Well I have been putting off this last blog for a very long time. This is because I felt like as soon as I wrote this last post it would mean that my entire experience was over. I felt like I would never see my new friends again, that I would never be able to have an experience as memorable as this one, and that I would never be able to survive living in my home country. Thankfully the anger of my parents dragging me back here have gone away and I have realized that I still can travel the world and I will get to see my friends in the process!
To all the wonderful people I met at Harlaxton. I have never met so many people that are so optimistic about life and so driven to go after whatever they want. It was these people that made my semester abroad much more than I could have ever imagined possible. And it all started before I even left the USA. So to all the wonderful people I met and now can call my friends...this one is for you.
Let's start off with who I miss the most! Melissa McCracken. I suppose you would be mad if I left it at that so I'll try to write a little more. I have never gotten along so well with someone I had absolutely nothing in common with. I was a bit hesitant on this friendship just by watching you try and manage all three of your suitcases through Heathrow but somehow you managed to get all your boots through the airport without taking out any small children so I was a little impressed. Things all fell into place though when we were able to coordinate our nap schedules for the first three weeks of school and shyly ask each other to every single meal. Somehow we became friends through: watching nudists shows in London, napping with the heat on at every hotel, complaining about everyone, being your wing woman, crying together in Paris, borrowing each others clothes, getting yelled at for borrowing each other clothes, watching CJ hula hoop in our room, waking up 10 minutes before British Studies and wandering down, listening to music in the dark, having you whip up every possible drink with the espresso machine, watching you play with every possible thing on the table at meals, watching the sunscreen song with the roomies, locking you in the window, and hearing you sing every possible song you could think of at any frickin' time of the day! I know I am forgetting plenty of things but I am sure we will reminisce about them all as we make plenty of new memories along the way! Make sure to wear your Best Friend Swatch from Paris everyday! Miss you and love you!
Gunnar. I knew you would be a valuable tool in my tool belt from the very first day. I don't think I would have made it back to the manor on mannyyy weekend get aways if it wasn't for you! My trusty navigator. I'm gonna save a lot of money now that I'm not buying you shots of tequila and sambuca! I bet you will miss those! Anywaysss the only reason I really liked you was because you liked Sugarland and made the most obnoxious sandwiches! I guess we have some other memories as well, like when you dragged me through a field telling me how Nick and Kristen could be hanging dead from all the trees around us, I believe this was after you tried to shove me in front of trucks and before the musically filled zig zag up the drive way. Other things I will miss about you: your amazing dancing abilities, watching you try and get around your entire room without touching the floor, looking into your beautiful blue eyes...in all the pictures Missy put of them on my camera, watching Oceans 13 together...oh wait!, seeing you get beat up by Lithuanian men; thank you for giving me the most entertaining volleyball practice of me career, and last but not least thank you for going to watch naked girls dance with me! That's what friends are for! I really can't think of a single normal thing we did together. I wish you all the best in your dreams of going to law school and maybe or maybe not having a wife and kids!
Sara, I finally spelled your name right! I'm gonna miss you roomie!!!! I'm so glad we got to be together this semester! Out of all the roommates I had you were definitely the best! Thank you for hula hooping with me, watching the sunscreen video, singing Call Me Maybe with me, waking me up from my naps for lunch, taking me horse back riding, finding Drury Lane with me, thank you for not dragging me on all the workouts I said I would do (our friendship would not have lasted), I wish we could have gotten farther in our bucket list but I guess that just means we have to go back someday! Thank you for tutoring me through British Studies and teaching me everything you know! You will be a marvelous teacher someday and I'm so jealous that you get to study abroad twice! I miss my sassy little roomie and cannot wait to see you soon!
Nicholas. Ever since I walked into Matt's room one day and was confused about who this guy was that was talking so much and acting like we were already friends...I...I don't know. After that day our friendship just blossomed! Especially during that 2 hour relationship we had! I am going to miss looking out my bedroom window and seeing you wandering around the manor with a trampoline. You are one of the most quirkiest people I have ever known and I wouldn't have you any other way! You are the world's top athlete (mostly because of your 4 pushups a day), I loved every minute of playing volleyball and basketball with you and will miss my big middle hitter and inspirational leader. You are also the second greatest dancer I have ever come in contact with, sorry you got beat out by Victory, not in speed though, you are the fastest dancer I know! I can't wait to attend yours and Kristin's wedding and to also see you on Broadway! Keep up the excellent job shaving, oh and also brushing your teeth (especially in the middle of the street at 3am in Paris)! Can't wait to see you again someday!
