Evansville, Hardesty Hill and Harlaxton Romance

Hello loyal or not-so-loyal-but-very-bored readers, and welcome back to another episode of The Dullest Show on Earth. I got a lot of hate mail about my last entry, especially about Jane Eyre and LOTR, so I guess I have a few (read: 5) readers. I guess people aren't as fiercely loyal to Walden or poetry.

Last Wednesday I decided that I was in dire need of a holiday. (Vacation, for those of you that don't know the British term. I like to use it so I feel better about myself while screaming Lindsey Buckingham's "Holiday Road" in the car). So I packed up Agent Michael Scarn: Threat Level Midnight and took off down to the popular resort town of Evansville, Indiana.


Not sure how I survived that drive. Oh wait, yes I do. gLee songs, Lady Gaga and Queen.

I arrived at the aptly named Fiasco and was promptly bombarded by J.R., Andy, and Chelsey. And a new friend, J.R.'s roommate Taylor. That night was a beautiful blur. I was the winner, staying up the latest out of all of them even after waking up at 7, working til 2 and driving 8 hours. That's just how baller I am. I slept in Ben Deutsch's bed (he wasn't there) and woke up to Courtney and J.R. running in at 11ish. We talked about stupid people at Harlaxton, Courtney left to go to work, and J.R. and I had "pillow talk" for about an hour. Then we fell asleep again. Until 3pm. Yep.

We woke up, got Andy, and went to dinner. While in the car I detailed my amazing flash of inspiration about writing a song about Harlaxton to the tune of "Bad Romance". They loved the idea, so when we got back, while the dishwasher was flooding and JR and I were trying to figure out how to unclog the sink, Andy learned the chords to "Bad Romance" and we made up lyrics. The result will be added when I get to a personal computer.

This was the night that J.R. and I stayed up very late, ingested copious amounts of alcohol, and convinced ourselves that we were the best people in the whole world and EVERYONE should want to be best friends with us. We also watched 5 episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and called Heather in England -- AND SHE ANSWERED.

The next day was yet another rough morning. J.R. got up at 9 to talk to his landlord about the flooding kitchen and nasty sinks, then went back to bed. I got up at 2, showered, went back to bed, woke up at 4, went and got J.R. and we realized that freaking Mary was going to be there in about 3 hours and we had shit to do. We got up and went to the mall, bought J.R.'s boytoy his birthday present, and I got a REPTAR FLASHDRIVE.

Let that sink in.

When Mary came it was pure bliss. I think I shed a tear. We immediately went to Los Bravos with Drew and Blair, and I did not throw up this time, so it was successful. And absolutely delicious. Then, after a few stops, we headed back to the Fiasco.

Of course we watched a bunch of YouTube videos because that is one of my favorite pasttimes. One in particular is so incredibly amazing . . .






I definitely cried while watching this, and now sing these lyrics instead of the real ones.

The night ended with Apples to Apples and Cramer being hilarious as usual. Suffice it to say it involved Taco Bell and a permanent marker.

The next morning, Mary and I were off to Hardesty Hill in Kentucky-- but not before we went to Drew's family reunion and ate barbecue. Barbecue what, you ask? Just barbecue. Yeah, I don't get it either. But it was delicious. And funny.

Mary and I departed for Hardesty Hill where we spent a delightful evening with Pam, watching Gilmore Girls, having Chris lay all over us on the couch and burp after every episode to remain manly, and randomly bursting into verses of either "Harlaxton Romance" or "Total Eclipse of the Heart."

And then the big kahuna. Kentucky Brunch. Delicious. All kinds of sausage, eggs, potatoes, fruit, biscuits, gravy, HEAVEN. I had to leave right after that, which was sad, but I had so much fun it was worth it.

On the drive home I guzzled three huge Diet Cokes and a large double-caff coffee so . . . I was wired.

Evansboro, or: The Reacharounds

While I definitely should be working on a presentation that I have later tonight, we all know that I work better under pressure. So before I lose the already-hazy memories of my spring break experience, I will put them down on paper (cyberspace?) for eons of future hooligans to experience along with me.

It started out with me doing nothing from Friday-Sunday. Seriously. I slept in, hung out with people, had a "break." It was splendid. Monday I worked, Tuesday I worked, then I packed for spring break. At 7am on Wednesday, Nikki and I took off for Owensboro, Kentucky. It was a long, monotonous drive, about 8 hours, but it was fine.

