Last Adventures in Cheltenham

Dec 7-Mon
Monday I had to be up early to go meet my teacher for my Prose class to discuss my mock assessment. We also arranged for me to e-mail him my final paper by Dec 17th and he would hand it in for me. So after that happy news I came back to the halls and had some lunch then went online for a little while. Then I watched some Merlin online and waited for dinner. Then Kelsey, Dani and I went to McDonalds for dinner since we all had no food and little money. It wasn’t as bad as last time, so that’s good. After that it was time for our last BCA meeting so we went to FCH for that. There we found out all about going home and such and it was very sad! :(. We then came back to Regency and played drinking games to The Office and The Inbetweeners. That got me a little drunk since I was drinking Kelsey’s cider and we all got a bit tipsy. I wasn’t going to go out but after all of that cider I decided to go to The Place with Hannah and Kelsey and a bunch of others. When we got back we found out Ryan was sick off alcohol, so me, Hannah, Kelsey, and Greg sat with him and nursed him through it since he begged us to stay and we wanted to make sure he was ok. Went to bed around 4 am.
End Day 87

Dec 8-Tues
Tuesday I woke up with a headache and feeling gross from the night before. So I took a shower and felt so much better. Then I sat around waiting to be called to go grocery shopping but no one called me so I started packing :( the stuff that I wouldn’t need in 4 days and clothes I’d worn so I wouldn’t have to do all of it later. Then I got scared everything wouldn’t fit. But I will make it fit! Then I finished watching the Merlin episode I didn’t finish the day before and went to go eat dinner. I had my last easymac in Dani’s kitchen and then we watched Glee in her room. Then we checked on Kelsey who was with Ryan who was still sick, and sicking up blood apparently. Uh oh. But he got better before we had to take medical action and was able to eat dinner and keep it down. Then Liz suggested we order hot cookie dough desert again from Pizza Hut so we did and it was freaking awesome (as usual). Then we hung out and talked and then I went back to my room since Dani started working on her paper. Then I worked on my own work for a bit and played online before going to sleep.
End Day 88

Dec 9-Wed
Wednesday I woke up semi-early to get ready to go shopping with Dani. We were out by about 1pm which is amazing since we don’t usually wake up until then,haha. We went to Gregg’s (bakery) and Starbucks before walking along the Promenade and going into Accessorize. We spent a long time in there, as usual, and because we couldn’t decide on what to get (surprise surprise). After that we decided to go to Park Campus to get our Uni Gloucestershire hoodies but when we got there, the student shop was closed. Super lame! The lady said the hours were starting at 11am and a few hours after, so basically it opens from like 11-1. So dumb! That makes perfect sense--not. So we walked back to town and looked in little thrift shops, found Cheltenham souvenirs, then came home. Then us and Kelsey had dinner and hung out in the kitchen while Jesse and his friends got ready for “cross-dress night” at Boogie Lounge (pronounced boo-gie by the Brits). It was so entertaining to see them in pink tights and tu-tus and I painted Jesse’s nails pink, haha. Then Hannah and Kelsey dressed as boys and we were going to do karaoke but it was closed. Then the crazy cross-dressers left finally and Dani and I made food. Then I Skyped my mom and went to sleep.
End Day 89

Dec 10-Thurs
Thursday was a really weird day. Everyone was kinda off since it’s the end of term and us Americans are leaving. Anyways, I woke up early to go get our hoodies from Park since they are only open for 2 hours (dumb!). So I took the bus, but the bus didn’t stop at Park like it was supposed to, so I ended up walking back to Park at the next stop. Then I got Dani’s hoodie for her and I got one too, but my options were limited so I got a royal (Dodger) blue on in a small. It is growing on me, so I’m ok with it. Then I came back and was going to nap, but I remembered I had to clean my room so I did that. Then Dani called me and asked me to walk to FCH with her so I did to get an assignment back, but it wasn’t open. :(. Then we came back to get our gifts and go for our Secret Santa/Christmas Dinner. Wetherspoons was full, and Yates ran out of food, so we settled for Varsity, chosen by Liz, and it was really good. Then we came back, opened our presents ( I got a HP6 calendar from Kelsey, and I gave Liz an insult-a-day calendar) and got ready to go out. But then everybody got in a bad mood so we drank some to cheer everyone up. After that we went to Propaganda for our last night out and I spent the whole 3 ½ hours talking to this guy I called “hot glasses boy” but his real name is Hashim (like “im” not “eem”) and he is a 22-year-old 3rd year film student. Kelsey made me go talk to him after she told him I thought he was cute, but he turned out to be great, not creepy, so I’m happy she did. He was really sweet and a good guy and at the end of the night he kissed me! (also thanks to drunk Kelsey). So nice! And I got his online info and we plan to keep in touch. Then we got chips, went home, and went to sleep.
End Day 90

Dec 11 and 12-Fri and Sat
Friday I woke up kinda early to shower before Dani and I were gonna go shopping. So I got ready and sat around to let my hair dry. Then Hashim came on facebook and we talked for 2 ½ hours until I went to One-Stop with Kelsey, then out with Dani. Hashim and I talked about all sorts of things and found out we have a lot in common. :) Then Dani and I wandered around town in Cheltenham and got some last minute gifts for people. It was so bloody freezing though. But no snow. :( Oh and earlier that day I tried to get into the wrong flat with my key and panicked that it didn’t work. Then I realized it was wrong,haha. I’m so lame. After shopping we went to Bella Italia with Hannah for our last supper in England. It was delicious, but sad also. Then we came back, Dani and I watched Glee, and our plat played Trivial Pursuit. Then I came back to my room to finish packing and got ready to go back up to Dani’s floor to watch movies and stay up all night! Woo! I ende up talking to Hashim for about an hour on MSN then went down to help Dani pack. We didn’t end up watching movies since we were afraid we would fall asleep. Se we made the rest of our food then went wandering to different floors to visit people. The next three hours went very fast and it was spent helping Dani and Kelsey pack.

Before we knew it, and before we were ready we had to bring our stuff down to the courtyard and load the bus. That was THE most heartbreaking part. Everyone was in tears (yes, even the guys) and we all said very emotional goodbyes to all of our English friends. They all helped us pack the bus then saw us off. Just about the whole halls were out there and some of the boys even ran after the coach. That’s when we all lost it. We slept on the coach and the whole check-in to boarding the plane went pretty fast. By 10:30 am we were headed back to the states. Then we arrived in New York after a 6 hour flight which was long, but at least I got to watch Elf. We landed in JFK, went through customs, got our baggage (rented a trolley for $5! Lame!) and left the terminal. That’s when I had to say goodbye to Dani and Kelsey and other BCA friends. Great, more tears! I hated having to leave my two best friends but Sandy and I had to recheck our bags and go to our connecting flight.