Rachel. Thank you for letting me play with your hair and helping me to become an expert braider! You make a beautiful flower! I hope you are enjoying all the pancakes in the world and still using your sexy voice all the time! Let me know if you want to Skype ;) Keep up the excellent job of working out and try to put in some extra time for me! I will dearly miss our Call Me Maybe bonding time and being homesick and watching the sunscreen video together! I feel so lost without you! Mostly because everyone around me always has clothes on! You're gonna be maddd at me for throwing that in! But anyways, keep up the wonderful writing and get some more of your work published! I need some new books to read so get on that. (I prefer trashy romance if you would be interested in exploring a new genre). Love you roomie and can't wait to see you again!
Benny! I have never met anyone that has as much swag as you do, Silky Smooth. Ever since I laid eyes on that shiny beautiful head of yours I just knew we were going to be best friends! You have excellent taste in music and thank you for giving up your headphones in order to keep Matt entertained! I will desperately miss waking up to your smiling face in soc and then following you around the manor until we ended up at lunch. I am also sad that I cannot open my bedroom window and see you walking around with the mac along with the trampoline. Your accents make every woman's heart within a 5 mile radius melt and you will always be Dr. Threesome in my book! Now, if I never teach you anything else just know that whenever you are in the middle of a room filled with people at least warn them when you are going to drop your towel. Can't wait to see you in EC even if me and Kristin actually do have to try 3 or 4 times before you finally agree. We are very dedicated people.
Victory. I believe you gave me a talk at basketball one of the first days on how Victory is the easiest name to remember. Because of this I didn't actually know your first name for at least a month or two. Oops. My happiest memory of you would be on Sunday nights when you would waltz into the refrectory and plop down at the table with your chin in your hands just waiting to hear everyone's stories. You always seemed so genuinely excited to learn about everyone and to get to know them. And that is why I am going to miss you! Thank you for making the basketball season bearable but also obnoxiously fun! You are the greatest story teller I have ever met even though I really know you shine most in the magical lyrics you can throw together into a song. Auburn Eyes was my favorite. If we could have only experienced one thing together I would have been completely satisfied with Poetry Jam 2010. Best of luck in everything you do especially in becoming an engineer? I believe. I hope to see you again some day! And if not, my last memory will be dancing on that last Monday night at Barcode and that's not too shabby of a memory to me.
Alex. I think my favorite time with you was during our walk in Paris when you told me all about the two children that you abandoned. I knew I had made a lifelong friend at that point. Oh and thank you from protecting me from the men on top of the hill in Paris. That was a scary time in my life and I'm glad you were there to protect me in your big strong arms. When you weren't being mean you were actually really nice so I'm kinda confused. I would just like to inform you though that my self confidence has gone way up since being away from your constant insults! I hope you have a lovely summer working on the farm and I can't wait to hear you on the radio someday!
Jake. I cannot wait to work with my future partner in Becki and Jake's Beef and Egg Production. I don't see how we won't be millionaires by age 25. Really I see no flaws. I am going to miss having someone to cheat off of in class and also having someone to insult just so I could watch them pout. This was really a great friendship I think! Anywaysss I will miss watching you trample poor helpless Lithuanian men just because you were running so fast you couldn't stop. You were really the most graceful basketball player I have ever seen. On that note, I do apologize for giving you false promises for your basketball achievements. You were truly a gentlemen, especially when I would throw my purse across the room just to see you run and get it. OK that only happened once. But I truly did love our friendship and bonding. Can't wait to visit the frat house! WOOO!
Cleve. Our basketball team would not have survived without you, well not that we really survived anyways. But you gave a valiant effort none the less! I am going to miss watching you father Jake like he was your own. Thank you for assisting him in getting the bees out of my window, I don't think he could have done it without you. Also, thank you for letting me stare at the back of your head when I couldn't think of anything to write on my British Studies tests. I hope you enjoyed our slumber party as much as I did and I hope you treasure the souvenir that you took from above my bed. Every other man in the world I'm sure is very envious! I'm impressed at how long this friendship lasted considering the first time we actually met you had to remind me that we were on the basketball team together. I thought I was doomed from there on. Good luck in the race this summer if you still do it and I will hopefully see you in the future! P.S. I'm still mad that you took my bdubs sauce!
