Nearly finished.

The last week has been an emotional one. Exams are done and the papers are turned in. I have had many 'lasts'. I will not set foot on the UNott Park Campus for many years, I will not see my running friends anymore, and I will not be able to run through Wollaton Park again. The flat has been scrubbed and scoured to a level of cleanliness that no one thought possible. One of the flatmates has already left for France. How sad. We have had last flat dinners and even a meal out that was quite posh. My bags are mostly packed, my bulletin board is empty and my walls are bare. With least thank 24 hours left, I am heading to see our green grocer for one last time. A girls lunch in city centre followed by the last bits of cleaning. Tonight we will complete the year, making it come full circle. A dinner at The Salutation Inn as a last hurrah. We will say our goodbyes to the city centre with a pint at Ye Old Trip to Jerusalem (the oldest pub in England) and then come back home to our local pub, the Lion for one last pint. With out exhausted bodies, we will crawl into our beds for one last night of sleep in Nottingham. Tuesday morning we leave early and drive directly to Heathrow. A flight to Iceland and then onto Minneapolis and it will all be over. I will see my parents and a friend waiting for me. I will cry saying goodbye to my flatmates and Mark and Carol, but I will also cry saying hello to my loved ones back home. To adhere to my dad's warning, I have been drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated while saying goodbye. This blog has been a way for me to keep in touch with friends and family at home and abroad all year, but it has also helped me to analyze what is going on in my life and a chance to secure memories. Perhaps I will keep writing throughout my senior year, but just like the everything else back in the States, I cannot imagine what it will be like, so there are no guarantees. This was an amazing year and it has meant the world to me. I will never forget.

One wonderful week left

Well, Friday wrapped up well. After welcoming some flatmates back home, we had a good dinner and a few of us went out with Mark and Carol to explore. Our newsagent has been working on a new Hindu temple all year and he invited us to come see it. We walked up the tram line and a bit beyond the Lion to what looked like nineteenth century factory buildings. The old brick buildings had been well maintained on the outside, and little did we know that the insides had been entirely refurbished to look like a Hindu temple. We saw part of a service and then got the grand tour. While not all of the work had been completed yet, it was really cool to learn a bit about the traditions and all of the plans for this temple. Apparently it is the third temple in Notts. I knew this city was diverse, but I had no idea it would be able to support three Hindu temples. Anyway, it was fun to talk to some of the elders (who didn't try to convert us, bc that isn't what Hindu's believe in... what a novel concept!) and to join some of the congregation for traditional snacks.

I realize that this is incredibly chronological, but my creative juices have been spent on papers for IS135 and creatively answering essay questions on Uni exams. Bleh. Saturday was another fast day, but we spent the evening hours attending Brandon's concert at St. Mary's. The performance opened with Copeland's clarinet concerto which was performed by a phenomenal clarinetist. After all of my nine years of playing, which included band camps, workshops, and opportunities to hear many excellent musicians, I can honestly say that this was the most talented clarinet player I have ever heard. She was young, perhaps a bit dramatic in her movements, but amazing. Even better than Dr. Beasley, if I am allowed to say so. I was quite impressed. A full orchestra with loads of talent and the choir made for a solid Chichester Psalms. I will have to admit that I enjoyed it more this time than the Christmas at Luther version. Because we purchased student tickets, our view was obstructed by the pillars... but this was the best picture I could finagle. Oh, and while we are on that subject... the last time we attended a choir concert at St. Mary's we noticed a young man who looked a great deal like our Luther friend Mr. Lucas Reidenbach. This time, I came armed with my camera and documented his presence. So, Luke... here is your British look alike. Just thought I would share (this is for Kev's sake... he would have taken a pic, but as his camera has gone to a better place...). After the concert, I finally went to the Kean's Head (a pub that is directly next to the church and is frequented by the choristers). A pint of mild ale and then we met Kate and Aaron for another drink at one of Kate's favourite places. It was an early night in, but we began the celebration at midnight for Ryan's birthday. The last of the Notters to turn 21 in England (Anna is on Sept 7 when we are back at Luther).

Sunday was an early day for Kev, Mar, Aaron and myself. We headed out at 9:30 (hey, that is early for me!) with Mark and Carol to Southwell. Southwell - don't pronounce it 'south well' because the locals would think you were putting on airs, it should be said 'suthel' or something like that anyway. We traipsed through the rain and went to a lovely service in the church (a grand norman and gothic church - not a cathedral because it is lacking a cathedra...) and even got to witness a baptism. From there, we stopped by the refectory to enjoy some warm food. Who knew it could be so cold in May? Soup and a roll followed by hot puddings. I had bread and butter pudding, and the rest of the group enjoyed treacle pudding or spotted dick. With custard, of course. Afterwards, we made our way to a workhouse that is now owned by the National Trust. It was interesting, but as I did not take advantage of the audio guide (to be fair, Mark didn't either), I am sure I missed out on all sorts of fun historical facts. I decided that since this was an optional trip, I would just as soon not have a dry old voice telling me what each scratch in the wall meant. No, I kid. Not all of the audio guides have been bad, just enough to put me off the idea of audio guides. When we returned home, the flat was freezing. What was there to do, but curl up with tea and watch Lord of the Rings. We finally finished the extended version trilogy and Ryan celebrated his real birthday.