We got food after going through security, at Auntie Anne’s, and I had real lemonade for the first time in 3 months! Then we had to wait around for like 2 hours for our flight and I just wanted to sleep. We finally boarded at like 4:30 and were told we would have another 6 hours on a plane to sit through. Oh joy. And no food. Even better. Oh and there was this cute little girl sitting behind me, but the cuteness wore off the 20th time she screamed and kicked my chair. Uggg! Now all I want to do is go home but I’m still stuck on a plane. Longest plane ride EVER! And I've been up for nearly 36 hours, 20 of which were spent travelling. I’m going into hibernation for the next few days. We finally landed and I didn’t get stuck in the revolving door (thankfully). Then we came home, unpacked, and I knocked out.
End Day 91 and 92

End of Trip!! :(


British slang I accumulated over three months:

American-British:
Jelly-jam
Jello-jelly
Popsicles-icelollies
Sour cream-soured cream
Medium cheddar-matured cheddar
Grilled cheese-cheese on toast, cheese toastie
Bangs(hair)-fringe
Quesadillas-don’t exist (cheese wraps-acording to Jesse)
Apple cider-cloudy apple juice
Carts-trolley
Lemonade-Sprite, lemon squash, cloudy lemonade(none are the REAL kind).
“Z” and “H”- “zed” and “Hache”
Period(.)-end stop, full stop
Frosted Flakes-Frosties
Trash bags-bin liners
The movies-the cinema
Cafeteria-refectory
Baked potato-jacket potato
Movie-film
Television-telly
Cell phone-mobile
pound (money)-a.k.a. quid
rock, paper, scissors-scissors, paper, stone.
the wave(at baseball games)-the Mexican wave
bananna peel-bananna skin
marijuana-cannabis
“th”-> “f” so they say “somefing” or "wif"(with)
“sommat”-something
Twat, knob, prat-insults
Bathroom-bog, toilet, loo
They leave “of” out a lot- “sorry I went out the kitchen”
Lady bug-lady bird
Flashlight-torch
Chips-crisps
Fries-chips
Pudding-any desert
Utensils, silverware-cutlery
Elevator-lift
Queue- to line up “queue up”
Jacket-jumper
Sweatshirt-hoody
Bandaids-plasters
Candy-sweets
Where’s Waldo-Where’s Wally
Clue (game)-Cluedo
Questions-queries
Mail-post
Ornaments-baubles
Pants-trousers
Underwear-pants
On the stove-on the hob
Quotation marks-inverted commas
Saran wrap-cling film
Christmas lights-fairy lights
Cash register-till
Tennis shoes-trainers
Rain boots-Wellies
cookies-biscuits
comforter(bed)-duvet
tired- knackered
trash-rubbish
backpack-rucksack
Phrases used commonly:
“I can’t be bothered to..”
“To be fair..” or “fair enough”
“steady on!”
"clever"
"cheeky"
"mate"
"bloody"
“Well, go on then”
"Cheers!"
"Alright?"-greeting
“That is so lush”
"Lovely"
"proper" as in, "We finally got proper snow here!"
"well" as in "That was well good, wasn't it?"

Shopping, Assignments, Bonding

Nov 30-Mon
Monday and last day of November. Only 12 days left! :( I went to class but only had my lit class until 1pm since my prose class is over for the semester. I actually spoke up in class today and I think some people didn’t know I was American because it was like a movie scene where heads turned towards me. Weird. Then I came back to Regency and worked on my 4 papers I have due in the next 2 weeks. So fun. Then I had dinner in Dani’s kitchen and we planned a game night. Then we went out to One-Stop, even though it was absolutely freezing, to buy snacks and other random items. Then we came back and had a cheese, cracker, and wine party while me, Jade, Hannah, Katy, Kelsey, Liz and Dani played Trivial Pursuit, American 1990s edition. It was harder than we expected but in the end Jade and I tied for first place with Liz and Dani. We killed about 2 and a half hours with that game and didn’t even finish all the way, but we got tired of it. Then everyone went back to their rooms so I came back and worked on some work, uploaded Rome pictures, tried to do some of my blog, ripped the Beatles 1 album that Jack loaned me, and went to sleep.
End Day 80

Dec 1-Tues
Tuesday I went to my last lecture for my Myth class with Dani. Then I went to my last class for Autobiography and I was so sad because I loved that class and everyone in it. My teacher also brought “mince pies” for everyone since they are a Christmas food tradition in England. They originally had mince meat in them but today they are like little pies or pastries with raisins, sugar, and other stuff in it. I wasn’t a big fan of them. Then I came back and worked on my final paper for that class. At dinner time Dani called me and told me to just eat on my own floor since they’d already eaten, so I had dinner in my kitchen with Tia. Then I went and watched Glee with Dani and we got chocolate cravings so we decided to order cookie dough desert from Pizza Hut and us, Liz, Hannah, and Kelsey ate our deserts and hung out. We then played music, talked and watched funny videos on Youtube. After that I decided that I should start working on my other final papers for my classes so I came back to my room and did more writing. I then decided to go to sleep since I couldn’t stay awake at my computer.
End Day 81

Dec 2-Wed
Wednesday I woke up around 12:30 and got ready for the day. Then I did some more writing until about 2:30 when I planned to go shopping for Christmas presents. I called Dani, who wanted to shop too, but she said she’d meet me out later. So at 3 I went down to the Regent Arcade (mall) and went shopping. I then met up with Dani while I was out and we kept shopping together. Then we walked down the Promenade and saw it all lit up and Christmas-y and adorable. There were also cute little street booths set up to sell jewelry, scarves, bags, art, food, toys, and a bunch of other stuff. It was so cute and festive with the Christmas music playing and Dani and I sipping our hot chocolate. It was so fun! Then we got Burger King for dinner and brought it back to the halls since I needed to register for my classes next semester. Luckily I got what I wanted for Jan term and Spring. Yay! After that I had my dinner in Dani’s kitchen then hung out until it was time to Skype my sister. I Skyped her then worked on my final essays some more until it was time to Skype everyone else. Then I stayed up until 3 finishing one of my papers. Yay!
End Day 82

Dec 3-Thurs
Thursday I woke up and went to put my last load of laundry here but they were all full so I came back to my room to eat and start one of my papers. I finally put my laundry in at 3 pm and I spent the time waiting for it to be done by working on my assignments and listening to the Beatles CD I downloaded from Jack. Yay! When I got to 500 words of my 1500 word essay, Dani called me to tell me to come eat dinner, so I did and left briefly to get my laundry out before someone else took it out and I lost another sock. After dinner Dani and I went out to One-Stop to buy snacks to have while we work on our essays and some alcohol to play drinking games. After we got back, I went to go get ready to go out to Propaganda that night. After I was ready, we played ‘role call’ and ‘ring of fire’ before we decided to stop and hang out. Then we went to Blush and I had tons of fun! And Jade came! After Blush we went to get chips from Turkish Delight and ate them in Hannah and Dani’s kitchen. Then I came back to my room and went to sleep.
End Day 83

Dec 4-Fri
Friday I woke up late since I stayed up to fold laundry the night before. So I got up, showered, and started working on more of my paper that is due Wednesday. I worked on it for about 3 hours and it was a very painful, yet successful 3 hours because I only have about 300 or so more words to write for it. Then I was about ready to go insane so I took a break from it and went to go have dinner with Dani and Kelsey. After dinner we just hung out in the kitchen because we were all putting off work and were bored. We played Sudoku and Mario Brothers on Dani’s gameboy and talked about random things. At one point we were all in Liz’s room with Katy, doing our own separate activities and not talking to each other but it wasn’t awkward and it was kinda nice. Then I went with Kelsey to wait to be let back in her room since she locked herself out and we talked a little bit with Sandy. After that me, Kelsey, and Katy killed more time in the kitchen talking and eating before I decided to come back to my room since it was nearly 1 am. Then I went to sleep.
End Day 84

