Home again, safe and sound. And tired beyond all comprehesion! I've been utterly useless for the past two days because I'm plain wiped out!
It's really strange being at home. I remember sitting in the Detroit airport wondering why there were so many Americans around! And American Coke doesn't taste very good--we need to use sugar in our sodas, clearly. Also? CNN sucks. It's incredibly obnoxious and I could do a better job with political commentary than their commentators, even after having been out of the country for 9 months! (I mean, come on--if you can't recognize the misogeny that's rampant in a lot of the opposition to Hilary Clinton, you should not be allowed on national news. That's just stupid.)
It is good to be back in my house with all the animals and people, but I kind of like living alone, or with only one other person. And I have way too much crap here. I do not need most of what I have, and yet, I have it. I don't even know where to start with it all.
Clearly, I have a lot of adjusting to do...
22 May 2008
19 May 2008
Homeward Bound
or, It's Never Easy to Say Goodbye.
Tonight is my last night in Norwich ever. I'm facing a giant mental chasm I can't quite cross. I know that, tomorrow night, I'll be home. It's just the time until I get there that I can't wrap my mind around.
It's so strange to be finally leaving. This year has been hard, really hard. Yeah, it's been great--I've seen so many things I've always wanted to see, and have met so many cool people--but it's been difficult as well. I've been looking forward to going home for a long time, but now that it comes to it, I don't want to. Leaving home was much easier. I'm leaving the UK indefinitely. I don't know if I'll ever see these friends again--in fact, I'm pretty sure I won't. I'm excited to come home and see friends and family for the first time in 9+ months, but I don't want to leave this life.
"There is no real going back. Though I may come to the Shire, it will not seem the same; for I shall not be the same."
See you in the States!
Tonight is my last night in Norwich ever. I'm facing a giant mental chasm I can't quite cross. I know that, tomorrow night, I'll be home. It's just the time until I get there that I can't wrap my mind around.
It's so strange to be finally leaving. This year has been hard, really hard. Yeah, it's been great--I've seen so many things I've always wanted to see, and have met so many cool people--but it's been difficult as well. I've been looking forward to going home for a long time, but now that it comes to it, I don't want to. Leaving home was much easier. I'm leaving the UK indefinitely. I don't know if I'll ever see these friends again--in fact, I'm pretty sure I won't. I'm excited to come home and see friends and family for the first time in 9+ months, but I don't want to leave this life.
"There is no real going back. Though I may come to the Shire, it will not seem the same; for I shall not be the same."
See you in the States!
Last Few Days
I got back from Portugal Thursday mid-day. It was fantastic. Lagos was gorgeous. It would be cloudy in the mornings, but clear up by the afternoons. We sat on the beach and wandered around town and watched movies in the hostel. I actually ended up meeting another Ole, who had lived in the same building our freshman year and was in the Great Con with me. I didn't even know she was abroad! So that was really cool.
Friday, I had my second exam. It went fairly well. I did a good job on the first essay, which was close-reading (and consequently easy), but I had too much to say in the second essay. After all, the topic was "escape in Austen and/or the Brontes," and I decided to write on Wuthering Heights. Um, who's NOT trying to escape in that book?
Friday night, I went out to dinner with Teri, and then we went out to the Belgian Monk. The only beer Teri will drink is Belgian fruit beers. So we hung out there for a while, and got told that we have "soft American accents". ??? That was fun, but I didn't get much packing done.
(Un)Fortunately for me, I couldn't sleep Friday night, and so got up at 4 AM and proceeded to pack up almost all of my stuff. I've got two bags filled, and still have more! Not much, though, so I'm hoping it will all fit! Saturday, I went down to London to visit a few friends I met while in Killarney. We had a great time. I got to see their places (Sue lives right on the Thames, with a balcony looking over the river, just down from the Tower Bridge. She also has a giant kitchen and living room. I'm jealous) and watch TV, which is way more exciting than it sounds. We hung out on Brick Lane, by Liverpool Street Station, and had a good time talking to another guy from New Zealand. Finally got back to Sue's at around 2, and got up the next morning at 11. Oops. Anyway, we had breakfast and went to the Dali Universe, which is about as crazy as it sounds. After all, it is Dali, and he was a crazy, crazy man. There was some cool stuff there, including one of the lobster phones (yeah, I said he was crazy) and a bunch of sculpture. Lots of people with drawers coming out of them. Oh, and it had some of his illustrations for Alice in Wonderland.
Came home yesterday afternoon, "studied", and went over to Teri's to watch a movie. We ended up talking for a while instead, which was nice. Today, I had my exam, which was okay--I've done better, but my paper was graded leniently, so I have hope (and I wrote an essay involving The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Frankenstein--it better be good!), then I picked up some food to bring home, finished packing, and went to Teri's again. We actually watched the movie this time, and then went for raspberry beers at the Belgian Monk. And tomorrow I leave. But that's for another post...
Friday, I had my second exam. It went fairly well. I did a good job on the first essay, which was close-reading (and consequently easy), but I had too much to say in the second essay. After all, the topic was "escape in Austen and/or the Brontes," and I decided to write on Wuthering Heights. Um, who's NOT trying to escape in that book?