We arrived in Owensboro to a warm welcome from the one and only Mary Hardesty! She was jumping around in her driveway like a mad woman, it was enchanting. After many hugs and getting settled, we took off for a tour of Owensboro. This is really all you need to see.

Kid. On. A. Leash.

It's really not that white-trashy there but we pretty much screamed when we saw that and Mary yelled "WELCOME TO OWENSBORO!" We went to the Big Dipper and had "jims" (gems, which are tater tots) and a shake, and then took pictures outside Moonlite BBQ because Owensboro is the BBQ Capital of the WORLD. That night her uncle took us all out to dinner at Moonlite and it was delicious. Then Mary, Nikki and I camped in the living room and watched Gilmore Girls until bedtime.

Thursday. Oh dear. We slept in late, since Nikki and I were very very tired. We watched more Gilmore Girls and then went to Taco Bell AND Big Dipper for lunch because we are fatties. After we ate it was shower time, and we headed off to Evansville. The drive was fun because we jammed out to the Spice Girls. I swear, they are probably my favorite "band" of all time. I kind of forgot that I went as Posh Spice for Halloween my senior year. I picked the one that sings the least, natch.

So we get to the Tranny Mansion which is what everyone calls JR's house . . . and for good reason. Hot tranny mess, all of it. After the screaming and jumping up and down and hugs and reunions, we went out to Logan's to see JR's man friend Addison, and had a delicious dinner and, for me, the lone of-ager, two Newcastles. Then we headed back to the Tranny Mansion and had a crazy night of weeping camels, echo point, Snuggies, cigars . . . we watched The Story of the Weeping Camel but OF COURSE I barely remember any of it, besides certain images such as Dude peeing on the ground, the yurt that looked like a penthouse inside, the big strange box-like violins, and, of course, camels crying. CAMELS DO CRY, I saw it. I have to watch it again and send DG my in-depth analysis, since JR and I have been planning this night since Novemberish.

We stole Aaron's camel figurine off of his windowsill in honor of the night. Mary named it Chronic.

I passed out in JR's roommate's bed (whoops) and woke up to Nikki crawling in with me at 5am after JR left to go to work at the radio station. YES, he went to bed at 2am and woke up at 5 to go to work. He got back at about 9:30 and we all just recounted the night and slept until noon, until our stomachs began to crave food. I was fine until we got to Los Bravos, ordered food, and I saw it in front of me . . . so I booked it for the bathroom, blew chunks, then came back and ate. Glorious. They called me a champ for the rest of the day. Mary, Aaron and Megan went to the mall, and JR, Nikki and I went back to Tranny Mansion and took a nap. When they all got back I went with Aaron on an adventure to the liquor store, McDonalds, his place, Wesselman's (sp), and CVS while Nikki, JR and Mary napped (again). By this time JR's roommate was back from the Virgin Islands, he was nice but his girlfriend seriously hated us. I felt like she was staring daggers at us the entire time. Whatever, get over it, you just spent a week in the Virgin Islands. So we eat, and set up Band Hero of course. I got 97% on Wannabe.

Then the night took a turn for the AMAZING when Anne Joy showed up. I literally cried when I saw her. Screamed, danced, hugged, whatever. It was indescribable. Anne proceeded to play Band Hero guitar for about 2 hours while Mary sang. Anne proclaimed herself the Stephen Hawking of Band Hero and our band name was The Reacharounds.

Then Anne's roommate called and said they were playing games at her house, so we decided to walk over there. Best visual of the night: JR walking down the middle of the street with a 24pk under his shirt, phone on ear and cigarette in hand. Mary claimed he was on an important business call. Anne's house was fun, we played flippy cup and Memphis roulette. Mary regaled us with her theory that if you like pepperoni pizza, you are a homosexual. She was very upset when we informed her that this is not true. Nikki said, "I like pepperoni pizza," to which Mary replied, "Well . . . then . . ." with a shrugging gesture.

On the way home we sang Disney songs. The cops were called on us, but by the time they drove by we were back at Tranny Mansion and the only thing they saw was Mary and Drew on the porch in Snuggies.