Dec 5-Sat
Saturday was a very fun and eventful day! Well the end of it was. The beginning, well middle of the day, I woke up and finished my paper for lit! Yay! Accomplishment! Then I went online and talked to Dani on AOL and she said we should go out to dinner since it was our last weekend and we haven’t been out in a while. So we went down a few blocks to the Brewery and ate in Frankie and Benny’s. It had really good food (best burger in Britain so far) and great music and we enjoyed the American-ness since it was a New York Italian diner. Then we came back and saw Liz leaving to go to Big Tesco to buy Christmas decorations so Kelsey and I went with her. Then we came back and decorated the tree we got for £15 that lights up and put on the baubles(ornaments) and also cut out construction paper snowflakes. We got everyone to make them too (Greg, Khouri, Kristen, Katy, Cambria, Jesse) and hung them up. After that Dani and Kelsey and I watched HP1 in Greg’s room but it was the British version because they said philosopher’s stone, not sorcerer’s (so weird). Then somehow we got into a discussion about childhood stuffed animals and we compared Bunny B (mine) to Brown Bear(Greg’s) and Teddy (Dani’s). Bunny B was the best and not scary, as they said. Then we watched some X-Factor (British American Idol) and talked. Then we noticed that it was nearly 3am so we decided we should probably go to bed so we left Greg’s room and I went back to mine and went to sleep. But today was awesome and made me never want to leave Cheltenham. :(
End Day 85

Dec 6-Sun
Sunday I woke up pretty late and got ready for the day by 3pm. When I first looked out my window I thought it was snowing and I got all excited because it looked like ice on the ground, but it was rain/sleet maybe. :( . After I realized this I went on line and killed some time until 5:30 when we went to go eat dinner in Dani’s kitchen before the last Tan Dog’s match of the term. We had to eat quick since we were leaving about 6:15. The match was fun and we loved cheering them on for our last game, and they won! Yay! Then they gave Mike, a BCA student, a nice card and shirt for his last match. So sweet! Then we came back and tried to work on homework but got distracted with Jesse’s room after he left his door unlocked to go to the pub. *shakes head*. He’ll never learn. Then Dani, Kelsey and I watched Harry Potter 2 with Greg and mocked it even though we all love it. Then we got hungry so we made rice and corn because we’re out of food and had a late night snack. Then I got tired and we decided to go to bed.
End Day 86

Essays, Thanksgiving, and Rome

Nov 23-Mon
Monday I went to class only to find out that my sick teacher wont be returning to our class, so we only had a 30 min class with the other teacher before we had to leave. Then I had all of this time before my next class, so this girl Sarah (in like all of my classes) and I went to the refectory and talked. We were later joined by Luke (also in all my classes) and Richard. We talked until our next class, Prose, which was my last Prose class for the term (next 2 weeks off). Then I came back home and worked on my prose mock assessment due Wednesday but I want to be done by Tuesday to avoid having to go in Wed to turn it in. Then Dani, Kelsey and I had a hurried dinner and went to FCH for our BCA meeting and lecture on the British political system. It was terribly thrilling, and then we came back to Dani’s floor to hang out. I then ended up going back to my room to finish my paper, (which I did! Yay!) while Dani and Kelsey had some drinks and got ready to go out. I didn’t want to go out and I needed to finish work so I stayed in my room. After finishing my paper I was tired so I went to sleep.
End Day 73

Nov 24-Tues
Tuesday I had class and it was boring, except my creative writing class, which is never boring and it was our last lecture. The funniest part of my school day was when this random guy came into my creative writing class and sat down. My teacher asked “who are you?” and he said “I’m Jack” and it turns out he was supposed to be in our class all along but never came except the last day. Weird. Then Nick and I walked home and I did some work. At dinner time Kelsey called me and asked if I wanted some egg friend rice that she and Jade were making. So I went down to eat with them and had rice and potato wedges for dinner, Yum! After dinner we hung out and talked in the kitchen then got really bored. So Kelsey and I decided to go back to our rooms and get some stuff done. I came back and worked on some homework before I started trying to make my schedule for next semester and Jan term. Then it stressed me out too much so I quit that and went on the internet for fun instead. Then I went to bed kinda early since there was nothing else to do.
End Day 74

Nov 25-Wed
Wednesday I woke up about 12 but only because I set an alarm to get up and do some homework. So I wrote some of my creative writing assignment then killed some time before we were going to go Thanksgiving shopping. Later on Dani and Kelsey and I walked to “big Tesco” to buy all of our Thanksgiving food. We bought stuffing, a turkey, stuff for green bean casserole, and stuff for apple pie. I also bought cinnamon rolls to remind me of home, since my mom makes them every holiday. Then we lugged everything back home and had some dinner. After dinner we then attempted to cook some food in advance so we weren’t so rushed tomorrow and Kelsey and Dani had class all day. Kelsey made some apple pie from scratch and I made a pretty good green bean casserole. Then I realized that I’d have to make the turkey all by myself and it would all depend on me. Great.! So I suckered Hannah and Jesse into helping me the next day. I am so proud of our cooking attempts and our dinner we started to make. Hope all goes well tomorrow for our British/American thanksgiving!
End Day 75
Nov 26-Thurs
Happy Thanksgiving!!! I woke up with an alarm to 12 again so I could finish my creative writing assignment and pack for Rome on Friday since we’d be busy all day and not do it. Then around 4 pm Hannah called and asked me to go to Tesco with her to buy wine for the meal and such. By the time we got back, Jesse had already taken all of the guts out for Hannah and I and we just had to cook it. We got bored waiting around for food to be done so me and Dani and Hannah made “hand turkeys” and we hung them on the wall. Then it was almost time for the turkey to be done so we made the stuffing, gravy, corn, etc…Then the boys decided to keep the Thanksgiving tradition of boys playing/watching sports while the ladies cook in the kitchen. Then it was time to eat and everyone praised us for our food and cooking skills. After dessert, apple pie, we all decided to go get ready for Blush. So everyone left but Kelsey and I hung out a bit longer and talked. Eventually we went to get ready too then went dancing and such at Blush. Then Dani and I left a little early to pack for Rome tomorrow. Oh and our Thanksgiving guests were: Jade, Greg, Jack, Ryan, Katy, Hannah, Jesse, and us three.
End Day 76

Nov 27-Fri
Friday I woke up around 10 to get ready to go to Rome and finish packing. Then we left at 12 to catch our 12:3 bus to Heathrow. The ride wasn’t so bad and it was less stressful to only take one bus. It took us to the bus station at the airport so we just followed the signs to the actual airport and got there fine. Then we checked in and grabbed some sandwiches, paninis, and drinks before going through security. Our flight had a connection in Zurich (Switzerland) so we had to change planes. Oh and we got free Swiss chocolate on Swiss Airlines! So good! We didn’t realize we had to go through security again though and we didn’t have much time. Of course when we need to hurry they feel the need to check my bag further. And they were NOT the friendliest people. They didn’t care that our flight was soon, and they had no people skills. The butthead lady, Helga as I call her, also emptied my entire bag and took out everything to go through again. Yes, because I am hiding liquid in my clothes! I was so annoyed that I had to repack and she took my frizz cream that got through Heathrow security and she was sooo rude! We didn’t miss our plane, thankfully, but I was very annoyed after that. Then our flight landed in Rome and we got a shuttle to our hotel and met up with Tia and Ross. Then we went to sleep since it was 11pm and we have an early start tomorrow.
End Day 77