Friday night, I went out to dinner with Teri, and then we went out to the Belgian Monk. The only beer Teri will drink is Belgian fruit beers. So we hung out there for a while, and got told that we have "soft American accents". ??? That was fun, but I didn't get much packing done.
(Un)Fortunately for me, I couldn't sleep Friday night, and so got up at 4 AM and proceeded to pack up almost all of my stuff. I've got two bags filled, and still have more! Not much, though, so I'm hoping it will all fit! Saturday, I went down to London to visit a few friends I met while in Killarney. We had a great time. I got to see their places (Sue lives right on the Thames, with a balcony looking over the river, just down from the Tower Bridge. She also has a giant kitchen and living room. I'm jealous) and watch TV, which is way more exciting than it sounds. We hung out on Brick Lane, by Liverpool Street Station, and had a good time talking to another guy from New Zealand. Finally got back to Sue's at around 2, and got up the next morning at 11. Oops. Anyway, we had breakfast and went to the Dali Universe, which is about as crazy as it sounds. After all, it is Dali, and he was a crazy, crazy man. There was some cool stuff there, including one of the lobster phones (yeah, I said he was crazy) and a bunch of sculpture. Lots of people with drawers coming out of them. Oh, and it had some of his illustrations for Alice in Wonderland.
Came home yesterday afternoon, "studied", and went over to Teri's to watch a movie. We ended up talking for a while instead, which was nice. Today, I had my exam, which was okay--I've done better, but my paper was graded leniently, so I have hope (and I wrote an essay involving The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Frankenstein--it better be good!), then I picked up some food to bring home, finished packing, and went to Teri's again. We actually watched the movie this time, and then went for raspberry beers at the Belgian Monk. And tomorrow I leave. But that's for another post...
10 May 2008
Odds and Ends--and Portugal!
Tut, tut, folks. Last post was my 111th--the eleventy-first post õn this blog. And I did nothing. Anyway, I have a lot to catch up on!
Last weekend, I ran down to London to meet up with another friend from the Barrowdowns. She had been living in the Netherlands for the semester, and was finishing up her trip in London. So we decided to go see the Lord of the Rings musical together. It was, simply, amazing. I loved it. Absolutely loved it. Okay, yeah, there were some plot issues--Denethor and Theoden were combined in weird, confusing ways--but it was visually stunning, the music was amazing, and, not going to lie, I was moved. (Also, we went to the science museum, which was fun, but not as fun as expected. Such is life).
Then, I had my first exam, in Norman and Plantagenet England. It wasn't as bad as I expected. I definitely wrote two high B/low A (at least) essays, but they do history differently here, so I don't know what will come of it. But I didn't die...
Wednesday, after my exam, I took off for Oxford, meeting Teri in London. Oxford was great. Thursday was ridiculously hot, but we wandered around some of the colleges and hung out in the city center, and it was fun. I liked it better than Cambridge because the weather was nicer, though I can see how you'd think Cambridge was nicer. And, I got to take in a lot of Tolkien sights, which made me quietly happy.
Friday, we flew to Lisbon. Lisbon is absolutely gorgeous. I love it. While it isn't as warm as I wanted it to be, especially after Thursday, the weather is lovely. Today, we went out to Sintra to see a mansion out there and run around in the garden. I can't even describe how cool this place was. You'll just have to wait for pictures!
Tomorrow, we go down to Lagos, on the south coast of Portugal. I'm pretty excited. Lisbon is great, but it'll be nice to get out and see some countryside!
I'm actually in Lagos right now, and it seems nice. I haven't been out much yet. I wrote this post a few days ago and didn't get a chance to post it. I'm still having fun!
Last weekend, I ran down to London to meet up with another friend from the Barrowdowns. She had been living in the Netherlands for the semester, and was finishing up her trip in London. So we decided to go see the Lord of the Rings musical together. It was, simply, amazing. I loved it. Absolutely loved it. Okay, yeah, there were some plot issues--Denethor and Theoden were combined in weird, confusing ways--but it was visually stunning, the music was amazing, and, not going to lie, I was moved. (Also, we went to the science museum, which was fun, but not as fun as expected. Such is life).
Then, I had my first exam, in Norman and Plantagenet England. It wasn't as bad as I expected. I definitely wrote two high B/low A (at least) essays, but they do history differently here, so I don't know what will come of it. But I didn't die...
Wednesday, after my exam, I took off for Oxford, meeting Teri in London. Oxford was great. Thursday was ridiculously hot, but we wandered around some of the colleges and hung out in the city center, and it was fun. I liked it better than Cambridge because the weather was nicer, though I can see how you'd think Cambridge was nicer. And, I got to take in a lot of Tolkien sights, which made me quietly happy.
Friday, we flew to Lisbon. Lisbon is absolutely gorgeous. I love it. While it isn't as warm as I wanted it to be, especially after Thursday, the weather is lovely. Today, we went out to Sintra to see a mansion out there and run around in the garden. I can't even describe how cool this place was. You'll just have to wait for pictures!
Tomorrow, we go down to Lagos, on the south coast of Portugal. I'm pretty excited. Lisbon is great, but it'll be nice to get out and see some countryside!
I'm actually in Lagos right now, and it seems nice. I haven't been out much yet. I wrote this post a few days ago and didn't get a chance to post it. I'm still having fun!
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