JR, Nikki and I passed out on JR's floor after severely pissing off The Girlfriend, and in the morning she was still decidedly unhappy. As JR said, "Sorry that you were tired from being in the f***ing VIRGIN ISLANDS all week!" We packed up and went to McDonalds, where we heard someone call their son "Benjerman." Then Mary, Nikki and I headed back to the Boro, where we showered for the first time in two and half days and then had dinner with Pam. We watched more Gilmore Girls and then my dear fellow Chris came over!! So I got to hang out with more of my Harlaxton loves. We stayed up til 3am, then Nikki and I woke up at 7am and tearfully left the Boro for our long, sad ride home.

The Last Day/Night at Harlaxton

Tearing up a little bit right now. After all the craziness of finals and packing, our last day arrived. We had our British Studies final in the morning, and I'm reasonably sure I kicked the crap out of it. I felt like I knew almost too much, it was hard to organize my facts and theories. [later I found out I got an A- . . . bomb.com]. Afterward, Anne and Sam and I wandered around taking pictures and I took a video tour of Harlaxton so my family can see it. I am a poor camera woman, but whatever. I slid down the bannister of the Cedar Staircase. It was fun and challenging.

Then I took a shower (1 of 2 that day, as usual) and packed up the rest of my stuff and just hung out with people. That night the faculty served us a late-night breakfast. Meaning they manned the drink station and wore aprons. Kingsley served me which was a little creepy. And then when Bujak came to take my tray away I dropped butter in my crotch and he was really weirded out. A perfect end to a completely awkward relationship in which he yelled at me for not knowing about the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre or told me that it should take me more than 8 hours to write a good paper. That breakfast/dinner was really fun, it was our last meal together and we crowded about 15 girls at our table. It was sad but hilarious.

Afterward it was a struggle to stay up all night. Sara and I were partners in crime. I signed the pipes 3 times, a signature, a poem, and an interesting conversation. Then we decided to explore and see if we could get anywhere forbidden. Didn't really work. But I wrote a limerick somewhere to leave my mark on Harlaxton even if they decide to be douches and paint the pipes again. At 10pm the first bus left, and it was sad. I cried a little when JR and Ben and Kelsey left. But I hid it manfully. Ben and JR both proposed to me so I will have to start learning how to live with polygamy. Stephanie Bryant was super drunk and sloppy and it was really funny. Victor and Tucker had a broment in which I thought they were going to make out. I ran after the bus like a dog as it was leaving.

Then those of us who were leaving at a later time had an entire night to kill. We said our good byes to the professors, which was devastating. Really.

Dr. Phil will miss me.

Not quite sure if DG will.

So then shenanigans began. Sara and I did gymnastics in the Great Hall. Alex and I laid on the floor under the chandelier with Paula and Katrina and contemplated whether or not the cherubs were going to come to life and kill us. I sat on Facebook. I went on the balcony and got the living shit scared out of me by the bell. We snuck around on tiptoe a lot. We went and visited Walser because he was awake like we were. And then we hung out in Alex and Katie's room until it was time to leave for Italy.

Harlaxton Wrap-Up and on to Italy

The last full week at Harlaxton was super fun but extremely bittersweet. The last three weeks were almost painful, because we didn't travel and just hung out with each other at the Manor, knowing we only had a limited time left to be with each other. The finals stress added to our sense of panic, on top of which we had to pack up our entire lives, throw stuff out, figure out what we were taking to Italy, etc.

Did I mention that I played volleyball? I was also THE BOMB. Not really. But I was a defensive specialist and played quite a bit. We played in a PRISON. Yes. A prison. Best anecdote from England, I think. Anne called it 'Murderball'. I did not get shanked, which was amazing. Anyway we had our first and only home game that week on Monday.

There's me, #4 with the matching blue shorts. I didn't plan that. They were the longest shorts I brought, my shirt was so long. They gave me a large and the boys had mediums. Assholes. We won that game though, so that was cool.

I spent some time studying for finals but I learned a valuable lesson: if you pay attention in class you don't have to study so much. I know, weird. British Studies was easy, for some reason I just retained that information so well. Still do, actually, I was just explaining to someone the other day how Wales managed to preserve their own culture even though Edward I pretty much spit and stomped on them. He built a kickass castle though, so I still respect him even though he shit on my people. I didn't study for politics, rather I used my British Studies knowledge of the Glorious and Industrial Revolutions to pass that. History kicked my ass but I think I still ended up with a B overall.