Jordan. One of my favorite middle blockers! I have never had such an inappropriate teammate during a volleyball season! I always loved playing next to you even though I could hardly focus! Hopefully we will get to play together again someday so that we can run some more shoots. Just please don't leave me for Kristin. You are also the sexiest James Bond I have ever seen! You should wear that outfit more often. You are a truly great friend and wonderful person, especially when you wait up for me in Paris...and then give me awkward hugs! Anyways you should draw me a picture because you kicked me off that bench! Sound good? Can't wait to see you again some day ;)
Did you think I forgot about you Kristin? I had to save you for last because you are my most trusty follower! And I just needed to make sure that someone actually read the stuff that I put all this effort into! So that was your job! Ever since I was concussed and therefore missing volleyball for the weekend which meant I could attend the orientation, I KNEW we would be friends! I think are friendship (with Missy as well) was truly cemented that first weekend in London as we all napped fully clothed at 6 at night with the heat cranked and awkward shows playing on tv. I think I experienced pretty much everything with you whether it be staring at Doug, getting whip lash from my driving, getting violated during basketball games, letting me have your inhaler to make it up Arthur's Seat, spending many nights in the Bistro, pep talking you through ghill scrambling, watching you try and handle your horse in Lake District and sharing a wonderful nap afterwards, letting me steal your boyfriend for a few hours, fighting over Jordan, enjoying pinaS coladas in Spain, making many stops at Starbucks, taking romantic pictures on the beach, letting me take pictures of you in Paris, being my model in Spain as well. I love my favorite co-captain and cannot wait to play with you in EC. Whether it be in a gym or on a playground or in a bar.
To everyone that I played volleyball and basketball with, thank you for reminding me of why I started playing sports in the first place. These were two of my favorite teams that I have ever been a part of and I am going to miss everyone involved. Thank you for letting me be my obnoxious self at all times and thank you even more for joining me in the obnoxiousness. You all will never truly know how much I enjoyed the experience. I miss every minute of it.
To everyone and everyone else, that joined me along the way, thank you for the memories. I am thankful that I got to meet all the people that I did. I could not have asked for a better group of manor mates! Love you all and cannot wait to be reunited again someday.
Because I Knew You...(click here).
Also long story short, I had bought two tickets to a burlesque show off of groupon a few months ahead of time and spent the time in between trying to convince Matt to go watch naked people dance with me. Thankfully he agreed and brought our $9 drinks! The show went from 7 to 2 with dancing after their performance. But because we didn't know where the apartment was we had to actually leave the show after two hours so that I could catch the last train out to the apartment. Anyways, the part of the show that we actually got to see was interesting and amazing! There was a red carpet leading into the place then we had to head down these stairs surrounded by mirrors. After that we walked into the room where there was a bar, stage and tables. The room was completely decked out like any burlesque movie with red curtains hanging everywhere, low lighting and fog machines. It was amazing and I was in love. Our table was directly next to the stage so we had greattttt views of EVERYTHING. The fun part came when we could not understand the waiters or how the system worked but we somehow managed to get drinks and our delicious three course meals! Then had to figure out how to pay for our drinks and sneak out while the show was going on. Somehow we managed and made our way back to pick up Missy. This is the sad part. When I left for England on January 5th all by myself, Missy and Matt were the only other people on my plane that were going to Harlaxton so they were the first people I met on my trip and some of the best friends I had made and now it was time to say goodbye to the last of my friends that I had made as the semester had come full circle. So there I left them at Starbucks and headed out to the ghetto of London that our apartment was in but it was ok because as I was powerwalking away from the men watching me I was greeted by my sister that I had not seen in months!
On Friday we decided to venture out so the fam could see some more of London. We ended up taking a bus and boat tour around the city. We were able to see all the important stuff while on the bus/boat. My family brought the most terrible weather with them so we did not spend much time actually outside and walking. But I think they still enjoyed their time and we made the most of it. That night we finally decided that it was time to book our trip to Liverpool. So the next morning bright and early I headed off to the train station with Mommy and Daddy and just a few hours later we were in the land of the Beatles! We booked a tour and were able to take a tour through the life of the Beatles, we had a little 4D experience which was interesting, and then there was another part of how Elvis influenced the Beatles. I have always wanted to go to Liverpool every since I listened to the Beatles on my cd player every bus ride in middle school and I was so happy to finally be there! I learned so many new things about the Beatles and also about Elvis. My favorite part however was when we went and found the Cavern Club where the Beatles played when they were just starting also but the Club has hosted pretty much every famous singer and band from Britain. We had to pay at the door then go down about 4 flights of stairs and there was already a band playing at 3 in the afternoon and the place was full of people! It was also nice because there was also another side stage that just played a video about the Beatles so me and Mom enjoyed a pint there and than got our souvenirs and headed out. Some how we also managed to book our trip to Liverpool on the same day as the Sea Odyssey Titanic. Which was basically a big parade that had a gigantic sea diver start at one end and a big girl start at the other end and they walked until they met up in the middle. The diver and the girl were literally taller than all the buildings they were passing and the streets were packed with THOUSANDS of people! It was the best way to end the trip as we were headed to the train station and headed home.
