She pours a daydream in a cup, a spoon of sugar sweetens up

I figured I may as well try and be a little better at updating this, I think it's going to be something I appreciate having when I'm home. Which is in a month! The time has really flown by.

Having been back in Norwich for a few weeks now, I've settled into this term quite nicely. I finished my exhausting finals, although I can't really complain when compared to my British friends. They had exams from first term and second, and they take generally take 4 modules (classes) each term, so some of them have eight exams. Seems unreal to me, I couldn't imagine that. I think there are pros and cons to both of our systems though, for example I sometimes have a hard time remembering classes I took first semester by the end of second semester, so maybe a review is good. Then again, I feel like I work harder throughout the semester and don't/shouldn't need as much time to study as they take (their exam period is six weeks, after a month long break, as opposed to my one or two reading days and one week of exams.) I suppose either way just takes adjusting to, and it has been an interesting adjustment for me. 

Since I've been done, I've been relaxing and spending time with my friends in between exams. In Norwich currently there's a festival going on, and last week we went into town for their football team's parade. The city centre was blocked off and packed with people wearing yellow and green, and we bought Canaries flags and wore them around. 

The team coming by in their bus

Their flags say "LET'S BE AVIN YOU!"

I've also been planning a few more short trips. I want to see more of England, so I'm going to Wales for a few days and possibly Brighton for a few. Maybe a day trip to Cambridge. In June I'll be going to Ireland for a few days, flying into Dublin and then spending a couple days in Limerick visiting a friend from home who is studying there. I'm excited for the accents. 

Then I'll come back to Norwich for my last nine days in England. It's too sad to think about, I don't know how I'm going to say goodbye not knowing when I'll get to come back.. 

I'll post again after Wales. All the love xxxx

April travels

"Sort your life out" is one of my favorite things that my British friends say. I think it's always applicable. On that note, it's been so long I owe the update of the century, but as I have a Shakespeare final to revise for and I only want to do a few minutes of procrastination not a year's worth, instead I'll just provide a short highlight reel of my traveling month, place by place...

Venice -  I arrived in the tiny Treviso airport on mainland Venice and made my way using public transportation and lot of lucky guesses all the way to where our hotel was located in what seemed to be a suburb, knowing only the number of the bus I needed to take, the name of our hotel, and how to say "thank you" in Italian. Somehow it was a success, was very proud of myself for navigation skills/luck. Venice is gorgeous, of course, and the weather was perfect to walk around and take it all in.

Florence - We stumbled upon Italy's "Culture Week," which meant free admission at just about everything we wanted to do for the rest of the week we were there. This lasted the whole trip, in Rome as well. We went to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the Statue of David, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and a host of other monuments and museums for free. Sweetened the experience about a trillionfold.

Rome - We arrived at our hostel dirty and tired travelers, only to discover there was no vacancy for us (they seem to take the idea of reservations much more lightly than we do...) and we were being moved to another location. Despite the initial annoyance, it ended up that we got upgraded from the hostel to an apartment of our own in a much better location with its own kitchen and a terrace off the back, all for the price of the lame hostel we'd been meant to stay in. Win.

Bath & England -  Meeting my family at the airport was so amazing! I made my way to Heathrow on the tube and was looking wildly around for them at the gate when I heard my mom say "Oh there's Lisa!" I got a little teary at first, I have to admit. I've been at university for years, but I've never been so far away for so long, and I hadn't realized just how good it would be to see them.

I think highlights of our week were having unseasonably good weather for England, the tiny village we stumbled upon in search of food, my dad's expert driving despite all the averse conditions, seeing Stonehenge, and having fish & chips at a pub in London. Made me feel so lucky to have everyone visit.

Madrid - using my very limited Spanish successfully, having the experience of ordering a drink and getting continuous heaping plates of tapas free, staying with my freshman year roommate Alana, and seeing a wonderful exhibit with real Frida Kahlo painting. I've loved Frida since I had to read her diary for an art history class I took at Clark, so I really loved getting to see that.

Barcelona -  I loved all of the art everywhere, really enjoyed Park Guell and La Sagrada Familia. Walking along the beach was heavenly, and we had a pretty good hostel experience getting to meet a bunch of new people from all over. Also I met a girl who was from England, studying in France, and she and I bonded over British things that we both love, reminding me of how much I really enjoy England.

Paris - Another win conquering the Paris metro system by myself, and after making it to my hostel I had the best moment wandering around the area by myself: I held the gate for a woman pushing her baby carriage out of a park, and the adorable little boy walking with her yelled back "Merci madam!" melted my heart. Also, had a picnic by the Eiffel tower with two friends from home who are studying in Paris: wine, cheese, baguettes, tomatoes, avocados, and the best strawberries. Napped in the sun and woke up looking at the Eiffel Tower. Perfect last day of my voyage.

So those are some little snapshots of my travels, the highlights, although there's no way I could fit the whole experience into words. It was really the best month of my life, such an amazing chance and I'm so happy I got to do it. All of it; traveling alone, figuring out maps and metro systems, getting to know so many new people and reconnect with a bunch of my friends from home. There aren't words, so I'll try and upload a bunch of pictures of each place a little later. The next five weeks have me in Norwich, finishing up one more exam and then relaxing with my friends, maybe traveling a little more... who knows.

For now, off to learn a few plays.. good old Shakespeare..  xxx