Irish roommates...

The past five days have been an excellent start to this holiday. I arrived safely with Mary on Saturday and Molly met us at the bus station. It was wonderful to see her again and we had a great time catching up into the wee hours of the morning. Brandon arrived very late on Sunday (actually early on Monday) and the next few days just slipped by. We met a surprising number of American students who are studying here in Galway - about 300 through Butler's program - and some really fun Irish students (three of which live with Molly in her flat). It was fun exploring the surrounding area - the rivers, canals, beaches and shops were all quite entertaining. Molly showed us around her University... which they call college here instead... and took us to all of the best restaurants within our price range. We took full advantage of shopping for groceries and made our own lunches and dinners when we could and had plenty of downtime and caught up on some sleep... almost. On Tuesday while Molly was in classes Mary, Brandon and I headed to the Cliffs of Moher which were breathtaking. It was surprising to see such dramatic landscapes in Ireland... I really enjoyed the day out. Last night Molly 'took us out properly' and showed us around some of her favorite clubs and pubs and we met some more of her Irish and American friends who study here. Today we slept in late and Brandon and I are headed to Dublin for the next few days. I hope Molly gets her essays and studying in before her parents arrive in the next week.... It was wonderful to see her and to have some Molly time. There might not be more details on Galway to come, but eventually there will be another post on some adventures of this holiday... maybe from London... or Nice... or Sorrento....

I hope everyone is well - xoxo

Off we go, into the wild, blue, yonder...

Well I am all packed; I have all of the paperwork for flights, hostels, apartments, and class registration for senior year at Luther, my address book, running shoes, not enough clothes to last a month and whatever else I could cram into my hiking pack. I am happy to say that my backpack is not as heavy as it was over Christmas Holiday, but it is still a sizable pack. I am anxious to get out the door, to get the whole break started. This is the last big event of the year... all nine of us are heading out into the world, better traveled, effectively prepared, and perhaps even a bit more mature... once we get back from this month long adventure, we have two weeks of classes, a few weeks of finals and then we are done. That's it. Somehow the past six and a half months have flown by... obviously time flies when you are having fun, but time also flies when you are traveling, studying, being homesick, growing up, and living life. I had no idea that the years really would keep speeding up as I got older - I cannot imagine how quickly my last year at Luther will pass by. However, enough sentimentality, I need to go eat a more substantial breakfast before I head off to the airport to fly to Shannon, Ireland. This morning at 1am Ryan left, Aaron and Emily at 5am and Kevin was gone on Thursday. Today Mary, Kate and I head out and finally Brandon and Anna leave tomorrow. Safe travels to all of my flatmates who I will miss over the next month! I hope everyone is enjoying their spring breaks in the states, whether they are over, yet to come or somewhere in the middle. I will try to keep in touch and update when I get the chance...

Today I fly to Shannon, IRE to meet Molly (my roommate from sophomore year at Luther) and then spend the next couple days in Galway with her (and Mary and Brandon). From Galway I head to Dublin with Brandon for a couple nights and then onto London on my own for a few days. On April 2nd I will fly directly to Nice, France and meet up with Mary, Emily, Kevin, Brandon, and Aaron for some time in Provence...

More later, I'm sure.

Love to you all!

the lion of march...

Well today brought a plethera of precipitation. There was sun with beautifully illuminated white clouds, sleet and horizontal rain, hail, fluffy snow, pellets of snow, and horrific wind accompanied by black skies. However, the best part was that the day could not decide itself, the weather would be fine one minute and blizzarding the next and threatening to bring in a tornado the next. It was actually quite amusing. After a day of Christian Thought lecture and seminar and a lovely stint in the library followed by a good lunch in the Art History building with Mary and Emily, I headed home. Fortunately, the electrician was done working so we had electricity and I did a bit of homework before battling the elements on the way to training. It turned out that I was the only girl to brave the weather, but I got a great run in and headed back home. The bike ride home was so cold that I was forced to put an extra pair of socks over my hands (which already had gloves on them) so that I could hold onto the handlebars. Despite the less than fantastic weather, it was a good day which finished with a great meal (Thanks Mark and Carol) and a relaxing evening. The flat came together to watch, get ready, The Little Mermaid. It has been years since I have seen that movie and it was wonderful. We all basically had the whole thing memorized - the boys even sang along to their favorite songs. After a bit more reading, several emails to admins at Luther about registering for senior classes from a Greek isle, I am headed to bed. Have a wonderful evening and I hope to talk to most of you before spring holiday... good night!

rushing towards spring holiday...