On Monday morning we were up bright and early to begin our next adventure. ITALY! Our first stop was Rome and because we only had 2 days there we needed to use our time wisely. As soon as we got to our hostel we all climbed in our bunk beds and had a nice nap! After that we were finally ready to take on Rome! We began by getting our bus tour all scheduled. We bought a 24 hour pass to get on and off a bus line in order to see as much of the city as we could. On Day 1 we decided it would be best to ride the full bus tour in order to see everything and then we would spend the next day getting off to see the specific things we wanted. So after riding around on that Monday and enjoying our first two Italian meals we drank some wine and headed to bed. The next day we did a tour of the Colosseum and also walked around Vatican City. It is amazing how much history is in the city and that most of the things we were seeing were hundreds of years old. It was also cool to learn all the history of the Colosseum, I think the most interesting thing I learned was that in the first 100 days of the opening of the Colosseum around 5,000 Gladiators and animals were killed. It was just interesting after hearing of the history of it and seeing the movies it was crazy to actually be in the place where all the history took place. The other place we looked around was the Vatican and around the city. I wish we could have been there for a service to see the Pope but it was still cool seeing where the world famous services take place. After that we picked up a few souvenirs and had some gelato before our last Italian dinner.
The next morning we headed off to the train station (but not before we bought some cheap Italian shoes) to get to our next destination, Pisa. It was a long train ride so by time we got there we didn't have much day light left so we hurried on our to our last destination of Italy. The leaning tower is still standing. We helped it stay up as much as we could but then our arms got tired so we went and had our last Italian meal. After that we had a short last night in Italy then it was time to move on to the next country.
Early Thursday morning I got up with Mom and Dad. As we went our own way off to Ireland Sarah and Kevin stayed in Italy. After getting in many fights and sneaking past some security people with our over sized bags that they wanted us to pay extra for we finally made it to Ireland on an on time Ryanair flight with some triumphant music! After that we had a quick breakfast and found our hotel. We relaxed for a little bit and did some laundry then it was time for our first Irish tour. The Guinness Brewery tour in Dublin! In the tour we were able to walk around and see all the steps involved in making the world famous beer. It was even finished with a free pint on the top floor of the Brewery with a 360 degree panoramic view of the city. I think that was the highlight because the pint was hitting my parents just right so I heard many new stories that they had never told me before :) After the tour we searched for a pub with some live music and had some dinner and more pints. After that it was another early night to bed so that we could get up nice and early the next morning for the next tour on our list.
This was the tour I was most excited for while traveling with the family. The destination was Giants Causeway in northern Ireland with a few other stops along the way. We left at 6:30 in the morning and did not get back until around 7:00 that night but we saw soo much! One of our first stops was the Carrick-A-Rede Rope bridge. We got off the bus and had about a 20 minute walk in order to get to this old fishing bridge. Well it's no longer a fishing bridge and has been updated but it is still very known and very high up. I was impressed that I was able to get Mom to agree to go across it with me and we even got our own certificates for crossing! Our next main stop was the main attraction of Giants Causeway. Giants Causeway is an area filled with thousands of interlocking basalt columns that were created through a volcanic eruption (or so Wikipedia tells me). All of the columns were really cool to look at and even more fun to climb around, even if Mom got mad at me hanging over 30 foot drops. Our last stop on the tour was in Belfast, Ireland which has been known for being a troubling city of Ireland for a long time but has slowly become a nicer place. It is also the city where the Titanic was built. We only had an hour there which was just enough time for one more pint. After the tour it was time to head back to the hotel and relax for the night, which turned into me and dad going downstairs to the hotels pub for a few last pints while in Dublin. 
After one last little flight we were over in Edinburgh, Scotland. The last stop on our trip before London and going home. It had been another early morning and we were all pretty exhausted from our entire trip so as soon as we got to the hotel we had a nice veryyyyy long nap. I was also pretty excited about this hotel because I had booked it and although it was a ways outside of town it was out on the water and had a great view! So we were able to eat our few meals there surrounded by great scenery. Anyways, after nap time we headed back into Edinburgh for a little fun. We were going to do a tour of the city but decided we had had enough of those so we switched it up a bit and decided to hit up the Edinburgh Dungeon which was basically an amusement tour through the history of the city. Kind of. They had actors and played through different stories of things that happened in the history of the city. There were even a few little rides involved. Ask Mom for the pictures (they are pretty entertaining). The next morning and our last full day of adventures we were back in town and decided to try out Edinburgh's Camera Obscura. I loved it! There was a tower up on top of this building and at the top there was a mirror that reflected the image of the city down onto a table in a dark room that we were in. By moving and twisting a rod attached to the mirror we were able to see everything around the city. We could even people watch everyone walking along the street without them knowing! After playing with the mirror we worked our way back down the building floor by floor and on each floor there was a different theme of optical illusions that we could look at and sometimes play with. We had a bit of fun the rest of the way!