Nov 28-Sat
Saturday we conquered Rome in a day. Literally. We got up and out by 9:30 and headed to the Vatican to avoid the long lines. It wasn’t too crowded and we got to go in pretty quick for €8. That covered the museum, Sistine Chapel, and the Vatican Square. We spent a good 2 hours seeing everything and then decided to get something to eat since we hadn’t eaten. We had pizza at this little restaurant by the Vatican square where the pope speaks and tried to go to St. Peter’s Basillica but the line was massive. So we decided to head to the Metro to get to the Colosseum. We almost got these Roma passes that would give us free Colosseum and one other museum and unlimited metro but it was €23 each and we didn’t think it was worth it. The Colosseum was amazing and we got in for €7.50 (except Dani who got the mean lay who wouldn’t give the student discount). For €7.50 it was awesome though and I loved it! Then we tried to go to the Forum but it closed 10 min before we got there. So we headed for the ruins instead and found a cool museum/monument. After that we headed towards the Pantheon and got to see it lit up but couldn’t go in because there was a service going on. Then we got gelato and I got chocolate and snickers. It was amazingly good! Mmmm! We ate our gelato on the way to the Trevi Fountain and stopped to go in a shop or two also. The fountain was way bigger than I expected and we all got pictures throwing coins in it! Yay! By then we were hungry so we found a little mom and pop restaurant and I got super delicious ravioli. After dinner we came back to the hotel to relax and recover. Then we ended up going to sleep.
End Day 78

Nov 29-Sun
Sunday we woke up early to go souvenir shopping before we had to be back at the airport. We headed down to the front desk of the hotel and asked the guy to call us a taxi for 11am so we could be on time for our flight. We walked to the souvenir shop by the Vatican and did some speed shopping and I got a yummy donut from a little café. Oh and the line for the Vatican was ginormous! So glad we went Saturday. It was at least 2 blocks, maybe more. Then we headed back to the hotel to pick up our stuff and get the taxi to the airport. We got there with good time and we had no mishaps! Yay! Our flight reconnected in Frankfurt (Germany) and thankfully we didn’t have to go through security again like in stupid Zurich. Then we flew back to Heathrow and got some dinner at Wetherspoons in the airport before we caught out bus back to Cheltenham. The bus ride was boiling hot since we sat at the back, so it felt good to get off after 2 ½ hours. But it was a cold and wet walk back to the dorms and it made me miss warm sunny Rome. I got back to my room, unpacked, worked on some homework, started updating my blog, then got tired so I crashed.
End Day 79

Holland and New-Found Relatives

Nov 17-Tues
Tuesday I was so tired all day. I only got four hours of sleep before I had to be up early for class. Then the lecture was so boring and pointless and I had an hour in between my classes but it wasn’t enough time to leave for a nap. Lame. After my last class I came back to my room and had lunch, then took a nap. Then I got up and folded my clothes and packed for Holland. After that is was dinner time so we ate together in Dani’s kitchen and hung out with our friends and told them about Scotland. Then Dani and I watched Glee in her room but were interrupted by Liz coming in and sparking random conversations about death penalties, bad ways to die, and September 11th. After that really random but interesting conversation we finished Glee and I came back to my room to Skype with family and have some ice cream. Then I finished last minute packing for my early start tomorrow and went to sleep since I was so exhausted!! I am excited/nervous for tomorrow and travelling alone and meeting all of these people. Should be fin! Yay!
End Day 67

Nov 18-Wed (Holland day ½)
Wednesday Oh what a day! I woke up crazy early to get on the National Express to London. Luckily I was on time and there were no issues. I slept on the way there since I was exhausted still from the weekend. Then we got to Victoria Station and I went to the Easybus stop but was too early and they wouldn’t let me get on. So I went souvenir shopping and waited for my bus. A bus came at 12:30 and I thought it was my 12:40 bus but it was the 12:20 running late and again the guy wouldn’t let me on. Then at 12:50 another bus came but it was for the 1:00 bus and he wasn’t going to let us on but me and this other girl persuaded him. Then there was horrendous traffic, (surprise, surprise) out of London from a car accident, apparently a lorry (truck) overturned! Then I started getting nervous about missing check in which closed at 3:10 and we did end up pulling in at 3:10 and missed it. Great. First time travelling alone and I miss the plane. Luckily I got on the next one but then I realized people would be waiting for me off the earlier plane and I had no way to contact them and let them know. So the next three hours was devoted to that. My dad e-mailed them and I tried Ada’s number on the pay phone, my phone, and the airline lady’s phone. Nothing. Then I thought I should call the Amsterdam airport and have them make an announcement but I couldn’t get through with anything again. So I gave up and got some food from Burger King then went to board the plane.

Everything was fine after that and I was greeted in Amsterdam by Heleen and her brother-in-law Lex and they drove me to Aty’s (great aunt) where tons of cousins were waiting for me. Ahhh! Crazy! But they made me very welcome at home and I ate a sausage, cabbage and rice dinner, yum! Then we talked about family, saw old pictures, and they gave me a family tree thing to remember everyone. Then we went over the plan for the next few days and I called my mom then went to sleep. Crazy day! Ahhh! Looking forward to tomorrow!
End Day 68

Nov 19-Thurs (Day 1 in Holland)
Thursday started at about 10 am with breakfast then walking to the train station to spend the day in Amsterdam. We took the train from Huis ter Heide and Den Dolder to Utrecht central and then to Amsterdam. I was with Aty, Johan, Lex, Carolien, Antionette, Merel, and Wouter and we walked around the city with them showing me important things and telling me about the city. We went souvenir shopping and I took a picture in a wooden shoe. Then we went on a canal tour of the city on a canal boat! Very cool! That was a lot of fun and I got to see a lot of things you can’t see while walking. Then we went to the Anne Frank house and it was very interesting but also very sad. And it wasn’t crowded so it was nice. Then we had some juice and tea and Wouter(22), Merel(18) and me decided to stay in Amsterdam and look in shops or get dinner, while the adults went back home. We went into a shopping mall and looked around and we went in H&M! Yay! Then we went to a “brown café” and they call it and I had some traditional Dutch food like bitterbolen, which are deep fried meat balls. Then we sat and talked and hung out before going back to get a train back to Aty’s house. After getting back I showered and went to sleep. P.S. We started the day eating at Smiths Koffie Haus and we walked through the red light district! Ladies in lingerie in windows! Weird!
End Day 29

Nov 20-Fri(Day 2 in Holland)
Friday started with breakfast at Aty’s house then saying goodbye to her house since we were going to Johan’s then to Ellen’s and her children’s, my second cousins. We had a snack at Johan’s in Ijsselstein then drove to Ellen’s house in Alphen. We had lunch there and I got presents from Sinterklaus (the Dutch Santa Claus who comes on Dec 5 and puts candy in shoes) and we played piano together before I had to say goodbye to Johan and Aty. Then Ellen and her 2 children (of 3) Evelien(26) and Daan(22) took me to Leiden where Evelien and Daan study at university. We got to see the Pilgrim Museum where the pilgrims left Leiden and sailed to America. Very cool and very old museum set in two 14th century rooms that really housed poor pilgrim families. After that we went out into the rain, and Ellen left, and we walked across to the church but we weren’t allowed to go in since a UNICEF conference was going on and there were ‘important’ people there. Then Evelien asked the police men who “important” is there and he told us the queen (of NL) was coming around the back in 10 minutes. So we went back there and her car pulled in front of us and I got a picture of her, only about 2 feet away! Wow!