It certainly has been a while since I have written... ten days... I know, but it is getting harder to think of what to write about. Life here is pretty much just normal now and the everyday events that you want to hear about aren't exactly events... they are just life to me. However, I will do my best to recap a few of the goings on of the past week or so in a few words... we took a flat trip (split into two groups) to Eastwood on a weekday to see the home of D.H. Lawrence and to see where the book Sons and Lovers was set. We have been immersed in the book and homework and spring holiday planning... and whatnot. Oh, and at long last, the housing deal at Luther for next year is somewhat resolved. Lisa and Marissa have worked their magic and we were granted off-campus. Hopefully I will know before I leave on break which house they are going to sign the lease for... either way, I am ecstatic that we finally had something go our way.

Yesterday was the Ed Prickett Inter-Uni Relays at UNott and it was my second time racing for NUAC. The weather wasn't too bad, a bit windy, but quite sunny. The only real problem with the course was the monstrous hill in the middle, not that I am complaining, just pointing it out. The teams did pretty well and it was a good day of racing... followed by an excellent evening out. I met one of my teammates in city centre and we met up with some other teammates for dinner at a pub. We moved to a different pub and met up with more NUAC people and some NUAC alumni or 'old boys' as they like to be called. We moved, yet again to a pub called The Irish, rather appropriate for the day, don't you think? I guess it is tradition to end the evening there after the Ed Prickett Relays, so there we were. The scene was a little different from the pubs and clubs that I am used to, which are filled with Uni students, but it was fun none the less. Within an hour of arriving, the place was filled with St. Patty's day celebrators and lively music. I wasn't exactly in the mood to watch the rest of the bar get any drunker than it already was, so I left with some of the underclassmen and we went to a new club that had live music and was filled with less ridiculous Uni students and, thankfully, no 'friendly' old men. We stayed out quite late listening to music, chatting, and dancing and then I caught a taxi home. It was a great evening overall. On a side note, I texted home to let my flatmates know I would be home late, but I guess they missed that text, because I got a call from Mary checking to see where I was. When I left the club, my teammates demanded that I text when I got home. It was great to know that my friends here are just as overprotective as all of my Luther buds.

The weather today was interesting to say the least. There was horizontal rain, snow, sleet, crazy wind, lots of sun, and puffy white clouds... all within a few hours. I have been reading and putting off booking the final touches for my spring holiday and I hope to get a bit more coursework done this evening. I hope everyone at home is healthy (Kaiser... no more pneumonia) and the weather is warm-ish. Enjoy your spring breaks whenever they may be and keep in touch... my mailbox is still open while I am gone for a month over spring holiday, and it would be wonderful to come home to bunches of mail :) hint... hint. Oh yeah, spring holiday, six days and counting and then a month of traveling... a week in Ireland and then three weeks of Mediterranean sun. While on break, I do have some work to do though. I need to revise for my ridiculous exams, prepare for writing essays when I get back, and read a novel for Mark and Carol. I also have to figure out my classes for senior year, pre-register, and find a way to actually register while I am on a Greek Isle. Thanks Study Abroad for being so lenient with us... I am sure there are Internet Cafes open at all times of night in Santorini... oh well, I am sure it will work out somehow. Well, I'm off to read another LONG chapter of S&L by Mr. Lawrence. Enjoy the rest of your weekend...

oxford relays (yes relays, instead of races, just like training instead of practice)