However, as Ryan's birthday fell on a Sunday, we decided we should celebrate on Monday... for whatever reason. It just so happened that Monday was a Bank Holiday, so nothing was different, but that's how we did it. We made our way to the Lion and then on to the Vernon Arms. We had a few pints and enjoyed pub culture at its best. A few pictures of the evening...

Of course there was Guinness, so the pic on the left is of a pint with a shamrock drawn in the top by the spigot. I suppose it wasn't all that impressive to others, but we were impressed by our bar tender's skill and friendliness. Smiles all around and a fun walk back made a pretty good birthday for Ryan in the end. Even though his birthday was on Sunday, we dragged out the celebration even further and Carol made a wonderful cake (piano shaped of course) tonight. I am happy to say that this session of exams has proven to be much more interesting that the one in January. The group has been more involved and has accomplished much more than before. At first I thought it was because of the warm weather, but when it began to rain we just plowed right through. It must be the fact that our time is running out...

Whether we are ready or not, we officially have less than one week left. Actually, in exactly 168 hours, seven of us will be landing in the Minneapolis-St.Paul Airport. Tears will flow as we part our flatmates and more will come as we are greeted by our family. It is a very strange concept after being away for an academic year.

Well, today brought more rain, but it cleared up in time for me to bike to campus for my last psych final. It was not horrible, but it was not my most eloquent bit of writing. Fortunately, I don't have to get a first class mark in this module. Oh, and Mark took Emily and I to mail packages. Let me just say that Royal Mail has made off with my bank account. If any one sees it, please let me know.

Tomorrow will hopefully be sunny. I will go to my last training session with NUAC and will cook my last meal for the flat. After a year of cooking and a year of training, it will be hard knowing that it is the last time.

Don't get me wrong, I am excited to come home and see family and friends, but it will be impossible being away from England. Just a few of the things I will miss include: Kevin always playing good music (in the basement, in the kitchen, the bathroom, the coach... wherever), pub culture, my running mates, sleeping on the top bunk, chatting with my roomies before bed, biking to campus, and the unpredictable weather. The list is pages longer, but those are what I was thinking about today. Good night, sleep tight, see you in less than a week.

furious finals...

Somehow, this week flew by again. I realize I have said it before, but time passes faster by the month. Each year seems shorter, but especially in Notts, each month goes by quicker. This week included several milestones. Tuesday marked the 'only two weeks left' date on the calendar, Wednesday was the final for our year long flat course IS135, and Thursday my final for my year long Cognitive Psychology module. Mary's friend Andrea drew Mary away from the flat again for a few days in London, Anna's friend Katelin (from Luther, she and I lived on the same floor in Brandt freshman year) came from Malta to stay for a while, and half of the flat left for travels. Currently, Ryan is in Ireland visiting family, Emily and Aaron are in London (but not together, for most of the time anyway), and Mary is coming back from London as we speak. I still have two finals left and will therefore be in the flat (or in the library) studying for the remaining exams. I suppose I should work on that last paper, too. Anyway, my finals this week went well and I got a paper back, with a pretty good mark if I may say so myself, from Christian Thought in the Modern World.

To give myself a break from the flat, I spent a day studying at Starbucks with Mary. We also went shopping afterwards. Let's just say that Nottingham city centre is a dangerous place for my wallet... even though I am not the most shopping oriented person. Flat dinners continue to be enjoyable and it is hard to make myself go to training for NUAC because I don't want to miss time with my flatmates. It is strange, I will go back to the states and get to see them all throughout senior year. However, it will never be the same, so I am hesitant to miss out on anything. On Wednesday, to celebrate being done with IS135 (International Studies: Exploring Great Britain), Kevin, Emily, Aaron and I walked in the beautiful weather to Wollaton Hall. We went through the newly refurbished home/museum and then enjoyed rambling about the park. Inside the museum, there was an extensive collection of taxidermied (they were NOT stuffed) animals and a large collection of minerals. Perhaps it was not the most typical inside of a stately home, but it was rather entertaining. Dad, there were a few things I thought you would enjoy...

If you will recall the 'Rocks and Minerals Club' meetings in the basement of the old Carnegie Library, you will note that the rock on the left is Dog-tooth Calcite and the mineral formation on the right is 'desert rose'. Just thought I would share.

Moving on...

The lake was fun to walk around afterwards and the weather could not have been more beautiful. I was also excited to show the others my favourite tree in all of Wollaton. It is a huge old oak on the top of a hill in a secluded corner of the park. The branches split off from the main trunk so perfectly and then gracefully lean down towards the ground... I could sit underneath that tree for ages.

Just a few pics to give you an idea of the tree...

Well, Mary just got back from London and the IS135 exams were handed back (another successful mark) so I am off to meld with my flatmates... or something. Oh and Picasa is updated again, so be sure to look at that.

Birthday Rites and Friday Night Lights...