After that we went back to Evelien’s flat for hot drinks since it was raining and we talked and she showed me aeroarobics, or acroyoga, moves and tried them on me. Then we decided to eat dinner so Evelien and I went to the grocery store to get frozen pizza, ice ceam, and Dutch treats for me. Their friend Kevin from Holland/Florida then came to hang out and we went to see Daan’s friend sing in a show after we played table tennis. Then Annemarth, their older sister, joined us for a night out in some pubs and bars to see Holland night life. It was very fun and random with Daan teaching me salsa dancing, learning the special “Kruyt” dance and taking a funny picture with a Yetti to maybe win a trip for winter. Then I got tired and need to be up early to catch my plane so we went back to Ellen’s house (their mom) and went to sleep.
End Day 70

Nov 21-Sat
Saturday started bright and early at 7:30 am when Ellen and I left to go to the Schipol airport so I could fly back to England. Thankfully everything with this flight was fine and I made it in time. Then I slept on the plane and went to catch my Easybus back to Victoria Station. Oh, I forgot, I got soooo many Dutch goodies that I had to pay 22 Euro to check an extra bag, haha. Anyways, at Victoria I had lunch then had about 3 hours to wait until my National Express coach came, so I bought some sweets, nestled with my luggage in a corner and read a book. Finally it was time to come back to Cheltenham and I slept the whole way home. So nice! But then I had to lug all my bags back, like 5 miles to Regency in the cold, wind, and rain. And it was super crowded on Sat evening. Awesome. That wasn’t so fun, but I made it back alive (barely) and in one piece. I unpacked all my stuff when I got to my room and then decided to look at all of my gifts and souvenirs. I’m not sure what happened next, but I remember falling asleep at the computer, so I went to sleep early from sheer exhaustion.
End Day 71

Nov 22-Sun
Sunday I slept until 3pm but I didn’t even feel bad about being lazy since I really badly needed the rest. I had “breakfast” then Dani called me to go to Tesco with her and maybe go out to dinner too. I wasn’t so hungry since I’d eaten an hour and a half before, but I ordered nachos at Wetherspoons because I knew I’d be hungry later. Then we went to go to Tesco but it was closed since it was Sunday so we came back to Regency and watched Glee! Then Kelsey was back from visiting her friend in York so we hung out and then decided to watch a film. We watched “She’s the Man” in my room since Dani had never seen it and we just saw Twelfth Night in Stratford, which it was based off of. Jesse joined us too, in my room and I shared my plethora of Dutch sweets with everyone. Oh and I locked myself out of my room before we watched the movie. Smart. Then I took a shower after everyone left and uploaded my Scotland and Holland pictures then went to bed. Oh, and Rome is all booked for this weekend! Yay!
End Day 72

Twelfth Night, Dani's Birthday, and Scotland

Nov 9-Mon
Monday I went to class and my teacher was finally back from being sick. Yay! After my next class I came back to the dorms and finished writing my paper for my Mythology class. Then I felt really accomplished and hungry so I went to Dani’s kitchen where she and Kelsey were working on a project and we had dinner. Then we were all having a study session in the kitchen and I had nothing to study so I did some word searches from my word search book. Then I hung out with Jade, Kirsty, and Hannah and we talked about British food versus American food. It was a very interesting conversation and I learned a lot. Then Jade, Kirsty, and I walked to One-Stop and I got ice cream and milk since I needed some…well the milk I needed. After we got back we all had a desert fest and hung out in the kitchen while Dani and Kelsey took a study break. Then I decided to go to bed because I really couldn’t keep my eyes open any more,haha.
End Day 59

Nov 10-Tues
Tuesday I only had my 1:15 class because my earlier class had an assignment due so we didn’t have to go to class. That class was fun like always and after it, Nick and I went to go print stuff and turn in my assignment before walking back home. Oh, did I mention it has been freezing lately? The scarves and gloves have come out,haha. Anyways, when I got back I had some “linner” (lunch/dinner) since we all had to be ready by 5:45 for our BCA trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon (Shakespeare’s House) to see Twelfth Night. The play was a lot more entertaining and humorous than I expected and it was really cool to see it done in his birthplace. We might go back during the day to see the town properly. Oh and Richard Wilson played Malvolio, and he plays Gaius in Merlin, so it was cool seeing him so close up. We didn’t get to meet him though. Sad Day! Then we came back to Regency and Kelsey, Dani and I hung out on Dani’s floor to eat desert and play pranks on each other because of the prank war we started, haha. We had a good bonding session with us all being crazy and joking with each other. We also plan to do a Secret Santa!! Then I went to sleep.
End Day 60

Nov 11-Wed
Wednesday I woke up late and worked on catching up on all I had to do. I finished captioning my pictures, almost, and started on updating my blog. That took longer than I thought since I was so far behind and the captions took forever since I needed a map to do them. Then Liz called me and we decided to go grocery shopping. So now I actually have food to eat! Yay! Then I came back and restocked my fridge and cupboard and waited around until dinner time. For dinner I went to Dani’s kitchen where she and Kelsey were working on their project and we ate there. Then I helped them with their project and listened to their presentation. By then it was time to Skype my sister and I told her all about Paris. Then I back to Dani’s floor, helped them more, watched funny you tube videos and hung out with Jade and Kirsty who taught me british slang to bring back to America with me. Then I skyped with my family and went to sleep. So exciting, haha.
End Day 61

Nov 12-Thurs
Thursday was Dani’s 21st birthday!! I started my day finishing my captions, then Hannah texted me and we decided to go get decorations for Dani and throw her a party. So we braved the crazy English weather and ran to buy balloons, streamers and a cake. Then we came back and spent like 2 hours decorating and preparing the kitchen. Kelsey and Dani were in class but then they came back right in the middle of our decorating so Kelsey distracted her. Then we finished, brought her back, and sang Happy Birthday, had cake, and gave her our present (John Barrowman-she’s obsessed- biography, signed by him!). Then we had a party and played drinking games with Greg, Jack, Alex, Ryan and Mike, and our flat and listened to music. Then we got ready to go out to propaganda and got Dani all dolled-up. Propaganda was fun and she got in free on her birthday thanks to the flashy 21 badge Hannah and I bought her. After propaganda we went to Turkish Delight to get chips (fries) and ate them and hung out in Jack’s kitchen. Then I decided to go to bed since I was tired and have work to do tomorrow. Oh and we kept buying Dani drinks all night. Fun stuff,haha.
End Day 62

Nov 13-Fri
Friday was my “catch up” day. I woke up and started on my assignment for WT 374 and then sent it in. My other writing class I’m gonna miss so I didn’t do it, for that class. Then I finally updated my blog and posted it, after being behind 2 weeks. Then Dani called me to tell me that her birthday dinner was going to be at 6pm at Bella Italia. So I looked up some more stuff for this weekend before we left. Bella Italia was good and it was me, Dani, Kelsey, and Nick who went. My lasagna was great and my gelato was even better! We payed for Dani’s meal then came back to Regency and hung out. Then Kelsey and I got bored when Dani was writing an assignment so we cleaned the kitchen from the party we’d had the day before. Then Jade was bored so she came in and “hoovered” the floor and then vacuumed mine and Kelsey’s room too. (Thanks Jade!). Then I stayed in my room, finalized Scotland stuff, planned Amsterdam, and looked into what to do in Edinburgh. Then I packed, took a shower, and went to sleep. Scotland tomorrow at 12! Woot woot!
End Day 63

Nov 14-Sat
Saturday I woke up around 10 to leave Regency by 11:30 to get out National Express to London and start our Scotland trip!! We were right on time and we got to London in plenty of time to catch our Easy Bus to London Stansted airport. We ended up getting on the earlier bus which worked out fine since the earlier bus was running behind schedule. We got to Stansted, checked in, then had some Burger King. Then we got on the plane, got some hot chocolate on the plane, and landed in Edinburgh within an hour. Smooth travelling is so nice! We then got a bus from Edinburgh airport to city center and found our hostel (High Street Hostel).