Yesterday I woke up before seven to see the sun shining brightly and the daffodils blooming cheerily, I made my way to campus and met some of my 'NUAC mates' and we piled into a small British car and started driving to Oxford. The trip was uneventful, I got to know my teammates better and enjoyed viewing the countryside. When we arrived in Oxford, we finagled our way into the last parking spot in the Oxford University Sports Centre parking lot and made it to registration on time. The men's team arrived just in time for a short warm up and we all donned our University of Nottingham vests and went to the starting line. The first leg of the cross country relay was off. For the men there were four legs and for the women only three...each competitor ran 6k (3.6 miles) and looped back onto the starting line (the University track) to tag off the next leg of their team. The races went well and it was good to get back into the racing mentality. The 6k loop went through part of the city centre, the new part of campus, and the old part of campus...

... it was incredible to run through somewhere I have heard about and revered for so many years. The only problem was that I was racing so I couldn't quite take in as much of the scenery as I would have liked to, but I suppose I will survive. The loop curved into the park land that is adjacent to the campus and we ran along the river which was quite flooded. Part of the river was so flooded that the raised path was submerged, so we all had to literally run through part of the river. It brought back memories of the Living History Farms race in Urbandale last year... but much less muddy, it was sunny and warm, and I was in England, not Iowa... anyway... So, the day was great. The weather could not have been more perfect, the driving was safe and good, and I got back to Nottingham for a delicious dinner by 6ish. I know I am bragging, but it was such an amazing experience. I am so glad that I decided to come here. Even though I have been here for six months (as Aaron just said, "That's half a YEAR! Wow.") I keep having moments that are simply me realizing that I am in England and I live here. I am not just visiting, but I actually live here. I have an NHS card, I know my way around Nottingham, London, and Paris like none other, I qualify for a different kind of Eurail pass because I have lived here for long enough, and I have had friends and family come visit me several times. I knew this year would be a growing and learning experience, but I had no idea. None. Last year at this time I was probably sitting in Dieseth working on a paper for some Psych class, thinking about my spring break trip to Disney World with Kev, John, Megs, Eds, Linds, Zach, and Lucas. Today the sun was shining and the daffodils were blooming everywhere as I walked to class at UNott Park Campus, I came back to the flat to have dinner with Kev's Mom and Stepdad, after washing up and cleaning the kitchen, I spent the next couple of hours booking flights from Athens to Santorini, finding apartments and hostels along the Mediterranean and dreaming of my upcoming holiday on volcanic beaches. Next year, it will be a rude shock to actually have snow and to be in a town that is a fraction of the size of the University that I am attending this year. Although I am excited to return to the States to see friends and family and for my final year of classes and running for Luther, I will miss England. I will miss the Nottingham, the university, and I will miss most of all the flat and my flatmates. As for now, I am content. I am happy. Classes are hard and running is slowly getting better, but I am content. I have accomplished most things I wanted to this year and plan to keep on traveling and exploring the United Kingdom. What an amazing year. After that long bit of sentimental-ness, I am headed off to book a villa in Santorini and then a few more chapters of 'Howards End' before bed. I heard that the sun began to show its face in the Midwest today... I hope that continues and the snow finally leaves. Have a great night. xoxo

an affair to remember...

This weekend proved to be quite enjoyable. Although I spent most of Friday afternoon doing paperwork, taxes, and other unenjoyable things, the evening brightened up after training at NUAC. I have made a new friend, shocking I know, at training... her name is Ana and she is from Holland. We have both been running together, getting back into shape (or fit as they would say it here) and generally enjoying ourselves. Anyway, a good training and a relaxing bike ride home, and a good long chat with Mom, I went down to the great hall to see the remains of a makeshift bonfire in the courtyard. The flat stayed up, chatted, and just the nine of us had a good evening. Early, but not too early, the next morning, I got up and went to Lincoln with Mary, Emily and Kate... as all of us could not go with the group last weekend for various travel reasons... We took the train there and meandered through the city. It was a cute city early on a Saturday morning. As we walked through the pedestrian streets the bakeries and pastry shops were opening up, the market was in full swing, and the swans lazily perusing the canal. We hiked up the big hill and made our way to the cathedral.