Last week was rather busy, to put it lightly. Exams, papers, visitors, birthdays... the list goes on. Monday, the flat kept busy studying for the British Novel exam and in the afternoon we welcomed Mary's friend from Luther into our flat. Andrea fit right in and dealt with the nine of us that were all relatively stressed out and uninteresting. Tuesday, Kevin's birthday, started with an all too early exam for Mark and Carol, which went surprisingly well. After an afternoon of avoiding the upcoming paper at all costs, we settled in for an excellent meal, complete with a remote control shaped birthday cake for Kevin. It was rather comical, although Kevin took unnecessary offense to it (could Mark and Carol really think of nothing else that epitomized my existence?). After Mark and Carol cleaned up, we began the long process of getting ready for a night out in Notts. A few hours later, people were excited, happy and ready to celebrate. Unfortunately, all of our favourite haunts were closed... who knew that Nottingham shut down early on Tuesday nights? We still managed to find some fun pubs and bars and when it struck midnight, the celebration became mine. We stayed out a bit after midnight and then caught the last tram home. After winding down (and some people planning menus for the next day's grocery shopping... which proved to not be such a great idea at such a late hour), we crawled into bed, with yet another (two actually) satisfactory 21st birthday celebration under our belts.

Wednesday, I took full advantage of it being my birthday and slept in quite late. It was wonderful. After relaxing the morning away, I realized that I had to face the impending doom of the paper and set to work researching. I took breaks from reading scholarly articles to open my birthday gifts... which were all rather fabulous. The biggest birthday card ever (seriously, I should submit it to Guinness) from my dad and a little something else, party favours and cute necklaces from my mom (to tide me over until I come home), an incredibly creative digital creation from my sister and Stephen, a tree from Sara (who knew you could dedicate a tree? now, as Sara says, "a part of Hilary can stay in England forever"), random cool things from my flatmates and a white elephant gift from Mark and Carol... complete with a cake. Mine was not shaped like a remote, but instead a traditionally round cake with a 'Hil' (green hill of coconut) on the top with nice scripting by Carol. Kevin, a cake is a cake, and Mark and Carol know that there is more to you than TV. Anyway, it was a good birthday - fun people, calls from everyone in my family, happy birthday wishes through the Internet, and a delicious meal. I spent the rest of the night and most of the next day cruising through my paper.

Thursday was filled with stressed flatmates and furious paper writing. A dinner, filled with relief from having the paper in, and good conversation. The night is kind of a blur... we wasted time and probably watched the first disc of LOTR "Two Towers" and then crashed early. I worked on revising Brandon's paper... it would have been nice if he had read it over before turning it in... and suddenly it was Friday. I ran a bit, the weather finally decided to stop being wet ALL of the time, just most of the time and we had an early and lonely dinner. Mark and Carol were out on a date and Mary and Andrea were off to York. We rushed out of the house and secured Nottingham Forrest tickets for the playoff game. (See Kevin's blog for further explanation of the game... and the playoffs...)

It was so exciting to go to a Friday night game... the air is always more charged as the day comes to an end and thousands of fans stream to the stadium to cheer on their team. It was reminiscent of the Friday night games in high school, not that I really cared about (American) football, but those were some of the best nights in high school. Everyone coming together, cheering from under blankets and behind hot chocolate... those were the good old days. While this game was different, real football, a larger stadium, professional players, and team chants like no American football team has heard before - it was a treat to see the stadium illuminated by the proverbial Friday night lights. The game stretched long into the night and unfortunately, the Forest lost (Nottingham Forrest Football Club... NFFC). A good night overall.

This weekend has been filled with studying, nice weather, and running. I made it downtown to shop a bit yesterday, and I finally bought a dress that I had been eyeing since returning from holiday - thanks Dad! Anyway, today will be running, internet catch-up, and studying for the next week of academic torture. While others complain of the time flying by, at the moment it seems to be dragging. I am ready to be done with exams and papers. I have four exams and two papers remaining. To say the least, I am not thrilled. At least the weather has finally cleared up.

Mum's day

After a productive day of shopping downtown, I puttsed around the flat taking care of bits and bobs and chatted with every member of my family. I can't remember the last time I talked to Mom, Dad, and Kim all in one day. It was pretty special to talk to all members of my fam in one day. Anyway, as it is Mother's Day today, we decided to give Carol a little something special, since her daughters couldn't be here. We picked out a beautiful bouquet of lilies, roses, carnations and all sorts of foliage and made her a card with photos from the past year. Mark and Carol came for tea and Anna had made a beautiful chocolate raspberry cream cake, so tea and dessert was quite nice. As I sit here, catching up with computer work, I am at ease from the noises of the flat - the guitar playing, an episode of the office playing in another room, while dishes clink in the kitchen as they are being washed and dried. Of course I think about how I will miss the noises of eight other people now, when I should be doing homework, but in all honesty, it will be quite strange to live alone this coming summer. Anyway, I am off to study and work on a paper...here are a few pics from the past week or so:

Hardwick Hall, as seen from the side gardens...

This is Aaron. Aaron is comfortable in our flat. I like Aaron's outfit. I am glad that we can all be comfortable in our flat and wear what is necessary to make us comfortable in our flat. I have my IHSA orange Bball shorts from state track, Aaron has his England Cricket shorts and his moccasins, Mary has her sweatpants, Anna has the blanket her Mom knitted for her... the list goes on. The moral of the story is, hurray for comfy clothes. And nutella. Comfy clothes and nutella equals comfort.

Carol, Anna and her masterpiece. Happy Mother's Day!