Hmm, what else? Oh, Katie and I got to go on our date with the professors. It was baller. We crammed into Phil's little hatchback (shocker, a Brit owns a hatchback . . . ) and drove up to The Greg since it was raining. I ordered a beer and cheeseburger and was judged for my poor taste in food, but weird sounding fish and chicken with undistinguishable sauce was not cutting it. Plus I'm the world's pickiest eater. And the burger was awesome, I got a ton of chips and everyone was jealous. So I won. We sat there and talked about the most random stuff, about how I want a castle but they think I would be a dictator, Katie was talking about Ripple and snot and I almost threw up, we asked Phil and DG what they think when they read really stupid essays, Walser told us some crazy stories I can't remember . . . and Kylie McNeil's birthday party was there. Corey got really wasted and was lying on the ground outside even after Heather had told him not to go out that night because he was drunk at about 5:00, so Ed (who was at Kylie's party) came and got my three dates to help him stand Corey up and send him home somehow. Anyway it was a fun night, we walked back to the manor and the moon was full and bright and fog was rolling over the meadows and I was freaking Katie out by telling her how I wanted to be haunted. I feel like I was judged about 5 million times that night but it was hilarious so I didn't care.

The Valedictory ceremony was weird. Kingsley said "Welcome, students, faculty, and staff of William Jewell College." Hey bud, you haven't worked there in about 15 years. Plus, it was held in the Harlaxton Village Church, which is pretty but since it was built in about 1172 it's absolutely frigid. I could see my breath. I wore a coat and scarf the whole time. We all got our writs of achievement and then headed back to our house for a grand celebratory dinner. Anne, Sara and I got stuck at an . . . interesting table. Kingsley kept yelling at us to shut up, but they gave a bunch of college kids wine. Honestly, what were you expecting? I didn't win the fricking essay award even though mine was awesome. SHS won. Bleh. I held a plate of cheesecake in front of my chest for about 10 minutes to stave off wandering eyes. I'm all for people checking out my goodies, but not creepers. I high fived all the faculty but Ed blew me off. Bitch. Then we had to file out into the Great Hall and Anne, Sara and I walked out first all by ourselves and then all the faculty had lined up and were applauding for us . . . only we were by ourselves for an awkward 10 seconds. I felt so special and loved.

That night we went out for Kelsey's birthday, which was great. A homeless guy at the club was flipping us off and talking to an imaginary friend. He grabbed Kelsey's ass but she didn't even freak out. We danced (on a pole) and drank a lot because Anne had a 50GBP gift certificate.

Umm can you say classy? At least I'm pretty sure the homeless schizo liked it. Tequila, jager bombs, beer, fruity girl drink, you name it, I drank it. I wasn't wearing heels though, so I was good. And the sugary girl drink didn't make me sick. WIN.

A Harlaxton Family Christmas

Bear with me while I try to remember the details.

The tree trimming was on a Saturday, fairly certain I was hung over and only dragged myself out of bed for the cookies and hot chocolate. I know this blog makes me sound like I drank like a fish over here, but in all honestly I partied way less in Europe than I did in the states, it was just a bit more intense in Europe. Anyway - end of November and we got to trim the tree. I didn't actually trim the tree, I don't even really know why. But a bunch of us ended up sitting in a circle in the Great Hall and talking, and then Dr. K himself decided to be super creepy and, while wearing a light-up Santa hat, come up to Danielle and put his arm around her and say, "Have you been a good girl this year?" We were all completely in awe/shock/crazy uncomfortableness. I couldn't stop laughing, naturally. Waner tried to take a picture of him but ended up taking a sideways video, which I will now post.

Then the group trickled down to about 7-8 people, and we sat there and played 'Would You Rather?' and it got dirty, like it always does, and we discussed such horrifying scenarios as sitting on Kingsley's lap while you are both naked in a vibrating chair while he's wearing the Santa hat. I squirmed a lot. It was AWESOME.

Then we had a fancy dinner the next week - or, rather, a meat feast. MEAT FEAST. I can't stop laughing at that name. I want to scream it from the rooftops. I may make it my Facebook status in a few minutes. All the staff and meet-a-families came and at the MEAT FEAST with us, and then there was caroling in the hall. I'm clearly WAY too cool to carol, so I sat on the Cedar Staircase and talked to Heather, Blair, Anne, and DG for like 3 hours. It was funny. I was supposed to go out with JR and Kitten but I was pretty tired and was running low on money.