The imposing cathedral was beautiful, as we knew it would be, but even better than a regular floor tour, we managed to get into a roof tour. We were led through all of the tightly spiraling staircases, through the roof, out onto the roof, and into secret passageways and hidden rooms. I am certainly grateful that I am not afraid of heights. (Yes Mom I did think of you and I was careful... just remember, they wouldn't give unsafe tours...)

Our tour guide was windy at times, but the history of the building and city were really interesting. We whiled away the last few minutes of our brief visit to Lincoln eating our packed lunches as we walked through the streets and ended up in a bookshop looking at cookery books. The train ride home brought with it the reading of Barchester Towers, which led to sleep. As usual. I was so tired, apparently, that even though the sun was brightly shinning, I slept through the conductor coming through and checking our tickets. It was a good thing Mary was still awake since Kate, Emily and I ALL slept through that...

We got home to find the boys had been busy all day preparing for our 'Black and White Affair' which we had been planning for some time. It all started with the idea of us surprising Aaron for his birthday dinner and being all classy and what not, but it turned into a flat party (just the nine of us) in which we went all out. We had hors d'oeuvres, champagne and chocolate dipped strawberries, delectable main courses, wine and cheese, and ingredients for fancy cocktails. The music was all classic Jazz and we even got to watch the moon become fully eclipsed. It was a great night of flat bonding...

Sunday was a day of cleaning and attempted studying, fine in the end. Today was full of classes and online business. After many good chats with Mary and a much more successful seminar than two weeks ago, I came home for a few minutes to ... do ... something. Anyway, I lost an hour magically and then was biking to campus for training. There was a large turnout and the run went really well. I ran with Ana and several other girls... surprisingly we all kept together for the most part and then for the last mile four of us took off. It was a great finish to a good run. Another bike ride and I was home for a great dinner. Kev and I cleaned up and now I am off to read for the next couple hours. Mom and Dad, I hope you're feeling better and I love you. Kim, I would call and chat, but I have a bunch to read... I love you too. Have a great night...

sine language...

A few pictures before I unload a long entry...

The first is of Conwy from the flatemates favorite latenight hangout while on our trip there. Although my Dad and I didn't "hang out" there, I walked the city walls with him and showed him our favorite spot...

In Telford (named after the guy who constructed the Ironbridge in the town and later went on to design and construct other impressive bridges throughout England and Wales) we went for a walk after an excellent tea and scones - with clotted cream of course- break. Incase you can't put two and two together... this is my dad (fannypack included - although he did hide it under his jacket...)

And this is just classic. All of the castles we visited were partially in ruins, and therefore not particularly as safe as a walk in the park would be. At the entrance of Canaerfon, or maybe Harlech... not it was Conwy, this sign told all visitors that all of these horrific things (depicted by the cartoons below) could happen to YOU if you did not proceed with caution. Of course, the sign was in Welsh and English, as always. My favorite was the "Please let your eyes adjust to the darkness" ... which is shown by the middle charachter who seems to be suffering severely...

The trip to Wales with my Dad was wonderful. We enjoyed hiking the base of Mt. Snowdon, walking through sand dunes and along the North Sea coast (yes I said hi to Molly across the way) and walking through some great medieval castles. The driving was a bit stressful, but we got along just fine and didn't get lost too many times... I'm just glad my Dad had five years of practice of driving on the left side of the road in Australia... It was a great weekend overall. I really enjoyed spending time with my Dad, exploring Wales a bit more than I had the chance to on our flat trip weekend and getting away from Uni life for a bit. We came back to Notts after a heroing three hour delay only twenty miles away from the city and enjoyed a good meal out. I showed my Dad a few of Nottingham's "must see" spots... if you can call them that, and we turned in for an early night. My next day was full of classes, not all of which I made an appearance in, and then I spent the last few hours with my Dad walking around UNott's campus. After a long weekend, which seemed quite short, I took my Dad to the train station and we said our goodbyes. Dad made it safely back to Manchester and after a quick night there, a long flight, he made it safely back to Freeport.