... Don't worry Mom, I will pick you a beautiful bouquet of flowers, bake you a wonderful tart and give you all sorts of hugs just as soon as I get back.

Oh, and Picasa has a few new photos up if anyone cares to look...

almost 21 and sleepovers are still fun...

Friday was a good day. Despite the phone calls and doorbell ringing, I managed to stay in bed until almost eleven, just to make sure I was caught up on my sleep. I worked on coursework for Mark and Carol all afternoon (well, after I had breakfast and then lunch about twenty minutes later) and then I headed down to Uni for NUAC. The weather was a bit gloomy again, but the bike ride made it feel less cool. What was supposed to be a relaxed three mile loop around campus, turned into a negative split workout for Anna and I. It felt really good to work so hard and to top it off, it began to rain while we were running, so we didn't even overheat. A great run and an endorphin enhanced ride home made dinner even more enjoyable. Carol had made a wonderful chicken salad with all sorts of good veggies, fruits and spices and dessert was a simple berry salad, but the berries were so fresh, so good, and to top it all off (literally) we had special English extra thick double cream to drizzle over the top. We stayed at the table forever and chatted. It was a good end to a crazy week. The flatmates stayed in last night and we decided to have a sleepover... in our common room. We brought out the mattresses off of the futon and arranged the furniture just right and settled in with freshly baked cookies (thank you Kev, you are the master... or at least give Anna a run for her money) to watch the Fellowship of the Rings (the extended version). Four hours later, Mary, Aaron and I were the only ones still awake. We rolled over and slept. I wish I had a picture of us all tucked into our comfy spots... but who needs to see the flatmates in pj's anyway?

At 5:42 this morning, I awoke very confused because the room was flooded with light and I could see blue sky out the window. I had no idea the sun rose that early. One reoriented, I rolled over to sleep for another three hours or so. We all crawled out of bed (or off the couches) and most of us got ready to go on a day trip with Mark and Carol. With scone in hand, I walked out the front door and scrunched myself into the back (almost) seat of Mark and Carol's car with Anna. The boys settled into the real back seat and we were off. We stopped in a small village along the way to see a well dressing (a pagan tradition of decorating wells with floral arrangements or artwork -made out of natural things - to give thanks for the water) the actual decoration wasn't that impressive, but there was a rather eclectic marching bands of sorts, interesting dancers, and a small Maypole which young children did a marvelous job of mixing up the ribbons. Carol had tea and everyone else had pints. At 11am. My flatmates and Mark are becoming true English(wo)men. After that interesting cultural experience, we were on the road again.

Hardwick Hall was impressive, but at this point in the year, the 'stately grand homes' can get a bit boring. This one was still pretty impressive and not as gaudy as it could have been... save the HUGE stone initials E.S. which were all over the top of the lavish home. The gardens were pretty and the old hall ruins (which was amazing in its own way... but was later abandoned for a more ridiculous hall which was constructed just next to it) were interesting as well. It was really good to get out and about with Mark and Carol again. We also stopped at an old working flour mill. We got watch the wheat being ground and Carol bought us a kg so Ryan could make some whole wheat sour dough from his starter. I am excited. Anyway, after a rush for the kitchen when we got home to make dinner, we have settled in for another relaxed evening. In a bit we will head out to the Lion for some more live music - again recommended by David Juggins - but we must wait until it gets dark before we leave. As I sit here at nearly half past nine, there is still light in the sky... perhaps we will have to break our darkness rule one of these days.

Tomorrow will hopefully be full of essay contemplation and productivity. Hopefully ;)

Happy (early) Mother's Day!

pointless frustration...

Today was relatively productive. I woke up in time to take care of a few things around the house and then I headed off to the Post Office with Emily. I finally mailed one of my packages home (things that did not fit into my suitcases during the trial pack) and decided it would be best to ship it... literally send the package by sea as it is cheaper... cheap is a relative word... it was still disgustingly expensive to send home. I also got a few packages and packets off to friends in the states (those went by air and were much less expensive to send across the ocean). After the adventure with the PO people, we went along to Sainsbury's local to pick up some tea. It was funny to hear the sales clerk's reaction to our accent... he simply could not believe that we were from the states and were living in the area for the year. A bit later, Mary and I headed to campus for our final Christian Thought lecture. It was more of a review session, so that was good, but with the lovely workings of the Medilink bus system made us a few minutes late. With some helpful pointers from our professor, I think I will be OK for this exam as well. We popped into Blackwell's on the way back to the bus and I finally found a version of Harry Potter that I can live with. (Of course, the British version is slightly different than the American version, so I had to have one to add to my collection... all of the American ones, a french book no. 1, and now an English book no. 1... the other ones I had seen in Waterstone's around England were quite gaudy and covered in poor illustrations and gold shiny bits. I like the one I purchased today a great deal, thank you very much.) In case you couldn't tell, I am a fan and am awaiting the release of the final book.

Right, so I have become quite good at this nonsensical drivel. It is more of a stream of consciousness thing, so next year when I am freaking out about graduation, I can look back on my blog to see what I was up to a year ago in England.

