my friends and I did the garden/grounds first, which was good because it was much quieter that way.

The house was used as Pemberley in the Pride & Prejudice film. I shouldn't be too excited about that, because everyone knows the 1995 miniseries is much better, but still.

I really enjoyed the visit. The house was really beautiful and interesting inside as well, but I liked the outside even more. I think I might visit the place again at some point, especially because there's a huge maze in the grounds that you can go into, but it was closed when we got there today!

Tomorrow is the last day of Orientation Week, which is a bit sad because then I will move away from all the people I've got to know. However, there'll be a fancy formal dinner that I'm looking forward to, and anyway, I'll be able to see these people even afterwards!

Tänään käytiin Chatsworth Housessa, jossa on kuvattu mm. Ylpeyttä ja ennakkoluuloa sekä Herttuatar-elokuvaa. Keira Knightley on siis visiteerannut useampaankin otteeseen. Harmi sinänsä, mutta paikka itse oli upea. ;) Eilen oli karaokea ja ensimmäinen yhteinen club night, jota monet odottivat innolla, ja josta minäkin nautin paljon enemmän kuin olisin osannut kuvitella! Oli tosi hauskaa, varsinkin karaokea seuratessa. Huomenna orientaatioviikko loppuu illalliseen, jonne pitää pukeutua siististi.