The slightly upsetting feeling that accompanies any goodbye always gets to me even before the time to say goodbye comes because I have had to see so many people off at that station. That is perhaps one of the only negative associations that I have with something in Nottingham so far, but it is a relatively strong one. I really have been lucky to see all of my family and some of my friends while abroad. It is also strange to realize that now that I have seen my sister (twice), Mom, Dad, a cousin from each side of the family, John, Eda, and soon Molly and Megan, that the year is quickly drawing to a close. With about ninety days left in Europe, which includes almost a month of that traveling, I struggle to comprehend just how the time has elapsed. The group has become, as Kevin pointed out in his blog, closer than we have realized and closer than we ever could have imagined. Aaron turned 21 on Wednesday and we headed out to a pub/bar and instead of the awkward silences that were so incredibly common those first few weeks and even months, we chatted away, laughed hysterically, and realized that of the eight of us that were out (sorry Kate, you were still in France...) on the two couches one was filled with those of us who had turned 21 (and coincidentally within those four are the two couples in the group) and then the rest of us who are still twenty (and not dating one of our flatmates - or anyone as the case may be for three of us... yes, Anna, we will not forget CJ back in the States). If you had asked any of us at the beginning of the year if we could foresee a relationship among the flatmates... any one of us would have burst out laughing, and yet here we are with two budding relationships. It really does strike me as quite odd. It is official, everyone (excluding Anna) has dated someone in the flat at sometime (two couples here, one last year, and one freshman year). Truly, what are the odds of that? But enough on random reflections...

Really, I'm done.

Tonight, after yet another delicious dinner (we are also becoming excellent cooks, bakers, and pretty snobbish about any food that we eat. I quite enjoy it, every night of the week), some of us piled into the car with Mark and Carol to head to yet another opening of Hetain Patel's work. (For those of you that don't remember, he was one of our lecturers for our fall course with Mark and Carol - we have kept in contact and attend his performances and galleries when we can) The showing, entitles 'Sine Language' was preceded by drinks and hors d'oeuvres and small talk. We were all closed into a large gallery and the visual/audio artwork began. It was a fascinating combination of traditional Indian drumming with vocal commands for said drumming which was paired with a beat boxer who was also mimicking the drum sounds with his turntable... it was a great show.

Unfortunately, the room was a bit warm and several people who were getting on in years were also in attendance. Midway through the performance I noticed an elderly couple moving towards the door and then a few people suddenly congregating towards the rear of the room. I rushed back to realize that an elderly man had collapsed. Thanks to my training for lifeguarding (First Aid, CPR, AED, etc.) it turned out that no one else was a doctor or knew what to do, so all of the practices which were ingrained into me during training sprung back to the surface. Someone called the paramedics, I had several people help get the man into recovery position while talking to his wife, and as I was checking vitals he began to breathe normally again. It turned out that he had just overheated and lost consciousness because his knees were locked as he was standing. He was lucid as soon as he came to and was made comfortable and I handed him off to the paramedics who arrived a few minutes later. The gentleman was fine, but was still taken to the nearby Queen's Medical Centre for a routine checkup. I returned to watch the last few moments of the performance and attempted to get my own adrenaline levels back under control. It has been a while since I have had to do anything of that nature and I was rather flustered - it always seems to happen when you are least expecting it.

That seems to be nearly everything I can think of at the moment... so I am off to read another hundred or so pages in Barchester Towers for Mark and Carol's class tomorrow. I hope everyone in the Midwest is surviving the frightening weather. Let me know how you are all doing. Much Love...

oh yeah, and I just added all sorts of pictures to Picasa, so be sure to look at those...