This afternoon, I finished up some coursework for Mark and Carol's Internat'l Studies class and handed that in just before I went to go meet some of my NUAC friends. We walked from Derby road all the way back to the flat and, for the first time, I had friends over for dinner. Come to think of it, these are the first UNott students we have had over for dinner... or even in the flat... It was really fun to show them where I lived, studied, and hung out. Elaine (from Manchester), Sophia (from down south), and Anna (from the Netherlands) all enjoyed the meal and had fun chatting with my flatmates and Mark and Carol. They were so sweet, they even brought me chocolates for having them over... Next week, we are going to try and have dinner at Anna's place and somewhere else after that. Even though it is late in the year, I am really glad I have had the chance to make some good friends here. Funny how easy it is to make good friends with runners...

Anyway, I took care of a bit of school work and then settled in for a movie with Anna (and later Ryan and Aaron). I can honestly say that I will miss that, having someone to chat with and sit down with a good movie { http://tv-links.co.uk/ }, whenever I want. Aside from all of the things I will miss, I must admit that random bits of flat life are starting to annoy me, but after living with the same people for a year, how could it not? Nothing big, and certainly nothing to worry about - simple please and thank you's would be great, that and the use of the vacant fellowship hall. I digress. Tomorrow is technically the last day of class for all UNott students, and finals begin next week. I hope to get a lot of work done this weekend on papers for M&C and perhaps some revision for Cog Psych. This weekend is also the Outdoor Track and Field Conference Championships. This year they are being hosted by Simpson College in Indianola... I will be thinking of the Norse and anxiously awaiting the results.

As a great man once said, "Good night, and good luck."

i will miss everything, even the rain.

Today was a partly cloudy day, that turned into a day full of sprinkles, showers, and finally a steady rain. Since it is Wednesday, and I have no classes on Wednesday, I got up early. Why, might you ask, I have no idea. Yesterday was our last class with Mark and Carol - ever. It was kind of sad. We have finished all of our novels now and are beginning the process of completing all of our coursework for them. The chronology, the journals, final essays, prepping for the exams... all of this on top of the work we have to do for our classes at Uni. This weekend was supposed to be my weekend of productivity, but my bout with the stomach pain gods flouted those plans. Fortunately, I am alive and well and now have the opportunity to be productive again - I am obviously not taking advantage of that option at the moment. Anyway, the morning was filled with prep for dinner and a trip to John and Margaret's. I will miss being able to walk down the street to pick up any and all fresh produce that I want with out paying for it. Margaret was in a good mood and warned me of the impending rain this afternoon. She told me she would do her best to prevent it from raining on me during training with NUAC. It almost worked. Halfway through my run about Wollaton Park with the usual Wednesday crew, it began to lightly sprinkle. Just as Aaron finished up baseball practice, I finished my run, so we were able to bike home together, dodging the raindrops. Kate and I grilled (under the shelter of the church entryway) and Mary set the table for the smaller group of us. Mark and Carol went to a movie with Kevin and Brandon was at choir, so there were only seven of us at the table... the curry lime chicken and veggie kebabs (peppers, onions, carrots, potatoes) and fresh bakery bread were all delicious. It was the first meal I have been able to eat everything of :) so I thoroughly enjoyed it. Kate had also made a French silk pie... which was AMAZING. After dinner, since I cleaned on Monday, I watched 'Blood Diamond' with Anna and Ryan. Although I was disturbed by the violence and corruption, it was a very well made film and I enjoyed it. I will have to think long and hard before I wear another diamond. Anyway, lots to do before bed, or at least before dinner tomorrow, so I am off. Oh, and I am having three of my NUAC friends come to dinner tomorrow... it will be fun to show them the flat and have them meet my flatmates and Mark and Carol! Safe travels to Emily and Kate as they journey to Norway - we'll miss them. G'night.

priory, abbey, stately home - whatever...

Yesterday Kate and I decided to be productive by travelling to another historical site around Nottingham. After Friday's extreme relaxation (save NUAC training and an excursion to hear a band playing at the Lion), it was a change to wake up before ten and go somewhere. Kate and I made our way to Newstead Abbey by tram and then bus. The large front gates were right alond the motorway and we were greeted by a kind old gentleman who told us where to go... after a walk down a wooded road, we were instructed by a rather tattered sign to take the 'woodland path' to the Abbey. Walking through the trees and bushes, listening to the birds chirping and the other small animals rustling about in the underbrush, Kate and I were beginning to realize that we were about to be pleasantly surprised. Once we got to the main grounds of the Abbey (after passing a cricket match and many swans lazing in the water), the Abbey (converted to a stately home in the late sixteenth century) was beautifully situated next to a small lake. Kate and I made our way through the interior and were suitably impressed by the ornate furniture, elaborate decoration and priceless works of art. The house seemed to go on forever. After many, many rooms, we made our way out to the gardens. With icecream treats in hand, we made ourway past two of the interconnected lakes towards the Japanese garden. In the spirit of 'not living my life through a camera lens' as Carol would say, I did not bring my camera, neither did Kate. As soon as we set foot in the gardens, we realized that it was a mistake. Thanks to Google Images, I have included a few pics of the place anyway. The gardens were beautiful - I think the Japanese garden was my favorite, but the rose garden, the herb garden and the landscaping around the streams and lakes were also quite impressive. The flowers, trees and shrubs were in full bloom and the blossoms perfumed the air. We actually got to see a swan nest with over protective mother and eggs included. After wandering around for quite some time, soaking up the sun and appreciating the gardens, we decided to make our way back. Once back in Notts, we shopped a bit (buying gifts for family and friends is proving to more difficult than I previously thought) and headed back home. The girls went out for a bit of a girls night to some of the places we had not visted yet, but we didn't stay out late. It was a good day.