I have a Ph.D. in HORRIBLENESS. peace.

Costume Ball

I'm on a marathon of blogging! Keep it up! (Just motivating myself a little).

Costume Ball was on November 21st. For the longest time I was going to go as Amy Winehouse, but I ended up digging through the old costume stuff and finding the best hat ever. So I decided to go as a suffragette. I went into town and found this ridiculously authentic-looking skirt for £4 and a blouse for 8, and then as we were driving back on the shuttle Anne and I decided that I would go as the crazy suffragette that threw herself in front of a horse and died. So, the end result:

Don't know if you can tell, but I have a black eye and bloody lip and horseshoes pinned on my back, and the other side of my sign says 'Free Bob'. I looked awesome, I can't lie to you. I wish I could have brought it all home with me. I would wear it every day.

Bad ideas turned into bad but fun decisions. We drank boxed wine in Alex's room before dinner, we had a ton of wine at dinner, then we went down to the Bistro and I had like 2 Newcastles . . . yeah. BAD IDEA. But fun. The next thing I knew I was smoking hookah at the smoking bench with about 12 random people. Then, I ended up going and hanging out in SDO until about 4am. 'Would You Rather' is way more fun when everyone is drunk.

Academic Achievements. . . ish

I guess I should maybe write a little bit about my academic life here.  In British Studies, that life is AWESOME!

I mentioned in my Poland blog that I had a marathon paper writing session the night before I left, because my draft was due that Monday and I was determined to turn in a full draft and not an outline.  Well, the week after I got back I realized that I had no idea what I was supposed to know about Belvoir Castle (where we went on a field trip earlier that month) so I went to see Dr. Green to 'have a chat' about the upcoming test.  So we talk about the test and how I should approach the question blah blah blah, he makes fun of me for being hungover, then he says he has read my paper.  Basically he told me that I don't need to change anything, just a few little things, write my conclusion and turn it in.  BALLER!  I was so excited.  Simon de Montfort will forever be my hero, for being so damn interesting that my 2500 word paper is 'excellent'.

So that was awesome.  Even better was the fact that I got a freaking A on that test (which I took on Nov. 5th I think), like the complete baller that I am.  I thought I did really bad because I didn't write a single date down on it, but oh well.  Either I did well or Dr. Green just loves me, either one is fine with me!  I also got an A on my British Studies presentation, the one that I stayed up until 3am the night I got BACK from Poland completing!  I've also done no worse than a B+ on all of the 5 quizzes we have, so barring a complete failure on this last test I think I'm set for at least a B!

Politics, on the other hand, is a nightmare.  I managed to scrape two B's on my papers so the D and the C paper are dropped, but our final is 40% of our grade and I can't motivate myself to try.  It's just so boring and uninteresting to me that it is literally painful to get out of bed to go to that class.  I don't even want to talk about it.

History is going to kick my ass.  I enjoy the subject and it's interesting, but this class is tough, and when you get a study guide with 136 people, places and events that you need to know, out of which she will pick 7, out of which you need to know 4, AND two essay questions . . . even Dr. Bujak looked at it and said, "Well, this is a bitch."  I got a B- on the midterm, a B+ on my paper and an okay grade on one of my quizzes, but she hasn't yet graded one of my papers and the final is . . . well, a bitch.

So academically speaking that's where I stand.  At least I'm doing well in British Studies, which is my favorite class for a few reasons :) and it's also my easiest one, which some people can't believe.  Someone told me that if I would have taken Genetics as well, I would have had the hardest schedule possible at Harlaxton, and I'm pretty sure I believe them.

Cymru = Wales

Ahhh!  Wales was so long ago I can hardly believe it!  I'll do my best to detail it though, it was a very nice, very relaxing weekend!

However, I slept in super late and woke up at 8am - when we had to leave at 8:30am.  I'm a complete badass, though, so I managed to get up, shower, and finish packing, and make the bus with about 5 minutes to spare.  AMAZING.  And I didn't even forget anything.