After checking in we went walking about Edinburgh and went to a pub called The Mitre which was really hoppin’ and we ordered some drinks and some nachos. Then we hung out while live music was played and experienced Scottish pub life. Then we came back to our hostel, planned the next two days, hung out in the common room, and went to sleep. Extras: I LOVE their accents! Evidently Edinburgh is crazy haunted everywhere and full of rich history. Tomorrow we tour the city, see the castle, buy souvenirs, and go on a ghost tour!
End Day 64

Nov 15-Sun
Sunday started with breakfast at the Albernach Pub. I ordered a white roll with bacon rashers and pork sausage. It looked like a hamburger bun with bacon (looked like ham pieces) and sausage but it was good and a traditional Scottish breakfast. I also had a bite of Dani’s vegetarian haggis. It wasn’t too bad, but a little spicy and not my thing. Then we met across the street for our Free Tour. The tour was about 4 hours long and we walked around all the sights. It was a really fun tour and our guide Owen (Canadian with a slight Scottish accent) was very entertaining. It was a great way to see the city and all Edinburgh has to offer in such a short time. After that we tipped Owen and went souvenir shopping.

I bought some plaid from both Crawford and Scott clan and some other trinkets, including cashmere gloves and a wool hat. Then we ate dinner at Deacon Brody’s Tavern and it was really good. We then went to the Mitre pub again, bought a drink, and hung out until the Ghost Tour at 9:30. Dani and I bundled up and went on the ghost tour (also led by Owen) while Kelsey hung out in The Mitre. The tour was interesting and spooky and very informative, plus Owen is great. We got a free drink after it so we got a soda called IRN-BRU (big hit in Scotland) that tasted like really sweet cream soda and went back to Mitre to hang out with Kelsey. Then we came back and went to sleep.
End Day 65

Nov 16-Mon
Monday we were up pretty early to catch the 62A bus from Edinburgh to Melrose (where my ancestors are from) at 8:45. The bus ride was about an hour and a half long and it cost £6 but it looked pretty on the way there as we got to see the misty, rainy, green Scottish countryside along the Tweed River. Gorgeous! When the bus stopped at the station we got off, assuming it was Melrose and walked around trying to find the Abbey. We ended up getting doughnuts and asking the people there but couldn’t understand them well, so we kept looking. Then we asked some other guy, who told us we were in Galashiels and that Melrose was the next town over, about 4 miles away. So we should have stayed on the bus, but they don’t announce any stops, so we really couldn’t have known. Then we went back to the bus station and got a bus to Melrose and it took us right to the Melrose Abbey! Horrah! We paid £5 to get in but we got to explore all of the graves and Abbey grounds. It was in ruin, well half of it, but it dates back to like the twelfth century. So cool! We explored that for a few hours, in the rain, and found some possible relative’s gravestones. Oh and the guy in the ticket place said the Crawfords (grandmas maiden name) are a big , important family around Melorose who sponsor the Abbey and other foundations. So cool! Then we went to catch the bus back to Edinburgh to leave. It got super cold then, like 35 degrees, and we were wet, but we slept most of the ride anyways.

Once back in Edinburgh we picked up our bags from the hostel (we lef them there after check-out, very safe storing) and went to catch the Airlink back to the airport. We made a friend on the bus (Santiago, Dan) then got to go through speedy check in and security since we were running late. Then we flew to Stansted (London) and had dinner, then did some shopping in the airport, then caught the Easybus back to the coach station. We wanted to try to get an earlier coach back the Cheltenham but there wasn’t one, so we killed 3 hours eating and shopping again. Finally got back in Cheltenham around 2am, then took a shower, did laundry, and went to bed. Early class tomorrow, oh joy! Plus side: Holland on Wednesday.
End Day 66

Paris: Je ne compreds pas, je suis americain

Nov 2-Mon
Monday wasn’t too terribly thrilling. I had to go to class with barely any make-up on and a swollen eye, so that was fun, and it was my late day since I had a workshop. Wonderful. And my eye hurt the whole time and I felt like it was taking up my whole face. Then I walked back home in crazy cold weather and the cold hurt my eye more. Stupid stye! Then I came back and Kelsey, Dani and I ate dinner quickly to go to the BCA lecture/meeting about the British Healthcare system, or the NHS. I was already tired and it wasn’t the most stimulating so I fell asleep. It seemed like everyone else did too. Then we came back to the dorms and Dani, me, Kelsey, Hannah, Jade, and Greg played Spoons, Blackjack, and Bull. It was fun and we all had a good time bonding as a flat. They said Kelsey and I are their flatmates even if we don’t live there. I’ll miss them so much when I leave! Sad! Oh and Greg really wanted to play Trivial Pursuit so we ended the night with that and then went to sleep.
End Day 52

Nov 3-Tues
Tuesday it rained so much and there were crazy artic winds. Yuck! I busted out my scarf, big wool jacket, and rain boots to walk to class. I felt very British and very warm. But I could have gone without my umbrella going inside-out like 20 times. Not cool, umbrella! I’m thinking of getting a British one because my poor southern California umbrella can’t handle torrential British rain. Anyways, after class I tried to start my paper, due Tuesday after we get back from Pars, but I got distracted. Then I went to go have dinner with my adopted floor mates and hung out for a bit. Then Jesse said he wanted cookie dough ice cream and suggested we go to Tesco but then he ditched us for his friends house so we went to One-Stop and didn’t buy him any ice cream (they also didn’t have any). Then we tried to have a study/homework session in the kitchen and we were kinda productive for a while before I fell asleep and then Jesse distracted us, haha. Then we paused our work, ate some sweets, talked and hung out some more. Then I called it a night since tomorrow I need to do my paper, my laundry, and pack for Paris on Thursday for the weekend. Yay!
End Day 53

Nov 4-Wed
Wednesday things did not go according to plan. I planned on waking up around 12:30 or 1 to do my laundry, my essay, and pack for Paris the next day, but I ended up waking up at 2:30 and panicking. I got dressed, ran to the laundry room and saw that there were no free washers, so I came back to my room, had breakfast, started my paper, and finally put my laundry in at 3:30. Then I waited for laundry to be done and did more of my paper. It was 500 something words out of 1200 when Dani told me to come to her kitchen for dinner. Then we hung out in there, had an ice cream party after Dani and Kelsey bought Jesse some cookie dough ice cream. Then we saran-wrapped Jesse’s door after he went to go lie down. Kelsey, Hannah, and Katie got ready to go out to a club or a pub but I didn’t want to go and neither did Dani, so we just watched them run around and get ready. Then I went back to my room to Skype with my sister and fold my laundry. Then I started to pack for Paris (we leave tomorrow at noon) and took a shower. After that I skyped my mom, tried to work on more of my paper, and went to sleep. Paris, here we come! Yay!
End Day 54

Nov 5-Thurs
Thursday was a day of mishaps and adventures. I woke up around 9:30 got ready and then went to have breakfast in Dani’s kitchen with Jesse. Then we left to go to the bus station but didn’t allow enough time and we got there right as the bus was driving away. So we were angry and had to buy new tickets for the 1:25 bus and hope that it got to London in time for our 4:25 Eurostar. The bus didn’t get to Victoria Station until 4:05 and we got a Taxi right away to St. Pancras Station, but traffic was crazy and we had to pay a £17 taxi fare to get us there 20 min late. So we then had to go to the Eurostar ticket office and crossed our fingers that we could get on another train. Thankfully the man was nice and put us on the very next train and we didn’t need to pay extra for another ticket! Yay! So we got on the Eurostar and headed to Paris (3 hour ride, with my ears popping from pressure changes every once in a while). We finally arrived in Paris and found our way to the Metro to get to our hostel. We found it alright, after going to McDonalds and checked in, only to discover that our “all girls room” had a guy in it (Chung-we found out his name after seeing his train ticket he left on the pillow, he missed his train and had to stay an extra night) who was mad he had roommates. He’s leaving tomorrow though. Then we decided to walk around a little, after I thought I lost my wallet and had a minor (major) panic attack. I found it in my bag though, so its all good. Oh and I learned my phrase for the weekend: “Je suis American” which means “I am American” which is code for “I don’t understand you, don’t talk to me.” Then we went to McDonalds again fro desert, went on the computers at our hostel (called Absolute Paris) with confusing French keyboards, then decided to go to bed. Ready to conquer Paris tomorrow! Yeayuh! Oh, and I realized I forgot pajama pants. Sleeping in jeans I guess. Lovely.
End Day 55
P.S. The ham and cheese melt sandwich I got on the Eurostar on the way to Paris is a classic French meal, cool!