Today was pretty relaxed as well, just taking care of studying and homework, but tonight Mary's friend from Luther, Winona, arrived from Canterbury. It should be interesting to see how this week goes - lots to turn in to Mark and Carol and tomorrow is Bank Holiday so there are no classes at Uni. Ugh. Everyone is a bit stressed out, everyone is NOT sleeping as much as they should, and we are all still aprehensive about going home. Ohwell, I'm off to catch up on Luther gossip from Winona.

10 days 'til my birthday :)

Goodnight.

one (hyphenated) word...

Tickedy-boo.

it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

It was another beautiful day and I was actually somewhat productive. I researched a bit and went to training. We ran our usual Wednesday run in Wollaton Park, but this was the first time I had gone on a Wednesday since we got back from break. The trees are fully leafed out and anywhere two or more trees are growing together, the ground underneath them is covered in what they call bluebells. They are not like American bluebells, but a darker colour, almost indigo and they are amazing. There are fields of them. The run went surprisingly well and I had a good chat with my running friends. I plan to have a few of them come to dinner next Thursday so they can see the flat, meet Mark and Carol, and the rest of my flatmates. It should be fun. Tonight, my group cooked dinner. We made the 'wine-burgers' that we invented over spring holiday (make burger patties with yummy herbs and garlic mixed in, soak in cheap red wine for a couple hours, grill), pasta salad, a wonderful fruit salad (the tropical fruit from John and Margaret's is amazing! Mangoes, pineapple, melon, kiwi and grapes, strawberries and oranges too!), and crisps. We set out blankets outside and had our first picnic of the year. The sun was still shining and we had a really good time of it. I will definitely miss the group meals next year. Somehow the caf just doesn't have the same feel... or the same good food. Mark and Carol were absent tonight from dinner (a rare occurrence) because they have left for their mini-holiday to Stratford-upon-Avon to see a few plays and just get away from Notts for a while. It was surprising, but we missed their presence at dinner. Not much new news, so I'm off to procrastinate and write an essay which is due for tomorrow for Christian Thought.

Good night!

five weeks exactly and trying not to count...

As much as I said I wouldn't start a countdown, I can't help but notice how many weeks when I am looking at my assignments and exams over the next while...

The last weekend has been pretty exciting. Megan came to visit from Nantes, France and we had a great weekend. Brandon's play went well on Saturday night and we showed Megan some of Notts on a Saturday night. With tickets from the play we had free entrance to a rather posh club (saved ourselves 12 pounds) so after we showed Megan a few other of our favorite pubs and bars, we headed to Geisha for the rest of the evening and relaxed as we chatted, met Brandon's friends from the play and listened to live music. We were out quite late, so early the next morning I was sound asleep when a rude noise awoke me... it was my phone vibrating on my desk. While struggling to wake up and wondering who in their right mind would call me in England before 9am, I realized that it was Molly calling (the one studying in Ireland). Much to my surprise, when I called her back, she was in East Midlands airport with Keeley. I was very confused and basically still asleep... so I told them which bus to get on and I made my way to city centre, found one of the four Starbucks in Notts, and waited for them to arrive. It was wonderful to see them. It turns out that at the beginning of their travels (yes, NUI in Galway is done with school... I am VERY jealous) they flew from Dublin to EMA and were supposed to go onto Prague later the same day. Unfortunately, well fortunately for me, their first flight was late so they missed the connection. Molly and Keeley were able to have the flight switched to the next day, so we had exactly 24 hours to spend together. It was so much fun to show them where I live, some of our favorite places, and downtown Nottingham. We went to Brandon's Evensong (another excellent performance...) and walked around the city centre for a bit before coming home with take away fish and chips and cider. We sat around the dinner table, ate, drank, and talked for hours. It was wonderful... Megan, Molly, Keeley and my flatmates... it felt like Luther again. Somehow the time slipped by us and we went to bed late... at 6:15 the next morning I walked out the door with Keeley and Molly to take them to the tram so they could catch their flight. It was fast, but it was good. Now that I think of it, when Kim came in September, she was actually only in Nottingham for 25 hours total, but it was better than nothing. Every hour counts. Here are a few pics as we left to go to the tram early that morning.

We had a great time and the last day with Megan was a good one as well. This morning I walked to the tram with her and Kev (at least it was after 8am) and said goodbye to another Luther friend. Megan flies home on the 18th of May, Molly and Keeley fly home on May 20. Strange. Time is flying by.

Oh, and when we arrived home from break, this is the sight that greeted us...

...it was a much appreciated welcome home.

And the weather has been beautiful here, so Park Campus, which is always pretty, required some photographic documentation last week...