The coach ride wasn't too bad because Wales isn't that far away, obviously.  Our first stop was Chester, which is still in England.  It's a Roman town with pretty walls, it's really old and cool looking but I wasn't really into shopping so we just walked around and admired the prettiness.  Then we hopped on the coach and got to the town where we were staying, this BEAUTIFUL resort town on the Atlantic Ocean.  Here's the view from our hotel!

 That night Mallory, Alex and I just had dinner and a few drinks at a pub and called it a night pretty early.

The next day was probably my favorite part of the trip, Caernafron Castle.  I said in a previous post that Blarney was my favorite, but nope, now it's Caernafron.  Edward I built it just after his conquest, and it's so fun to just crawl through everything, take the stairs and find the secret rooms, and just pretend you're a medieval court member.

LOVED IT!  I bought a few souvenirs here, then we set off to Portmeiron Village, which is this lovely little Italian-style seaside village, really idyllic and such.  It was gorgeous, but we didn't do much there, just had a delicious ham-and-cheese panini for lunch and walked around admiring the general splendor.  After that it was off to the Victorian slate mines!  That was really fun, we got to wear helmets and descend into the mines and listen to the life of a Victorian slate miner in Wales.  Daniel got felt up by an old lady in the dark, and I laughed for literally fifteen minutes - so long I got a headache!

We then headed back to our hotel, where we were going to go out but since I didn't feel like clubbing we ended up just parking in the hotel bar and drinking a few, then Daniel, Kelley, Mallory and I just hung out on the beach at night in North Wales!  It was so 'chill' and awesome.

The next day we were headed back, but we got to sleep in till about 10!  That is unheard of here, so it was extra nice!  After breakfast we left and stopped at Swallow Falls, a crazy waterfall that was especially nuts because it had been raining for a few days before we got there!  Then it was back to good ol' Harlaxton and the disgusting Sunday 'roast' dinner we all know and love.

Oh, and I bought some souvenirs in Wales because -- guess what? -- I'm WELSH!  I love my Welsh dragon necklace!

Halloween at Harlaxton

Once again, bear with me -- I've been such a crappy blogger that I have to go back into the depths of my memory to grab the things that happened A MONTH AGO!  This time, it's Halloween at Harlaxton, yet another crazy night here in England.

So Chris and I were sitting around my room with Mary trying to figure out what to be for this party that wouldn't require a ton of money.  We tossed around really stupid ideas for a few minutes before he just said, randomly, "Let's be Jim and Pam."  So the next day we went to town and bought a few things, and this is the end result.

Pretty decent, huh?  So we got together with a bunch of people and did NOT at all drink beforehand, then walked up to The Greg where Harlaxton had rented out the entire thing for the night.  It was really fun, there were some great costumes -- Sam Baker was Michael Jackson, Mary Johnson was John Lennon, etc. -- and there was a dance floor, which was cool!  And it was extra nice because we didn't have to pay for a cab to get us there or back.  

On the way back -- oh dear.  Chris had a little too much to drink so Pam had to drag Jim's ass all the way back to the carriage house, where she ended up having to tuck him in and witnessed him be a complete ass to Manny, which was probably the funniest moment of her life!  Then Alex and I and a few others smoked some hookah, ate some delicious pizza and called it a night.  Altogether it was an excellent Halloween, definitely one I won't be forgetting any time soon!

And we're off . . .

Well I've had all of my classes. Let me tell you, this is gonna be a tough semester. But I'll be fine. I'll be VERY busy so hopefully I won't have time to miss people too much :) Just kidding. I miss everyone a lot, but it's getting a bit better. I just want this whole thing to go by FAST and have a lot of fun so I can get back and be with everyone!

British Studies is crazy. Everyone in the whole school is in the lecture session from 8:30-9:30 in the morning on Mondays and Wednesdays, and it's held in this amazing room called the Long Gallery, so all I want to do is stare at the ceiling because it's so pretty. Then I have a little break, and my British Studies seminar is at 11:00-12:00pm. That's just a section where we have individualized instruction from a professor. Mine seems pretty cool. He has the quintessential British accent (at least, the one Americans think is quintessential) - deep voiced, very articulate, like he's from a Jane Austen movie.

Renaissance and Reformation European History is on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 4:10-5:00. That will be a little different, it's taught by an American professor. It's a small class - only 7 people! I thought I left LTU! Haha. But everyone else in the class is a History major, so we'll see how that goes. It seems interesting enough.