Nov 6-Fri
Friday (Day 1 in Paris) started at 10:30 and we got croissants at a cute little café. Oh and we were all really tired because we didn’t sleep well and Chung woke us up this morning to catch his train by turning on the light and rustling with his bags. Uggg! Then we go on the Metro to Trocadero street to try and find the Eiffel Tower and we couldn’t see it at first and then “bam” there it was in front of us. Breathtaking! Then we decided to go to the top of it so we waited in line for like 45 min and spent about 2 hours there. We went all the way to the top by elevator and Dani and I wrote our names on the railing. Shhh! After that we walked to the Arc de Triomphe and went walking around it and under it. Then we walked down the Avenue des Cahmps Elysees and got a baguette for lunch at a cute café and also got hot chocolate. It warmed us up since it was freezing all day. We stopped in some shops along the street, such as a huge Sephora, Virgin Megastore and Disney Store. Then we kept on that street and eventually made it to the Obelisque. After that we walked through Jardin des Tuilerires, then took a detour to to Palais Royal because we saw it looked cool from a distance so we walked towards it. Then we decided to go find the Musee de Louvre to see about tickets. We then saw that is was free for students ages 18-26 after 6pm so we decided to come back and move on to Notre Dame and the Hotel de Ville.

After Notre Dame, we slowed the pace and looked in some souvenir shops before going back to the Louvre. We got in free (yay!) and got to see the Mona Lisa (who I found out for Liz, may or may not have eyebrows, after I asked on of the workers, who told me the style in the day was to have them super thin. I’m sure that went down as the strangest question of the day, haha, and it was fun trying to explain it to him with his broken English). We also saw the Venus de Milo, and the Sphinx among others. By this time our feet hurt and we were exhausted so we left and found a restaurant for dinner. We had good food and crème brulee and we got to rest. After that we got the Metro again (too tired to stand) and went back to the hostel. So tired! Oh and we saw the Eiffel Tower lit up from afar but decided to go tomorrow night to see it properly. Going to bed now, so im ready for Paris day 2.
End Day 56
P.S. Annoying things about Paris: cigarette smoke EVERYWHWRE! Beggars being annoying and street vendors being persistent. French phrases: Satie-exit, Merci-Thank you, Bonjour-Good Day, Je ne comprends pas, je suis American- I do not undertand, I am American.

Nov 7-Sat
Saturday (day 2 of Paris) started with none of us wanting to wake up because we were so tired from the day before. We eventually got up and got some croissants again from the same place as yesterday. Yum! Then we hopped on the Metro and took it to the Moulin Rogue, which wasn’t that exciting. We took some pictures and looked in the overpriced gift shop, then left to go to the catacombs. We took the metro again to the catacombs but couldn’t find it and we ended up wandering around for an hour only to be told by a nice French man that they didn’t open until December. What the heck?! So then we found somewhere to eat at a restaurant that was full of French people and the menu was all in French. We all ordered ravioli because it was the only thing we understood, haha. Then we walked back to the Metro station and took a ride to the Bastille. We got there and walked around in the rain only to realize that it was just an Opera House and not a cool monument or building. Lame. So we decided to walk across the street to the carnival/flea market and walked through it. It was fun to experience that part of the culture, and there were fun things to look at.

From there we walked for a long time down Avenue de Rivloi (or Raviloi Road as we referred to it) where like a bajillion other people were also walking so it was crowded and annoying. We happened upon the Hotel de Ville and crossed the street to find some souvenir shops. There were street vendors along the river so we went to them and got some souvenirs for discounted prices. Yay! We felt very much in the French experience after that. Then it started to get dark (and freezing!) so we decided to walk towards the Eiffel Tower to see it light up and sparkle and take pictures of it. On the way there we looked in a random art exhibit along the river. It was very interesting. Once we got to the Eiffel Tower we wanted some warm stuff so we got hot chocolate and cookies. Then we bought last minute souvenirs and took the Metro back to Rivoli street for dinner in Café de Chatelet where I had some amazing chocolate mousse. Yum! Then we Merto-d home to our hostel and I took a shower in the hostel shower (interesting experience). Oh and I lost one of my gloves at the Chatelet metro station. Sad day!
End Day 57
P.S. Kelsey said I was “so English” when I whipped out my umbrella at the Bastille. Also, I thought the restaurant lady was telling me to go to the bathroom under the bar when she pointed down, then I saw the stairs behind me,lol. Hopefully getting my crepe tomorrow!

Nov 8-Sun
Sunday we woke up and checked out of the hostel around 11am and said goodbye to Chewy (Chawki) the hostel owner who became our friend. Then we headed to a café for breakfast so I could get my crepe. I finally got it and it had strawberry jam in it! Yum! After that we were all low on cash so we walked to the train station and ended up sitting around for about 2 ½ hours. We finally got to check in but then found out our train was delayed. Nice. So we waited around more and looked in some shops in the station. Then it was time to board the train and once we got on we got food (no ham and cheese melt this time), and slept on and off. Once we arrived in St. Pancras in London we had to find a bus to take us to Victoria Station to catch our bus back to Cheltenham. We had a hard time finding the Coach Station (again) and asked for directions like 5 times. We finally found it with like 10 mins to spare and made it to our bus! Yay! Then we sat in traffic, or “deplorable traffic” as the driver described it, for like 2 hours, so the ride home was really annoying and long. Plus my seat kept falling back and I kept apologizing to the guy behind me. He was nice though. Once we got back to Regency we went to Dani’s kitchen, had “dinner” at 10pm, and told Jesse, Katie, Liz, and Hannah about our Paris adventures. Then I unpacked and collapsed,haha.
End Day 58

Stonehenge, Salisbury, and Halloween

Oct 26-Mon
Monday I only had one class, since it is “reading week” which means everyone is supposed to work on their or catch up on reading. It was my 1:15 class I had so got to sleep in an extra two hours! Yeah! That class was only an hour so I came back, hung out and ate lunch. Then I got this weird phone call about a meeting with the Americans because supposedly we are being too loud and drunk in the halls. So a bunch of us showed up and no one was there to talk to us. It turned out it was a prank…we think. It was lame so we just went back to our rooms and I went to hang out with Dani and Kelsey. Then we ate an early dinner so we could get to FCH by 6pm for our BCA meeting and lecture on Stonehenge, which we are going to on Saturday. It was very interesting and made me excited. Did you know: After you die they can tell where you lived for a certain time by the calcium deposits from water on your teeth? Cool huh? After that we had a homework session since Hannah, Liz, Kelsey and I had assignments due this week. Then Liz’s boyfriend came over for the next few days and we had pizza again and cookies and Kelsey and Dani helped me understand my 1934 vesion of MacBeth by acting it out and summarizing it. Then we listened to old music and relived our adolescence. Then I went to sleep.
End Day 46