Well, I'm off to three hours of lectures and then home to write essays, study and dream of sleeping for more than five hours of sleep at a time. Happy Tuesday :)

Photo recap... {take 3}

So a little more time elapsed...

the weather here has gone from a bit cloudy and warm to today's warm, breezy, sun-filled day. All of the blooming trees were bursting with colour and the occasional gust would make the petals flutter through the air like snow. After an early dinner, a few of my flatmates and I walked to campus in the nice weather to see Brandon's play. It was a well directed and artistically performed piece - it was fun to go see a performance in which there was someone I knew... (it will be fun next year to go see all of the concerts, recitals and other various performances at Luther). We stepped out to walk home and it was raining a bit - we called a cab. Today, I also finally figured out my academic to-do list for the next month or so. To say the least - it is depressing. So, with all of that in mind I am choosing to reminisce about break... here are a few glimpses of the phenomenal last few days of break in Greece with Mary...

This was the sky. It was blue. And completely cloudless. We arrived safely in Greece late one night after flying into our island as the sun was setting... which was nice to see from several thousand feet up in the air... and we fell asleep as soon as we had checked into our little place. We spent the next day getting a feel for the island and exploring the beaches near by. We went grocery shopping so we could eat our meals on one of our two balconies overlooking the Aegean Sea in the distance. The owner of our 'villa' was young, incredibly friendly, and very knowledgeable about the area. We enjoyed talking with her and appreciated her advice.

The second full day we were in Santorini, we took a guided tour of the island and the surrounding area. Our means of transportation was a large wooden sailboat and we went from the port, to the half sunken volcano in the center of the island, climbed the volcano, then to the hot springs (where I jumped off the boat and swam to the hot springs with just one other adventuresome girl), and then to the town on the far side of the island called Oia for the sunset.

This is a view of Oia from our lovely boat...
Once there, Mary and I had a few hours to waste before the sunset, so after wandering through some dangerously cute shops, we decided to do what better way to spend time than eat excellent food with an unbeatable view... We found just the right restaurant and had a long, relaxed, Greek meal. We started with two simple, but incredible appetizers, split a wonderful salad with all kinds of good things on it (feta, olives, pine nuts, REAL tomatoes, etc.), and then we each had a fish dish. Mary devoured her prawns and I enjoyed my sea bass immensely. The view looked something like this:

...the manager was jovial and kind, yet professional, and at the end of our two hour meal, he came out to offer us a complimentary local wine to 'warm you up for the setting of the sun'. Satisfied and happy, we made our way back to the top of the hill, through the friendly stray cats and dogs, to watch the sunset. Watching the sun sink below the sea on the horizon while mountainous islands appeared out of the ocean in the distance was really something - but there were quite a few people around. None the less, the sunset was a great end to a wonderful day.

The next day, Mary and I were well rested, so we decided we needed a more independent way to explore the island. We rented a four-wheeler (because they are safer than scooters and we wouldn't want our parents to worry and all sorts of good reasons). Anyway, we discovered a red lava beach, a light house and countless beautiful views from the cliffs and coast of Santorini. And it was fun to ride and drive the four wheeler... it has been over 7 months since I have driven anything.

In case you can't tell, that it is me. The cliffs at the base of the lighthouse proved to be a great place to relax and a perfect place to watch the sun set. We returned later that night and took countless photos of the sun, the cliffs, the islands, and everything in between.

After much exploration, sunbathing, good food and beautiful sunsets, our five days in Greece were almost up. Mary and I were lucky enough to have a late flight back to Athens on the last day, so we took full advantage of our final day on the island. We ventured to the main city on the other side of the island to do a bit of shopping and get a gyro... somehow we had not eaten one yet, and it was on Mary's to-do list... so we took care of that. We returned to Perissa Beach, ate the last of our fresh produce and groceries for an early dinner, read on our black lava beach for a few hours, packed up and left. And that was that. Although we were only in Santorini for four nights, it was enough for me to fall in love with Greece. The people were the friendliest that I have met in Europe, the weather was beautiful (even in early April), the food was simple, but good and it was overall a wonderful experience. I would love to go back and explore more of the islands, spend time in Athens (I suppose it should be done...) and see some of the rural mainland as well. The list of places to go and things to see in the future just keeps getting longer.

This weekend I am going to start a few research papers and take care of some preliminary revising... I hope. Megan is coming from Nantes to visit Notts (and Kev and I), so we will be busy showing her around. Another late night has snuck up on me, so I'm off to bed. Good night, good luck Norse at Drake and Loras, and happy spring!

Photo recap... {take 2}

The first day there, we stripped off our socks, wore flip flops all day, and walked in the med...

The market was amazing, the spices were fragrant and beautiful...

The views were beautiful in Monaco, even if it wasn't my favorite place...

As soon as we got to Italy, we began the consumption of gelato...

Florence from the Michelangelo's Piazza... I have this thing for sunsets as you will later see...

Our first night in Rome, we stumbled upon an Irish pub showing the Twins game - Aaron insisted we stay and watch and inning. The game began at 1:30 am. We walked home much later and we found the colosseum on accident. it was a nice surprise.

One of the ceilings within the vatican museum - almost every ceiling was better than the last.

This was the BEST gelato that I had during my stay in Italy. I can't remember the name of the flavour, just the wonderfulness that it was. Thanks Primavera, Sorrento!

The rest of the group from Sorrento with their delicious flavours...