British Politics I had this morning, Tuesday and Thursday from 10:15-11:30. I don't know how I feel about that class yet. The professor is actually the Dean of Students, and one girl here has a huge crush on him -- she says he looks like a combination of Jude Law and Viggo Mortensen. But the class seems hard! And for something I'm not interested in, that's not a good sign. Oh well.

Alex got here finally which is AWESOME. It is so much easier with her here - we know the same people back home at LTU, we both have boyfriends so we're not like the other girls trying to pick up dudes, we both would prefer to stay in on schoolnights and do homework in the Bistro with a beer than go out to Grantham and get shitfaced every night, but I will definitely do my share of partying like I always do. Just not every night. :) And the other kids I know, none of them are going on the school trips because they say they are too expensive. They are traveling independently almost everywhere. Well, Alex and I are like, ummm, no. I'm going on the school trips. We don't trust ourselves AT ALL. Plus I think you lose the money you paid.

Anyway, I have to go read. Tonight is the trip briefing for London, which is where we are going this weekend. I'm super excited!

To The Motherland For Realsies

Yes, I'm in England! Today has been just nonstop craziness. Well, the past day and a half. I don't know what day it is, really.

It started in Chicago with my parents and I staying with my cousins Karin, Pat and Liam. That was so much fun -- Liam is so smart and funny. Anywho, Thursday morning I walked around downtown Chicago with my mom and dad. I went to the American Girl store and had a mini meltdown because I wanted Kirsten's entire collection. Needless to say my parents had to peel me out of there.

Then--the flight. Okay, I don't know why I had to be there at 4:30pm when my flight was at 8:30pm. It was so boring. And I'm a loner so I just sat there and read "Me Talk Pretty One Day" while everyone who knew each other already congregated around me playing euchre on the floor.

The flight was . . . kinda horrible. Not for any particular reason, I mean, I watched The Hangover which is always awesome, and I watched an episode of "The Office" and one of "How I Met Your Mother", but it was overnight and I was uncomfortable and I couldn't sleep and I was just altogether out of sorts. My flight departed at 8:30pm Chicago time and landed at 9:45am London time. British customs was a breeze, though. Then the bus ride--OHHHHHH THE BUS RIDE! I dozed off maybe twice but it was almost 2pm before we pulled up to Harlaxton.

HOLY COW this place is amazing. No pictures can do it justice. I didn't get any good ones today because it was raining when I got here, but I will definitely post some soon. This place is crazy, let's leave it at that.

My dorm is in the Carriage House which is separate from the main Manor House, and to be honest I'm kind of glad. It gives me a chance to get out of the manor. My roommate's name is Mary and she likes Harry Potter, Gilmore Girls and musicals so we are good to go! Our room is pretty cool. I've never shared community bathrooms before, though, so this will be a challenge.

Today, once we got settled, we had orientation stuff which was dumb, but then me, Mary, and some other students walked about two miles up to Gregory's, which is a pub at the end of our driveway. It was pretty cool, but I'm 21 and they're all like 19 so it was way cooler for them!

By far the best part of the night was talking to a middle-aged English couple outside the pub. They were telling us everything about how they feel about the NHS, Gordon Brown, Tony Blair, national identity, etc. so it was awesome!

Then we walked back to the manor in the dark, which was funny because it's a lot harder when you've had a beer. Now I'm just getting ready to go to bed, because I am freaking exhausted.

More to come! Keep reading!

T-minus 37 days!

It's coming closer and closer and I'm so nervous yet so excited!  On August 26th I'll be heading down to the cuzzo's house, Karin and Pat, to stay the night with my parents.  August 27th at 6pm I'll board my flight for LONDON HEATHROW!  

[Side note:  I got my voltage converter and it's crazy.  Maybe I'll post a picture at some point.  Why do the English make their outlets so damn big?]

A few things I decided that I have to do:

1) Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross.  I heard they have a little sign there, even though Katie says it looks nothing like the movie.

2)  Take a picture in one of those red phone booths.

3) Pose like a gargoyle with Alex at Harlaxton.  

4) Germany!  I have to find a way to go there.  Oktoberfest perhaps?  Maybe I'll pass up the Lake District trip.

I'm already going to Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, and Italy.

Any more suggestions?