Anyways the first night we decided to get a feel of the town. We went and walked along the water and looked at boats, then we found a nice park that led to the Arc de Triomf of Barcelona. After that we were in the downtown area and looked around some shops and had dinner at a Spanish restaurant. Dinner involved burritos and pina coladas! It was nice walking around the city because some of the apartments were decorated really sweet on the outside with pictures and paintings. After dinner we started walking back to the hostel and passed a big church that had people spilling out all around it. There was some event going on for Easter and thousands of people were there for it so it was cool to watch. After that is was beddy bye time or just laying in bed listening to people because they were so loud in the lobby. (Pictures: on the left is the church we passed and on the right is inside one of the shops).
The next morning it was time to explore the city! I did not realize that these adventures were to begin at the crack of dawn. So that was interesting... there was definitely some Starbucks involved!! Otherwise survival would not have been an option. The first stop of the day was Sagrada Familia. It is a famous church and is absolutely beautiful! We wanted to go inside but the line to go inside the church wrapped all the way around the outside of the church (15 minutes after it opened). It was just amazing how much effort and thought goes into all of the architecture. That is what I loved about every trip I went on while abroad. Compared to the US everywhere else puts so much more work into their architecture. It is not just about how to build the biggest building for the lowest cost but there is much more thought put into every aspect of each building. It is amazing. 
Next on the list for the day was WALKING! We started with a 
combination of trains and walking to get up to one of the highest hills in Barcelona. It was a sunny and clear day outside so there were plenty of beautiful views. Which was also perfect for action shots! However the main reason we were on top of this hill was because it was where the 1992 Olympics were held. The main thing we were able to see was the track. It was really cool because the track is still in great condition and doesn't make it look like these Olympics were held 20 years ago. After that it was time to head up the hill to the next location. Kristin and I decided the best mode of transportation for this would be a clear plastic container type thing that ran up the hill on cables. It was cool because we could see all the scenery around us and had great views of the entire city. 
Once on the top of the hill we were able to run around yet another...you guessed it...CASTLE! This one was a little different though because it was so high up and right on the water. So we could enjoy the water and have some more nice views of the city. This is also where we decided to have lunch. And by lunch I mean cheap hot dogs and sangria! The sangria was awful. Just awful (and strong). So that was fun!
Next we started making our way down the hill. This is when our afternoon crash started hitting. On our train down I believe about half of us were asleep. But it was not an option to slow down. Well except for on top of a mail box for a quick nap. After we got off the train we had to hike up this very steep hill. But once we got to the top we were on top of the second tall hill in Barcelona. So we walked around for some more views. After that we headed over to The Guell Park. It is an area filled with mosaics. Everything was decorated in mosaics and it was very pretty so we were able to spend some time here looking out at the city and relaxing while taking pictures. 
When we decided to go to Barcelona our entire goal of the weekend was to lay on the beach and drink margaritas. Well the weather all weekend was windy and in the 60s so unfortunately this goal was never accomplished. However we did get to have some time on the beach. We spent our evening sitting on the beach all bundled up eating snacks. It was actually quite depressing. But also a nice relaxing way to end the day. After that we tried to find a famous fountain in Barcelona but once we got out to the location we realized that the fountain wasn't actually running. So we had nothing left to do except hit up the same Spanish restaurant for some more burritos and pina coladas! Just for the record, the bar tender will correct you if you say two pina coladas because it is actually dos pinas coladas! Oops! Anyways it was a fantastic dinner and ending to the night! By time we got back to the hostel at 11:15 we had been out on the town for 15 hours and we definitely all slept that night!
Now time for the good stuff. All the fun really happened in the last week of school. It all began one Tuesday evening when we figured out that a local bowling alley had half off of bowling and drinks. So we headed out on the town for two games and some fun! After our games we decided that we needed to work off a little more energy so we walked a wee bit to get into town and hit up the local night club. Needless to say the place was completely empty which left plenty of room on the dance floor for us to show off our moves. Somehow this bowling and dancing was just not enough fun to be able to call it a night and take a cab home...so we decided to walk the three miles home. Which was an adventure in itself. It involved many Disney and musical songs, threats of pushing each other in the street and wandering through a field in front of the manor. It was possibly one of my favorite nights of the semester! (The picture is how our walk started out).