Oct 27-Tues
Tuesday I only had my mythology class in the morning. So Dani and I walked there and we watched the Odyssey in class. I fell asleep for the first 10 mins then Dani and I started to write notes and pass a notebook back and forth. That was way more entertaining that the movie. The I printed my literature essay and turned in tin to the hand-in center. Whew! Done! Then I came back to the halls and went online. Then I was going to take a nap but Kelsey facebook messaged me and asked me to go to Tesco with her and shopping for a Halloween costume. So we went to a couple different stores. Kelsey got some red shoes and white tights for her elf costume and I bought a blue dress, white tights, and a black headband for my Alice in Wonderland costume. I just need a white apron and I am going out with Dani tomorrow to find it. Then we came back and were ready to have dinner when the fire alarm went off. Uggg! But this time it was a real fire! Jack set his oven on fire accidentally. After that we went back in to have a dinner of pizza (oven kind) and garlic bread. Then we were really bored for the rest of the night and it dragged on and on. We played games, talked in the hallway, chatted with Ryan and Sonny and then went to bed.
End Day 46

Oct 28-Wed
Wednesday started bright and early at 7am with the fire alarm going off. Again. This one had no reason to it but I heard that it was getting fixed or something. Then we finally got back in at 7:30 and I was drifting off again when it went off again for like 30 seconds and then turned off. Ugggg! It then proceeded to do that like 6 more times during the morning so I eventually gave up on sleeping in. So I’m exhausted now. Then Dani and I went out to get last minute Halloween costume stuff and went to TK Max in the mall, called the Regent Arcade. It was really fun to browse around but I was severly disappointed in the lack of plain white aprons in Cheltenham. All the ones I found had like kitties or roosters on them. Lame. So I settled for a tank-top and a pillow case. It actually works way better than I thought it would. Thanks to Dani for the idea! Then we got Burger King to go and brought some back for Kelsey (working on essay) and ate in the dorms. We then wanted to see a movie but decided to wait and watch a movie in tonight. I went to go talk to my sister on Skype and when I got back no one wanted to watch a movie except me and Dani so we watched Hairspray since I’d never seen it. Then I skyped with family more and went to bed.
End Day 47
P.S. In every store we went in today, there was some kind of beeping or alarm sound. It following us everywhere!!

Oct 29-Thurs
Thursday I was very productive and I got my two writing assignments done for my two creative writing classes. Then I hung around my room and listened to music until Dani and Kelsey got back from class. After that we ate dinner in Dani’s kitchen and talked about and planned our costumes for later that night at Blush. Propaganda was Halloween themed, so we wanted to dress up. Then Jack, Ryan, Sonny and Greg came to hang out in the kitchen with us and the boys got rowdy. Then Hannah and Kelsey and I ran out to Tesco to buy some food for later. Then we came back, got in our costumes, and played games with tons of other people, like the boys from before and Jade, Kirsty, Katie, Nick, etc…After that we went out to Blush and I had a lot of fun even thought it was so crowded and I kept getting shoved or stepped on. After Blush Kelsey and, Greg, Sonny, Ryan, Hannah, and I walked to “Turkish Delight” to get food (fries) and we ate them in Jack’s kitchen. Then we hung out in Hannah’s kitchen and cleaned it a little. We didn’t get to sleep until about 4am but it was awesome!
End Day 48

Oct 30-Fri
Friday I woke up late and sent my creative writing assignments to my teachers. Then I sat around and got bored so I went up to Dani’s room with Kelsey and we palnned our flat’s Halloween party and decorated the kitchen. Then we decided to go to “Big Tesco” for more decorations and party supplies. So we walked there. Oh wait, I forgot that Dani, Kelsey, Cambria and I watched Hocus Pocus in Kelsey’s room to ge tin the Halloween spirit. Anyways, we bought more than we planned at Tesco and didn’t want to carry it back since it was heavy, so we tried to take a trolley(cart) but we didn’t make it over the magnetic wheel-locking strip on the ground. We were going to give up when this random staggering man told us he’d help us if we gave him a light for his cigarette. We said no since we were freaked out. Then he showed us how to get to trolley home, by lifting it over the strip. We thanked him, Robin, and then he staggered away and disappeared. We called him “Robin the Tesco fairy.” So then us and Liz wheeled the trolley, named Robin, back to the halls. He is now kept as a pet in the kitchen.

Then along the way Kelsey lost her phone and Dani got a text from it saying “tell whoever owns this that they dropped it and can come pick it up.” So Liz texted and asked if we could get I back and they said they live by Regency Halls, across from One-Stop , just the road over. We asked them to meet us at Blockbuster across the street but he said “I am watching my little brother and can’t leave.” That sounded dodgy because we couldn’t figure out how he found the phone at 1am if he couldn’t leave. Dani was freaked out and told us not to go and it did sound shady but we took 5 of us and Jacob (like 6’2” and huge) for protection. It ended pretty anti-climactically with some kid going “here you go” and us going “thanks.” But it was an adventure and one I wont forget. Oh and we also stole Jesse’s Halloween wig and left a ransom note for it, but it ended up we stole his friend’s wig on accident and he figured out it was us anyways since it demanded 10 bags of sweets. Oh well. It was fun. Crazy day!
End Day 49

Oct 31-Sat
Saturday we had to wake up early to get on the bus to go to Stonehenge with BCA. I was really tired because we were up late the night before making snacks and finishing decorating for out Halloween party. We got to Stonehenge and took tons of pictures of it and us “holding it” and us “being it”, haha. And I finally got my picture of sheep! Yay! Then we headed into Salisbury and walked around the town, ate at Pizza Express, looked at the Cathedral, went in the Mompesson House from Sense and Sensibility, got some candy, and I bought a shake with marshmallows in it! Then we came back to Regency and even though we were tired we set up the food and kitchen for our Halloween Party. Then we got in our costumes and waited for people to come. Everyone loved the party and enjoyed eating out snacks, haha. We played music, games, and hung out. Then me, Liz, Kelsey, Dani, and Hannah went over to Jack’s kitchen for their party for a bit, but Jack said he liked our better. Then most people went out but me, Greg, Dani, Ryan, Sonny, Kelsey, Liz, Jack, Cambria, and Kristen stayed in to play a card game called Kemps and Trivial Pursuit. Then the fire alarm was pulled by random people at Jack’s who don’t live here but Jack’s whole floor is getting fined. Sucky! After that we were not as excited anymore and went to bed.
End Day 50

Nov 1-Sun
Sunday I woke up with a swollen eye. It was earlier than I wanted and my eye hurt so I was really mad. I tried putting a cold compress on it for a bit and I tried squeezing it because I thought there was a zit on my eyelid. Then I realized it was a stye, so I put a warm compress on it and told Stephanie and Katelyn I wouldn’t be able to go to church. So I kept reapplying the warm compress and did some devotions instead. Then I got ready to go to the Tan Dog’s football (soccer) game like last week. This week there were more people to come watch so they had a lot of loud supportive friends to cheer them on. Then we walked back and me, Kelsey, Dani, Hannah, and Jesse decied to go for dinner at 8:30 at Wetherspoons because it is cheap and Kelsey wanted to see Anthoony (cute waiter) again. Anthony wasn’t there but the food was good and we had fun hanging out with each other. Then we came back and all of us plus Ryan played Apples to Apples for a little bit and Hannah and Ryan loved it. Then we all decided to do homework so I came back, nursed my eye, did some homework and uploaded my pictures from the weekend.
End Day 51