Part of the ruins at Pompeii, it was a day full of education, awe, and sun...

The view of Mt. Vesuvius from Sorrento... Naples was visible on clear days too...

As I flew into Nice, the Mediterranean was as blue as could be and the weather was sunny and warm. I found our cosy little apartment without too much trouble and met up with three of my flatmates. Mary and Em were just stopping by for the night, so we went grocery shopping and then cooked a big family meal. It was great to catch up with eachother - it seemed longer than only a week and a half apart. The girls left early the next morning and I spent the next three days with the boys exploring the markets of Nice (amazing produce, spices, olives, you name it!), the parks (with mosaics of Odysseus...)and even a day trip to Monaco. We sunbathed on the rocky beaches, actually carried our dinner to the beach in bowls one night for a picnic, and chucked rocks into the Med for entertainment. It was another place that I have decided that I will return to in the future... that list is growing longer and longer...

From Nice, I took the train with the three boys to Florence. Brando went off to meet up with Mary and Kevin, Aaron and I found our B&B on the edges of the city. We enjoyed taking it easy in Florence, that seemed to be the theme of this break - relaxing, sun, and gelato. The food was great - we had a wonderful meal of true Italian pizza, gelato every day and actually a meal of kebabs was in there somewhere too. We waited for hours to get into the Uffizi galleries and the Academia was a long wait as well, but it was worth it. The art was incredible, but the number of tourists was not appreciated. I suppose it was our own fault going there over Easter holiday. On Easter, the three of us opened our lone easter egg on a bridge while looking at the pontevecchio and thought longingly of our Easter baskets of years past... we soon got over our lack of chocolate when the church service provided fireworks and rocket powered doves. It was quite the experience.

From Florence, we headed to Rome by train. We settled into our B&B there and forged through the crowds. We saw the Pantheon, the Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basilica, and all kinds of other important and famous things (Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, Roman Forum, Piazza di Popolo, Spanish Steps... etc). The gelato was good again and it was beautiful weather. We cooked a few simple meals in our B&B (fresh pasta of course) and before we knew it we were off to the train station again. We met Kate in the train station and then met Mary and Emily in the Naples train station and headed to Sorrento.

Sorrento is on the southwestern coast of Italy, not far from Naples, on a peninsula. We spent a day in Pompeii... the ruins are incredible and much more extensive than I had ever known or imagined before. It was worth out 11 Euro - with out a doubt. At somepoint, every day, we all made a point of getting gelato - it never got old - and we found time to cook family meals in our great flat. We did go out for dinner one night... there was live piano music, candlelight, and phenomenal food. The beaches of Sorrento weren't all that great, but the nearly intoxicating scent of orange blossoms that was always in the air, plus the fun markets made up for the lack of good beaches. With one day left, Em and Aaron headed out to make their way to Athens and then Istanbul... on the last day in Italy, Mary and I were on a train before 7am to begin our trek to Greece... Kate left later in the day to meander her way to Istanbul as well and Kev left last to spend some time on the sandy beaches of Northeastern Italy.

It is officially way past my bedtime (funny how that happens with internet allowing you to talk with friends at home so easily), so I will just have to finish the last post about break tomorrow...

Just incase you couldn't tell from the pictures on Picasa, I loved Greece... so it may turn into an epic post. Good night, sleep tight, and thanks for all of the love from the States - it is great to hear from you all.

Photo recap... {take 1}

At long last, all of my photos are up on Picasa, so please go watch all 219 of them on the lovely slideshow feature. I am proud to say that I was gone for a full month and I only posted 219 of the 400 some photos I took - which is MUCH better than the 278 out of 700-ish photos from Christmas holiday (it was a full week shorter). Granted I went to eleven cities in eight countries over those three weeks and this time it was only eight cities in five countries this time... and yes, I did just say ONLY... Anyway, it was the perfect vacation in my mind, I can't think of what I would change. To give you a taste of the massive slideshow here are a few good ones...

Galway harbor...

The dramatic Cliffs of Moher - a lovely day trip showed us these

the cute afraid of heights couple peering over a cliff

Guiness factory - fresh pint overlooking the city of Dublin

Trinity College in Dublin...

To recap, Ireland was a good start to the break. It was wonderful to see Molly again and get to see where she is studying, living and learning. Galway was beautiful and relaxed. Mary, Brandon and I gave Mol a chance to write some papers and headed out to see the Cliffs of Moher and some other neat sights around Galway. Mary left from there to see her parents in Paris and then Brandon and I moved onto Dublin (via non traditional transportation... ). Brandon and I saw all of the main sights and avoided the heaviest rains. It was neat to finally see to Ireland. We even got to go on a musical pub crawl to hear traditional Irish music and drink a bit of Guiness and Bulmers (cider... for those of you that have never had English or Irish cider... put it on your to do list). However, after only three days in Dublin, I was ready for something less touristy...

Fortunately, I headed to London for a few days... by MYSELF. While it was not new territory or anything special, I really enjoyed travelling alone. I stayed in a nice place we had stayed in before and spent my time walking along the Thames, having picnic lunches in parks, seeing the monuments I had not yet seen, and reading in random sunny spots.

Well rested and happy with my alone travel, I headed back to the airport to fly to Southern France.